Becoming a 38 Super junkie.

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So help a guy out and please describe what it is about the .38 Super that you like?

Before the 357 Magnum was introduced in the mid 1930's, the 38 Super was "king of the hill".

My first experience with the 38 Super was at a Second Chance Bowling Pin shoot in the early-1980's. A couple of the competitors were experimenting with a 38 Super because it had two more rounds in the magazine than a 45 ACP. I got curious. I bought my first 38 Super in the mid-1980's.

I like M1911's and the 38 Super is easier to shoot well than the 45 ACP. When reloaded, it has lots of capability.

See my post #18 above for additional information on my 38 Super adventures.
 
Walkalong You didn't really drill holes in a Colt did you?

Apologizes for another thread side track. Here is another M1911 with holes drilled in the frame. I assembled this project around 2000, it has a Caspian slide with an Olympic frame. This is chambered for 45 ACP but it would be fun to have chambered in 38 Super.
M1911_1.JPG
 
I can empathize. I've been wanting a 1911 in 9x23 Winchester for ages (a similar cartridge to the .38 Super, but rimless and usually factory-loaded a tad hotter).

Currently my attention is being drawn to all things 10mm though. I'll come back to that eventually, without a doubt.
 
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I'll play as well. I like my 38 supers. I have 5 currently- DW Guardiam.JPG Witness Elite.JPG Tanf Gold Team.JPG LBaer.JPG
DW Guardian, Tanfoglio Gold Team, Les Baer 1911, and a Witness Elite. I have a RIA Government as well in 38 Super but that front site busted off and is waiting for some TLC.
 

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I can't believe how many people are drilling holes in their 1911's.
I can understand doing it to a tangfooleo but a 1911, yuck! :barf:
 
I can't believe how many people are drilling holes in their 1911's.
I can understand doing it to a tangfooleo but a 1911, yuck! :barf:

1911s and 2011s are the preferred platform for many competitive shooters, so there are more 1911s drilled for sight mounts than any other gun.

Guns are tools. If you gotta drill holes, then you gotta drill holes.
 
I like 38 super for 3 reasons. It’s a great in between 9mm and 45, the mags tend to hold a round more than stock 45 rounds off the bat (to be fair; that can be solved with a extend mag) and finally...it’s not .45 ACP. I got nothing against the round. But I like to be different, plus it being cartels, 1930s gangsters, and professional shooters caliber of choice helps.
 
I like 38 super for 3 reasons. It’s a great in between 9mm and 45, the mags tend to hold a round more than stock 45 rounds off the bat (to be fair; that can be solved with a extend mag) and finally...it’s not .45 ACP. I got nothing against the round. But I like to be different, plus it being cartels, 1930s gangsters, and professional shooters caliber of choice helps.
If El Guapo carried a semiautomatic in The Three Amigos, it would’ve been a 38 Super.
 
I can't believe how many people are drilling holes in their 1911's.
I can understand doing it to a tangfooleo but a 1911, yuck! :barf:
My optical sighted M1911 started out as a bare frame and slide. I like M1911's, enjoy working on them, and an optical sighted version is an interesting addition to my collection.

Besides, I cannot stand a "Tanfooleo". I've owned one too many. It kept bending the pin on the slide stop making it difficult to disassemble.
 
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I have a series 70 Colt Government model in .38 Super. It's one of my favorite. I would like to add a commander length .38 super at some point. I have a Dan Wesson Razorback in .10mm. It is a very, nice, well made, put together firearm. From what I have seen of the Dan Wesson 1911's, they are verging on custom custom firearms. I have thought about a Dan Wesson .38 Super in commander length. I don't care for aluminum frame and certainly not plastic. .38 super is a great round. It's a caliber that should be more popular. I believe it would have been more popular if it was for the firearms and bullets that were available for it when it came. The autos were not the most reliable and full metal jacket ammo, gave the .38 supper little advantage over other carriages and firearms of the time. The .38 supper should be a perfect defence, target and a good woods caring round that offers more than a .38 special and less than a .357 maginum. The .38 Super just keeps creeping along. Not dead but just barely breathing and that is a shame.
 
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Why not just buy one with the slide milled to accept a red dot? I think Sick Sauer makes them. o_O
 
Nice find and the holes almost look like they belong there on a Tangfooleo.
Just occurred to me that this setup couldn't be done on a Block. Maybe a Glockateer will chime in on how he glued one to the frame. :neener:
 
I knew there was a Glockateer lurking behind the scenes of this thread.:scrutiny:
How do they accomplish this, are those plastic frames and do they rivet them in place?
Can't imagine tapped tuperware would hold up.
 
I knew there was a Glockateer lurking behind the scenes of this thread.:scrutiny:
How do they accomplish this, are those plastic frames and do they rivet them in place?
Can't imagine tapped tuperware would hold up.

There should be information at some of those links that you can find to learn yourself.
 
The 9x23 isn't available then there's ammo and brass which is hard enough to find in 38 Super.
Plus the 38Super is measured in inches not minimeters. 100% American :thumbup:
 
I knew there was a Glockateer lurking behind the scenes of this thread.:scrutiny:
How do they accomplish this, are those plastic frames and do they rivet them in place?
Can't imagine tapped tuperware would hold up.

When people want frame-mounted optics on a Glock they attach it to the frame rails. Sometimes they add an additional connect at the trigger pin (I think), usually to support a thumb rest. Like this:

810cb4c878b08bf0dbcb12887475ff2c.jpg

Of course, this is rather far afield, since there are no 38 super Glocks. People using Glocks in open use 9mm Major.
 
Gary W. Strange

Some of the problems with the .38 Super not being popular for many years stemmed from the fact that .38 Super ammo could be chambered in Colt's older .38 ACP guns. This was way too much pressure for the older guns and their locking system so the .38 Super was downloaded by the ammo manufacturers for years.

Then there was the problem with Colt being the only game in town for the .38 Super and making their barrels head space on the case's rim and not on the case mouth. Since rim size could vary from the ammo manufacturers your .38 Super might be fairly accurate or it might not hit the side of a barn! Eventually Colt got the message and switched their barrels to head spacing on the case mouth.

Probably the biggest lift for the popularity of the .38 Super came from its use in IPSC and USPSA shooting sports beginning in the early '80s. Holding a couple more rounds than a comparable 1911 in .45, the .38 Super "race guns" could make full use of specially designed compensators which made for faster follow-up shots while still making the Major Power Factor.
 
I've been a 38 Super fan since purchasing my first, a Colt Combat Commander, in '70 or so. I've since had multiple Colt Supers, Kimbers and an STI. The Super is a fine cartridge IMHO. I do have to be careful not to mix it up with the lightly loaded 38 ACP used in an old Colt I have;)

That being said, I have no justification for owning 38 Supers, other than I enjoy shooting and reloading for the cartridge. I have a PM9, and If I'd known that DW was coming out with a PM38, I definitely would not have bought my last 38S Colt SCG.....
A 9 and 3 Supers (1).JPG
 
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