Posted: 12/3/2016 8:10:56 PM EDT
| I'm looking for an education on this cartridge and the guns you can currently buy that shoot it. |
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I'm looking for an education on this cartridge and the guns you can currently buy that shoot it. resource |
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Your second 1911 comes chambered in .38 Super; John Browning said so.
It's a neat, effective, fairly soft-shooting cartridge that is languishing somewhat. Terminal ballistics-wise, it doesn't really do anything the 9x19 or .40 S&W can't do, but, truth be told, neither does .45ACP. Ammo is not as readily available (or cheap) as 9x19 or .40 S&W, so you'll want to be reloading. Good-performing antipersonnel ammo is available from CorBon, DoubleTap, and Buffalo Bore. |
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Why , OP? If I read it right a 130 grain billet at just over 1300 fps versus a 10mm 130 grain bullet at 1600 fps....seems the 10 mm is more popular in both available guns and ammo suppliers as well...maybe I am missing something? This man speaks sooth. Heed him. 
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I've had two 1911's chambered in 38 Super. The accuracy of both of them, compared to similar guns in .45, was pretty awful. I'd stick to 10mm, 9x23 Winchester or 9x25 Dillon. I wound up with a Colt that had been worked over , polished , new combat sights and a wonderful trigger. I tried every reloading trick I know and a few from my friends along with a assortment of factory loads and it was never much more than a marginal shooter . I sold it off for way more than what I had in it and gave a friend a deal on all the brass and extra mags . Never did find out why that gun didn't hit well , I will keep all my 1911s in 45 ACP |
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Why , OP? If I read it right a 130 grain billet at just over 1300 fps versus a 10mm 130 grain bullet at 1600 fps....seems the 10 mm is more popular in both available guns and ammo suppliers as well...maybe I am missing something? 1300 fps at a low chamber pressure makes for fast shooting. 10mm with a higher chamber pressure and faster FPS makes for slower shooting. Here's what .38 super can do.  38 super rapidfire |
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I wound up with a Colt that had been worked over , polished , new combat sights and a wonderful trigger. I tried every reloading trick I know and a few from my friends along with a assortment of factory loads and it was never much more than a marginal shooter . I sold it off for way more than what I had in it and gave a friend a deal on all the brass and extra mags . Never did find out why that gun didn't hit well , I will keep all my 1911s in 45 ACP Probably because it had a pre-90's barrel in it. Modern barrels head space on the case mouth. They are as accurate or more than .45. |
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1300 fps at a low chamber pressure makes for fast shooting. 10mm with a higher chamber pressure and faster FPS makes for slower shooting. Here's what .38 super can do.  jD6fIsi6w3g</iframe> kWxj71-ahsY</iframe>Neat..I can see it for competition ..how's it compared to straight up 38 special or 9 mm? I assume the higher velocity gives you better scores? |
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Neat..I can see it for competition ..how's it compared to straight up 38 special or 9 mm? I assume the higher velocity gives you better scores? Better scores via less time taking to shoot. But more importantly, more rounds on target faster since it's my daily carry gun. I only shoot stuff like that for keeping up skills. |
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Better scores via less time taking to shoot. But more importantly, more rounds on target faster since it's my daily carry gun. I only shoot stuff like that for keeping up skills. Again neat...but I have to deal with Grizzlies...  ... 
ETA..besides, I normally only piss off one person at a time...  
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Neat..I can see it for competition ..how's it compared to straight up 38 special or 9 mm? I assume the higher velocity gives you better scores? Both 38 Super and 9 are used in USPSA and IPSC to make major. There exist published "book loads" for super that will make it; no 9mm will come close. 9 Major is generally well beyond +P, but guns can be built to handle it. The benefit of 38S over 9 is that you can run a bigger powder charge, and hence get more gas to work the comp. Regular Super has the downside of being semi-rimmed (which can cause feeding issues and can decrease capacity by a round), but various rimless cases are available to solve that problem. Probably the most common stateside is 38 Supercomp, made by Starline. The big benefit of both 38S and 9 over anything else in USPSA and IPSC is capacity. In Open Division, capacity is only limited by physical magazine size. Thus, smaller diameter = higher capacity. Even the fastest reloads still aren't fast enough to beat no reload. 9mm is the smallest permitted caliber, so those are the two most logical choices. |
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Have you thought of the .357 Sig, you can use 9mm bullets to reload it and very accurate and about 125FPS faster.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.357_SIG |
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Both 38 Super and 9 are used in USPSA and IPSC to make major. There exist published "book loads" for super that will make it; no 9mm will come close. 9 Major is generally well beyond +P, but guns can be built to handle it. The benefit of 38S over 9 is that you can run a bigger powder charge, and hence get more gas to work the comp. Regular Super has the downside of being semi-rimmed (which can cause feeding issues and can decrease capacity by a round), but various rimless cases are available to solve that problem. Probably the most common stateside is 38 Supercomp, made by Starline. The big benefit of both 38S and 9 over anything else in USPSA and IPSC is capacity. In Open Division, capacity is only limited by physical magazine size. Thus, smaller diameter = higher capacity. Even the fastest reloads still aren't fast enough to beat no reload. 9mm is the smallest permitted caliber, so those are the two most logical choices. Ah, neat..I am just a woods hillbilly that has to live in town most of the time.... 
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Have you thought of the .357 Sig, you can use 9mm bullets to reload it and very accurate and about 125FPS faster. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.357_SIG Velocities there are comparable. I run my 124gr loads around 1450 fps. And you're just getting .40/10mm capacity, which is lame. |
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Probably because it had a pre-90's barrel in it. Modern barrels head space on the case mouth. They are as accurate or more than .45. Quoted:
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I wound up with a Colt that had been worked over , polished , new combat sights and a wonderful trigger. I tried every reloading trick I know and a few from my friends along with a assortment of factory loads and it was never much more than a marginal shooter . I sold it off for way more than what I had in it and gave a friend a deal on all the brass and extra mags . Never did find out why that gun didn't hit well , I will keep all my 1911s in 45 ACP Probably because it had a pre-90's barrel in it. Modern barrels head space on the case mouth. They are as accurate or more than .45. This. |
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Leave it to arf;
"I would like to know about one thing specifically" "have you ever thought abut all of this other stuff that isn't what you want to know about". .38 super is awesome You get to feel like Earl Swagger Multiple companies make factory FMJ and SD ammo Multiple companies make pistols, mostly 1911's of course but SIG makes some 220's that can be tracked down if you're dedicated. Same with some S&W revolvers. EAA sells some witness CZ clones. Basically, if you want to dabble your toes in the water of .38 super, cheapest way to do it is grab a RIA 1911 for like $450 bucks, and hit the gunshow for some FMJ, I normally pay about $16-18 bucks a box. Buying in stores or online can be pricey as they gouge pretty hard. ARMSCOR, Aguila, and Mag-tec is comparably priced or cheaper than .40 S&W so when you see .38 super ammo for sale for like 25 bucks a box or higher for FMJ it's a straight up rip off. eta- have about 6k rounds on mine, have never reloaded. Shooting it is fun because there's a lot less movement in the gun. Partially because it's a light fast recoil, and also the barrel is heavier (smaller hole, same profile barrel). Plus it makes big fuck off muzzle flashes, and sounds like someone is shooting .223. It's awesome at the range cause people don't look at what you load but want to extol the virtues of .45 next thing they know instead of greybearing you they are blind and deaf. 
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Neat..I can see it for competition ..how's it compared to straight up 38 special or 9 mm? I assume the higher velocity gives you better scores? Quoted:
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1300 fps at a low chamber pressure makes for fast shooting. 10mm with a higher chamber pressure and faster FPS makes for slower shooting. Here's what .38 super can do. Attached File jD6fIsi6w3g</iframe>Attached File kWxj71-ahsY</iframe> Neat..I can see it for competition ..how's it compared to straight up 38 special or 9 mm? I assume the higher velocity gives you better scores? Please check your pics - showing up as broken URLs here. |
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Probably because it had a pre-90's barrel in it. Modern barrels head space on the case mouth. They are as accurate or more than .45. Wouldn't doubt it . It is a shame the way the timing worked out . It was truly a beautiful looking gun and a joy to handle with all the sharp corners rounded off. The trigger was honestly less than 3 lbs. I bought it stupid cheap, didn't have time to mess with it and a guy wanted it bad at a time I was between jobs and needed money. |
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This. I am on my 4th 1911,had a Witness too.Finally got one that shoots very well,[Rock Island] even sent the slide off for better sights, that i can see with my old eyes.[Harrison Retro's] Shoots golf ball size groups at the 7 yd. line.Good enough for me,it's a keeper. 
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Leave it to arf; "I would like to know about one thing specifically" "have you ever thought abut all of this other stuff that isn't what you want to know about". Ooooorrrr, "Are you sure you really want that? Here's something that's better, honestly." Heck, I appreciate inflammation about stuff I don't know about. But maybe that's just me...
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I wound up with a Colt that had been worked over , polished , new combat sights and a wonderful trigger. I tried every reloading trick I know and a few from my friends along with a assortment of factory loads and it was never much more than a marginal shooter . I sold it off for way more than what I had in it and gave a friend a deal on all the brass and extra mags . Never did find out why that gun didn't hit well , I will keep all my 1911s in 45 ACP Quoted:
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I've had two 1911's chambered in 38 Super. The accuracy of both of them, compared to similar guns in .45, was pretty awful. I'd stick to 10mm, 9x23 Winchester or 9x25 Dillon. I wound up with a Colt that had been worked over , polished , new combat sights and a wonderful trigger. I tried every reloading trick I know and a few from my friends along with a assortment of factory loads and it was never much more than a marginal shooter . I sold it off for way more than what I had in it and gave a friend a deal on all the brass and extra mags . Never did find out why that gun didn't hit well , I will keep all my 1911s in 45 ACP How old were they? What kind of barrels/who made the guns? It's well known that older Colts (up until at least the late 80s) chambered on the rim and not on the case mouth, so they were known to be not very accurate. Here: The 1986 Super Elite for AccuSport Corp. was the first Colt Super with the headspace on the case mouth chamber...it wasn't till 1989 or 1990 that all Colts starting coming from the factory with the new headspacing and they didn't even make any announcement about it. |
| I had a Series 70 Colt Commander years ago in .38 Super, bought it for $350 in late 90's/early 2000. I tried liking the gun, but just couldn't warm up to it or the cartridge. It was very fickle with ammo and magazines, ended up selling it....kind of wish I had kept it, they are bringing big money nowadays. |
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I have a bright stainless steel Colt Custom in .38 super. Haven't ever fired a round through it. Why? Because I wanted it. I don't need any more justification than that. I've always wanted one, fitted with faux Pearlite grips from Ajax
Pimptastic gun with pimptastic grips in a pimptastic cartridge! I'd have to carry it in a shoulder holster, of course...or very visibly AIWB... |
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The 38 Super was designed in the late 1920s to penetrate car bodies and the metal bullet proof vests of the day. S&W brought out the 38-44 to compete, then the 357 Magnum later.
The bad guys of the time would rob and then get away in autos. The standard 38 Special and lesser rounds would not shoot through the car bodies every time. The jacketed higher speed 38 Super worked a bit better. The 38 Super became popular with some combat shooters who wanted an edge in lessor recoil will still making major in scoring. The original round relied on a semi-rimmed case that did not give very good accuracy. Current models have the case headspacing on the mouth of the case and accuracy is improved. The Super was one of the first +P cartridges, sort of. There is the 38 ACP cartridge which is loaded to lesser pressure but is identical in size to the 38 Super. If you come across a pistol marked 38 ACP, dont shoot the Supers in it. They are not made to take the pressure and would be dangerous to fire. |
| to those with accuracy issues, the reason for that is up until recently Colt used barrels that headspaced on the rim, not the case mouth. New Colts have barrels that headspace on the case mouth, just like the aftermarket barrels. My 38 super commander has no accuracy issues at all, of course it does have an aftermarket barrel installed. ETA missed the post above mine. |