[I ran across an unusual 1911 at a local dealers today. It is chambered for the .38 spl. mid-range wadcutter. It is a Colt upper which the dealer claims was made in 1968 on a custom frame.]
"Custom frame"
Do you mean it is a parts gun with a non-Colt receiver? Better be priced as a shooter and shoot darned well then, unless it has big name gunsmith background. Or a Kit Gun (see below.)
Clark and other gunsmiths converted .38 Supers to .38 Special. Early on, this required bushing and recutting the chamber (.38 Special is smaller than .38 Super); widening the breechface to take the rim, and altering the extractor. The first 1911 integral feed ramps were soldered on by Clark to get better feeding of full wadcutters. The guns were not meant to handle anything else; the magazine well is too short and the actions sprung too soft. Of course the gun was fully accurized for 50 yard target shooting.
It is possible to cut up the lips of a .38 or .45 magazine to where it will feed Specials but they soon got proper magazines made up with the side button like a .22. They also started having new barrels made up instead of altering the Supers. Eventually Colt made kits with proper slides and barrels for the purpose. An unassembled kit gun parts set is worth as much or more than a finished gun.
They are NOT interchangeable .38 Super - .38 Special. Shockey did a few guns which were accurized Supers with the chamber bushed and recut to get the round to headspace on the casemouth like a .45 or a "Nonte" Super barrel. They were set up for light loads only. One was advertised recently and it still had its tag warning to load with 2.7-2.8 gr Bullseye and a 140 grain SWC only. They were as accurate as a Special, and more reliable, but not as convenient because there is no factory match Super ammo and even brass was more expensive.
The later Colt Gold Cup National Match .38 Special is NOT a factory version of the typical gunsmith job. It is a blowback pistol with a slight delay from barrel movement and in Mk III guns, a grooved chamber. The only one I ever saw shot was a pretty little thing and easy to shoot fairly well. I have read that they are not as accurate as a M52 or a Super conversion but we did not really wring this one out. The owner got bored with a five shot wadcutter gun and ruined it by converting it to .45 ACP - the frame is NOT the same and had to be ground down to take a .45 barrel and slide.
I never knew they made them until I saw this one and I checked into it later. Apparently Colt was trying to break into the market S&W had with the Model 52.
