So I've been getting geared up to get a 38 super. Wondering about opinions and experience in what direction to go. I've often heard the $1500 as the sweet spot for a good performing 1911. So whats my best option for getting best out of the box performance?
38 Super Best Buy?
- Thread starter JRWhit
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rockhopper46038
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You might give a good hard look to the EAA/Tanfoglio Witness Match Elite. It isn't a 1911, but it is a very sweet shooting .38 Super that can be easily configured to shoot 9mm, 10mm, .38SC and even 9x23 Win. I am very impressed with mine.
Outlaw Man
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I've also heard good things about that one.
rockhopper46038
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Mine is very crisp. I'd say about 4# out of the box. Adjustable for pre and overtravel. About as good an SA trigger as you're going to get outside of a nice 1911 trigger. My Bruce Gray worked over trigger in my X-5 All Around has a better SA pull, and the triggers on my Wilson 1911s are better, but aside from those it's about the best I've felt.
Forgot about the trigger on my S&W 41. It's not quite that good, either. But it's still awfully good.
Forgot about the trigger on my S&W 41. It's not quite that good, either. But it's still awfully good.
browningguy
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I've been shooting a EAA Elite Match in IDPA for several years and honestly have not had any pistol with a better trigger out of the box. It's better than my S&W 1911 SC by a long shot. My feeling is they are the most accurate pistol you can buy for less than a Baer.
peacemaker45
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Colt made a run of LW Commanders just recently. After being hard enough to find that that config became a sort of grail gun for me, they just randomly started showing up everywhere back about March. I got mine for about $1150 or so, but it's not exactly ready to go out of the box. The trigger is typical stock gun awful, being creepy and gritty at about 6 lbs, and for some silly reason, it came with a tritium vial in the front sight, but a plain black rear. Single sided safety, too, of course.
wally
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Bunk. Get an RIA "Tactical" for ~$450 and spend the savings on ammo and spare mags.
As to .38 Super The EAA Elite Match is an awfully good gun for the money as long as you don't need customer support. I've shot one of the STI "race guns" and its sweet, but I just can't see spending that much for a pistol, YMMV.
bannockburn
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RIA makes a pretty decent M1911 for the money. Also if you don't want to put out a lot of money to start with try looking for a used Star in .38 Super. Good guns that can still be found priced fairly reasonably.
RainDodger
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I carry a Kimber Pro Carry HD II (stainless slide and receiver) in .38 Super. It has been a great 1911 for years.
I had a standard Witness .38 Super and it was a great gun at a really low price. I bought upper conversions in 9mm and .40 S&W and .22 long rifle. They all worked well. I sold the gun to buy a Witness Match .38 Super with the single action only trigger. It was a gorgeous gun with a phenomenal out of the box trigger pull at 3.5 pounds.
Here's the Match:
As much as I liked them, they were very big and heavy and really suited for either target competition or as a duty type carry gun on a heavy belt in a big outside holster.
I could not resist the Colt Custom 100 Years of Service 1911-2011 .38 Super in bright stainless. The combination of the bright stainless and the 100 year commemoration along with the fact that I had a pair of my grandfather's mother-of-pearl handles to put on it, made me plunk down $1250 for one. The 100 Years of Service .38 Super bright stainless guns are very rare as Colt only made one run of them in 2011. They still make the standard gun though. Mine had a great trigger right out of the box and is a ton of fun to shoot.
Here's the Match:
As much as I liked them, they were very big and heavy and really suited for either target competition or as a duty type carry gun on a heavy belt in a big outside holster.
I could not resist the Colt Custom 100 Years of Service 1911-2011 .38 Super in bright stainless. The combination of the bright stainless and the 100 year commemoration along with the fact that I had a pair of my grandfather's mother-of-pearl handles to put on it, made me plunk down $1250 for one. The 100 Years of Service .38 Super bright stainless guns are very rare as Colt only made one run of them in 2011. They still make the standard gun though. Mine had a great trigger right out of the box and is a ton of fun to shoot.
tommy.duncan
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The Sig P220 is also available in 38 super. I have shot my friends and it is nice. I have a Colt 1911a in 38 super. I am hoping to find 38 super ammo again!!
springer99
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RIA makes a GI 1911 in 38Super that is hard to beat for value, IMO. Makes a great platform to modify if that's what you want to do and still drop less than $450.00. I've added a fitted barrel bushing and red-dot to mine and it's my back-up bullseye gun. It's hard to argue with a gun that will shoot 10shot groups under 2.5" at 50yds all day long and cost me around 5 bills.
rockhopper46038
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I would say that indeed would be hard to argue with.
Sergei Mosin
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Depends on what you want to do with it. If I wanted to carry a .38 Super, I'd probably hunt down one of those Colt Lightweight Commanders - although I wonder if going to a shorter barrel in a cartridge renowned for its velocity is quite the thing. If it's a race gun, well, the sky's the limit. Personally, I think if I ever decide to get into the .38 Super, I might get one of those plain-jane Rock Island GI 1911s, maybe tinker with it a little bit (change the sights, that's about it.)
Seems like the .38 Super is a reloader's cartridge - factory ammo isn't usually that easy to find, less so lately, and expensive when you do - so for me at least it's going to have to wait until I've learned to reload and had a respectable amount of practice at it. But one of these days...
Seems like the .38 Super is a reloader's cartridge - factory ammo isn't usually that easy to find, less so lately, and expensive when you do - so for me at least it's going to have to wait until I've learned to reload and had a respectable amount of practice at it. But one of these days...
As far as ammo, it will likely never see a factory round. As far as purpose, target shooting. Won't be considered for carry or defense, just a paper killer.
I was considering the possibility of sending one off. I have a Springfield Armory 1911-A1 in 45, and was considering sending it off to have fitted with 38 super barrel along with some other tuning. I was playing with the idea of sending it to SA for a super tune, but I have not been able to download there custom sheet and get an idea of cost and if it would be worth it, or if I would be buying a whole other pistol without getting one.
I was considering the possibility of sending one off. I have a Springfield Armory 1911-A1 in 45, and was considering sending it off to have fitted with 38 super barrel along with some other tuning. I was playing with the idea of sending it to SA for a super tune, but I have not been able to download there custom sheet and get an idea of cost and if it would be worth it, or if I would be buying a whole other pistol without getting one.
springer99
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If you plan on reloading for the Super, then I'd say go for it. Given the wide range of .356/.357dia. bullets available, you can duplicate just about anything from a 380ACP to some .357Mag. performance. I'm not sure that just fitting a new barrel to your Springfield will work though, I think the case diameter might demand a new upper with a difference extractor too. Other's might have more info. on that point though.
Sergei Mosin
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Is Springfield still making .38 Super parts? I know they used to make .38 Super pistols but it's been a while. In any case, converting a .45 to .38 Super requires replacing pretty much everything but the frame. Might well be cheaper to buy a whole new pistol.
RainDodger
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Well, if people are posting pictures now, I guess I'll post the Kimber that is my main carry piece... in .38 Super of course. The only modifications to mine are the grips (Ahrends rosewood), an Ed Brown stainless/checkered mainspring housing, and I removed all of the Schwartz firing pin safety stuff from the slide (you have to remove the rear sight to do that). Now its innards are like any basic 1911... like millions of others... (now don't start talking about the firing pin safety stuff - this isn't a thread about that, and it was MY choice after all... 
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SharpsDressedMan
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If you could find one, a recent Colt LW Commander in .38 super would be......SUPER!
Rock185
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JR, 2.5 cents worth from an old guy that has owned, shot, chronographed, and reloaded for the Super since the '70s. I have owned Colt Combat Commander, '70 Series Colt Government, Colt Bright Stainless, Colt Special Combat Government, Kimber Target II and a STI Trojan in .38 Super. The Super can be loaded to such a wide range of velocities and engergies, with bullet weights commonly between 90 and 147 grains, I'd definitely recommend a full-sized pistol with 5" barrel and adjustable sights for recreational use. The two Supers I have enjoyed owning the most, and thought were the best value for the money, were the Kimber Target II and the STI Trojan. The earlier, '70 Series and prior, Colts had the barrels that attempted, unsuccessfully, to headspace the cartridge on the semi-rim. Non-existent accuracy, flattened and pierced primers with even the mildest factory ammo. Just terrible! Current Colt Governments have the little fixed factory sights, unless you go with the Custom Shop SCG with Bo-Mar type sights. My SCG was a nice looking gun, but relatively expensive and did not display any more precise fitting of slide/barrel/frame or better accuracy than the average production Government Model. I suspect you might have to look for a while to find an SCG for $1500.00. The kimber Target II was just excellent; reasonable price, Bo-Mar type sights, good trigger,very good fit and finish, accurate, totally reliable with any factory or reloaded ammo I shot in it. My current STI .38 Super has those same qualities, together with an even more precise fit of barrel/slide/frame and excellent out of the box trigger pull. Within my humble experience, a very nice Super can be obtained for quite a bit less than $1500.00...ymmv
BTW, just having a new barrel fitted and some tuning will not work in converting your current gun to .38 Super. It requires quite a bit more than just a barrel change and some tuning...
BTW, just having a new barrel fitted and some tuning will not work in converting your current gun to .38 Super. It requires quite a bit more than just a barrel change and some tuning...
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