Thread: Educate me about the .38 Super

Quote: Originally Posted by Jackhammer http://38super.net/ Thanks. That's a nice site.

It's my favorite 1911 caliber, but it's a hand loaders caliber. Don't buy one unless you have a press or a thick wallet.

Quote: Originally Posted by Jackhammer It's my favorite 1911 caliber, but it's a hand loaders caliber. Don't buy one unless you have a press or a thick wallet. Amen to that. Stock .38 Super is very pricey in our neck of the woods. One of the reasons I had a 9mm barrel dropped into my Fusion Scout .38 Super.

I'd say most standard .38 super loads match the performance of 9mm, but if you reload you can match .357 sig and some loadings will deliver more kinetic energy than most factory-loaded .45 ACP rounds. 1911's in 38 Super is popular in IPSC and USPSA cos when equipped with a compensator it meets the minimum power factor to be considered a "Major" charge, while having more manageable recoil than .45 ACP.

The .38 super is an old cartridge, dating back to the late 1920's. Do to improvements with the way the cartridge headspaces, the round can be extremely accurate. The barrel improvements for headspacing on the case mouth started in the mid 1980's. The .38 super factory round using a 130grain bullet slightly surpasses a regular 9mm round in velocity when using a comparable bullet weight. When the .38 super round is reloaded...

Quote: Originally Posted by abnranger This may get the fires stirred up; and it is not intende to, sorry. Having shot USPSA and been on staff for several Nationals I can say it is a dominate competition cartridge. Modern wide bodies hold losts of um and they make comps run great. That said if the round was so superior for daily use, the major manufacturers would manufacture more of it. Back when I worked for a big box store trying to find...

This may get the fires stirred up; and it is not intende to, sorry. Having shot USPSA and been on staff for several Nationals I can say it is a dominate competition cartridge. Modern wide bodies hold losts of um and they make comps run great. That said if the round was so superior for daily use, the major manufacturers would manufacture more of it. Back when I worked for a big box store trying to find factory fodder was akin to finding an elf....

If you have or get a Colt 1911 in .38 Super, you might try putting a 22# recoil spring in it and try some 9x23mm Win. whch is basically a rimless .38 Super that propels a 125-gr. bullet at about 1550 from a 5" Gov't. Model. The Super is a fine round, but the IPSC Major loads are safe only in new brass and using a supported bbl. Those loads duplicate 9x23mm Win. ballistics, but the Super cases are too weak in the case walls and...

9mm+P< 38 Super < 357 Mag Fun round. Feeds smoothly in the 1911. A barrel change and you're shooting 9mm for cheap practice. I think its a greatly under-rated round, along with the 9x23 and 10mm in the 1911 platform.

I like it as a light, "minor" round for competition. It runs better in the 1911 platform than do shorter rounds, and it can still be loaded hot if you want. I generally load 130gr and 135gr bullets at 1000fps with small charges of whatever fast-burning powder is available, and it also makes for a nice plinker. I do make a point of picking up my brass, as it's not going to be as commonly found on the ground as some other...