[mobocracy]

I'm getting the bug for another less-common caliber. The last time I got this bug, I ended up selling a gun I didn't use and buying 4 guns. Then it was 10mm, now it's 38 Super.

What's 38 Super like to shoot from a 1911 platform? Ballistically it seems to be, to borrow what I've read, "like 9mm on steroids" -- seems pretty high velocity and less recoil than 45 auto. It seems like it would be a fun target platform.

Gun choices are more limited, naturally. Off the top of my head I can only think of a couple of affordable (under $1000) new choices, Kimber and Colt.

Which leads me to my next question -- I'm vague on the details, but is Colt still a reasonable choice for new guns? I thought they largely got out of the civilian market. They do have a web page with civilian 1911s, including some models in 38 Super that, at least from what I can tell, aren't priced in the stratosphere.

 

[eerw]

38 super is pretty neat little round..

factory loadings are pretty mild .. and fun to shoot...
the neat thing i think about 38 super is there is a lot of load data from really mild loads to really high velocity loads..also a lot of bullet types and weights work in the cartridge.

 

[mmen]

38 super

it definitely does have less recoil than a .45 and is a lot of fun. Ive put a 100 rounds through a springfield 1911 in .38 loved it, hardly any recoil. It actually didn't feel as snappy as other 9mm i've handled. I think you'll enjoy it. should try one out before purchasing.

 

[RickB]

I have the stainless M1991A1, and it is a nice gun. Mine needed a bushing, but other than that, it was good to go. I like the Super loaded pretty light, 130/135 @ 1000fps; if I need "power", I'll shoot 10mm or .45.

 

[jlmurphy]

I bought a S.A. 38 Super Milspec to build a 9mm pistol. I have a Hi Power clone, I loved the Browning design, but the light weight frame and roundabout trigger linkage left me unimpressed. The 1911 9mm solves those problems, what a pleasure to shoot. I would have bought it in 9mm, but here in the PRK 9mm 1911's are hard to find and we can't buy frames, only complete approved pistols.

 

[JiminCA]

If you run hot loads it cycles the gun very quickly. Actual recoil remains low but the blast is a lot higher. Wearing good hearing protection and shooting outdoors will keep you from giving yourself a blast flinch.

I find the gun "feels" right with 124 gr bullets moving out at 1200-1250 fps.
Below 1150 the gun feels sluggish.

I too have a Colt enhanced stainless. Runs like a champ. Haven't replaced anything.

 

[skinnygun]

mobocracy my Springfield crome plated .38 super.

 

[OZ 1911]

38 Super seems to be the standard IPSC round here in Oz as we have been limted on our caliber. The advantage of 38 Super over 9mm is a higher power factor and if you reload it is more consistant as it head spaces of the RIM not the mouth of the case. I shoot a SF 'loaded' 9mm - I must like the challenge or something :scratch: . I think you will enjoy the 38 Super.

Grant

 

[OZ 1911]

You snuck the phot in while i was typing, Great looking gun. Thanks for the look.

Grant

 

[standles]

38 super as said above is the caliber of choice in alot of action shooting.

I I bought today I would get 38 super comp. Same as a 38 Super but it is rimless like the 9mm and 45 cartridges. This evolution came about because of feeding problems on the rimmed 38 super cartridge. A by product is you can usually squeeze another round or two in the mags. The 38 super family is basically a 9mm case firing .355 or .356" diameter bullets.

The current path of evolution is using the std 9mm to try and make major in the games. Reasons are cheaper brass and more readily available components.


If plinking is your game you won't care about velocity of the rounds and whether they make minimum power levels. IF you do care then note that 38super and 9mm major are usually above listed max loads in relaoding manuals by close to a grain of powder. Your alos usually running over SAMMI max pressure definitions.


Steven

 

[brandx]

OZ 1911- the 38super ORIGINALLY headspaced on the rim. Colt,et al, had switched over to case mouth headspace by the time I started shooting a super 15 years ago.

STANDLES-the only 38 super feed problems I have seen in 17 years of shooting IPSC(single stack and hi-cap) have been caused by other problems, ususlly maintenance related or the pistol not being tuned right.The rim(actually SEMI-rim) is not the problem.

MOBOCRACY- Now that I am thru nit-pickin', yes, get a 38super. They are fun, accurate and versatile( you can have a 9mm barrel installed and have a two calibre pistol by swapping barrels).

Oh,yeah, you shouldn't have sold the 10mm:rock:

 

[mobocracy]

Oh,yeah, you shouldn't have sold the 10mm:rock:

I didn't -- I sold a SA/DA .45 ACP gun, and that was to fund a Glock 29 that I use as a carry gun...

What I meant was the last time I got the bug for a new caliber (10mm), I ended up selling something to buy one of the 4 guns I ended up buying.

I don't really want to sell anything I have now (S&W 1911, Kimber 10mm, S&W 1066, 1006 and a S&W Model 41) to fund a 38 Super, but when I do I think I'll get the Kimber Stainless target. I like my Stainless target 10mm a lot, and the 38 Super version at the gun shop feels exactly the same.

I just can't fund the gun, a case of brass and new dies until probably after Christmas.

 

[HiVelSword]

38 super as said above is the caliber of choice in alot of action shooting.

I I bought today I would get 38 super comp. Same as a 38 Super but it is rimless like the 9mm and 45 cartridges. This evolution came about because of feeding problems on the rimmed 38 super cartridge. A by product is you can usually squeeze another round or two in the mags. The 38 super family is basically a 9mm case firing .355 or .356" diameter bullets.

Also known as 9x23

 

[Jim Watson]

No.

9x23 is a tapered cartridge, same head and mouth diameters as 9mm P, just longer.
.38 Super Comp is a straight cylindrical case same as .38 Super without semirim.

 

[brickeyee]

The original .38 Super that headspaced on the rim was a disaster area. On a 1911 the only control is on the barrel hood.
Accuracy was poor (at best) given typical ammunition/barrel tolerances.
Headspacing on the mouth solved the accuracy problem and the .38 super gained favor in IPSC and other games again.
9x23 brass is made stronger then typical .38 Super brass for higher pressure.
A fully supported barrel (ramped) provides even more margin on high pressure loads.
The higher pressure improves the performance of compensators, and the reduced bullet mass further reduces recoil.

 

[mobocracy]

Are .38 Super Comp cases interchangeable with .38 Super +P cases in barrels that headspace the cartridge on the case mouth?

I saw a LNIB new-production Colt in .38 Super that had a funny shaped barrel face; designed for allowing case-rim headspacing? The Kimber Stainless Target in .38 Super had a "normal" looking 1911 barrel face.

 

[HiVelSword]

No.

9x23 is a tapered cartridge, same head and mouth diameters as 9mm P, just longer.
.38 Super Comp is a straight cylindrical case same as .38 Super without semirim.

Gotcha. My bad.

 

[HiVelSword]

Now that I think about it, why would anyone want a gun chambered in .38 Super? The semi-rim must indeed be a deficiency if a new cartridge needed to be created to fix the flaw. Wouldn't it be wise to carry/shoot the more reliable feeding round?

 

[mobocracy]

Now that I think about it, why would anyone want a gun chambered in .38 Super? The semi-rim must indeed be a deficiency if a new cartridge needed to be created to fix the flaw. Wouldn't it be wise to carry/shoot the more reliable feeding round?

My understanding is that the guns (barrels) were changed to headspace on the case mouth vs. the semi-rim and it didn't require any changes to the case.

 

[RickB]

Are .38 Super Comp cases interchangeable with .38 Super +P cases in barrels that headspace the cartridge on the case mouth?

I saw a LNIB new-production Colt in .38 Super that had a funny shaped barrel face; designed for allowing case-rim headspacing? The Kimber Stainless Target in .38 Super had a "normal" looking 1911 barrel face.

.38 Super barrels still have a small "ledge" in the hood, for the rim, but they don't rely on that ledge for headspacing. Super Comp can be used in a gun chambered for Super, but will probably require some adjustment of the extractor for ultimate reliability.