.38 Casull?

[tweek888]

Hello! i'm new to THR and just have a few questions about the .38 Casull round

1.Besides the CA 3800, does any other weapon fire this caliber?
2.Is Casull the only manufacturer of ammunition?
3.How would it be for all around shooting i.e. defense/targets

Hopefully not to much defensive shooting would be needed ;)

[Big Daddy]

To my knowledge the .38 Casull is only chambered in the 1911 offered by Casull Arms.

Again, to my knowledge Casull is the only manufacturer of ammo for the .38 Casull

For all around shooting I would say that it is going to have a hellacious muzzle blast so I personally would not want to fire it without hearing protection, ie. in a defensive situation. For target shooting I would expect it to do well as Casull makes very accurate firearms.

My take on the .38 Casull is that it will always be what it is now, a great idea with limited application and limited usage. Of course, it took about 20 years or better for Dick Casull's .454 to gain widespread acceptance and usage. Now it is chambered in production firearms and factory ammo is in good abundance. The .454 started as Dick Casull's "wildcat" and was snatched up by hunter's looking for more power than the .44 Magnum. The .45 necked to .38 was done before, although I don't think it was quite as powerful because today's powders and bullets give better raw materials to work with than when the .45 was first wildcatted to .38

The reason I don't see the future of the .38 Casull to be that of the .454 is that it doesn't fill a space or gap that the .454 did. Bullets in the .355 to .356 range are not designed to hold up to the velocities of the .38 Casull which to me means it is not as suitable for human targets as it would be for varmint class animals. Couple that with Casull's 1911 having adjustable sights and a 6" barrel and I would say that he designed it as more of a target/fun gun or varmint gun than a defensive handgun. I could be wrong, maybe in 20 years it will be as the .454 is now, although I wouldn't hold my breath. Don't get me wrong, I don't think guns NEED a purpose to be worthy of purchase. I have owned and do own guns without a lot of practical purpose and will do so in the future as well. I am just pointing out that if you buy one you will have a gun that will require you to purchase ammo from Casull ($$ I imagine) or reload. And if I were looking for a defense arm I would want something less likely to destroy my ears if I had to shoot to save myself indoors. Having said all of that, it would be great for challenging varminting. Coyotes, groudhogs, rabbits, squirrels, etc will give off (or turn into) nice red puffs at the other end of the .38 Casull.

[Peter M. Eick]

I have been considering a 38 Casull for a long time and Big Daddy has nailed my opinions completely.

From emailing and posting with others (hit the search function here and over at the firingline.com) you will find the following comments:
1) Loud
2) Really really loud
3) expensive
4) lots of recoil
5) hard (expensive) to get brass
6) hard to recover the spent brass
7) pretty abusive to the frames/slides.
8) obscenely accurate


For me, I keep considering it. I don't want to commit to one as I bet the resale value is low. Basically the deal breakers for me (so far) are as a reloader, the Brass issue is a problem and then I have to figure out why I really want it.

Good luck. If you buy one let us know what you think and how it holds up.

[tweek888]

Thanks for the Information!
I think i'd like to see more manufacturers in the firearms/brass i'd like to try .38 Casull without paying 4 Grand (might as well buy a .338 lapua :) )

[rockstar.esq]

I think I saw an article reviewing one of Casulls .38's and if memory serves, it had two barrels and springs which allowed you to convert to 38 super. I wish I could remember which mag I saw it in! Otherwise ditto what the others said.

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. I do not have much experience at all with the .38 Casull, having fired a friend's during one range session.

Ammunition IS expensive and I know of nowhere to buy it commercially other than from Casull.

The gun used was a 6" Long Slide and felt recoil to me was like a 5" .45 using 230-gr. +P ammunition; snappy but not "bad."

IF memory serves the .38 Casull parent cartridge is .45 ACP. I think I recall my buddy regretting that he did not have a .45 slide/barrel assembly ordered with the gun. The workmanship was very good on the pistol as was accuracy and reliability during my limited shooting of a couple of magazines.

Best.