.38 Super vs. .45ACP: If you've Owned Both, Which Do You Prefer?

[brickeyee]

How do you keep the brass safe to reload with the hot loads. Nobody has answered that.

ramped barrels.

The .45 ACP does not need as much 'help' as .38 Super though.

230 grains of hollow point should be more than adequate when properly applied.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

I've posted it before, but it's not hard to have both, and an extra conversion for 10mm. Add a 9mm barrel to your .38 Super upper, and you have a four caliber conversion.

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[tipoc]

How do you keep the brass safe to reload with the hot loads. Nobody has answered that.

A couple of fellas have, me included.

If you intend to regularly load close to or above Max pressures then a fully ramped barrel is worth it.

If you normally keep the loads below max pressures then a standard barrel is fine.

There is nothing weak about 38 Super brass.

tipoc

 

[BigG]

Nope. You can't fire it through a stock Colt Super 38 so I won't cut the frame to put a ramped bbl in. :banghead:

 

[tipoc]

Nope. You can't fire it through a stock Colt Super 38 so I won't cut the frame to put a ramped bbl in.

I'm not sure what you are talking about here. You "can't fire" what exactly?

Earlier, you said;

I buy Colt automatics and won't have the frame cut for a ramped bbl so that keeps me with the standard Super 38 and 45 ACP.

Yeah and what's wrong with that? With a standard barrel, like the ones I have, you can shoot the commercial loads from Cor-Bon, Double Tap, etc. So long as these rounds don't exceed max pressures or show signs of over pressure in your gun.

You can load any round that does not exceed max pressure. You can shoot the loads the gun was meant to shoot.

tipoc

 

[pendennis]

The LWC has had new grips and Dawson Precision rear sight. I like the spalted Maples for the Government Model, and they're very comfortable.

 

[VAPOPO]

Have had both and kept the .45
Positives for the .38 super
1. flat trajectory 100 yds at man sized targets is no problem
2. easy to reload
3. components are available but take more effort to find than .45
4. rate of fire with a 1911 is wonderfull recoils no more than a 9mm beretta with a standard load.

Negatives
1. loaded ammo can be hard to find, No WWB available at wally world and when you do it is more expensive than .45ACP.
2. Limited loading component availability. Brass and bullets can be difficult to locate and usually must be ordered offline.

 

[mavracer]

I think this thread could use pics of all of these 38 supers please

OK

 

[bannockburn]

I love both my .45 and my .38 Super M1911s. In a .45 I prefer the Government and the Combat Commander models. For the .38 Super I like a lighter weight Commander.

 

[ghitch75]

Colt Government 80 Series Super 38....



1968 Colt LWC Super 38

 

[Cherokee]

Have 1911's in both. Love them both. Shoot 45 ACP mostly but would feel fine carrying either one. Brass life depends on the loads but 8 loads of less than max is not a problem. Can work up some really great loads for 38 Super.

 

[RainDodger]

I own both and I carry either one, but generally it is this Kimber Pro Carry HD in .38 Super. The HD has the stainless receiver, so it's not really a lightweight.

My alternate carry is now a Sig Fastback Carry, which is a bobbed 4", in .45. Also very nice.

Either will work.... but I'll always like the .38 Super. It's just a little "different"....

Add pic:

 

[firesky101]

this is my less conventional .38 super, but I much prefer it with its 9x23 barrel.

 

[peacemaker45]

I tried to post this the other day, but it doesn't seem to have gone through.

The one in the middle is the Colt LW Commander in .38 Super. Flanking it, to the left is my much modified Taurus in .45 ACP, and to the right is my Argentinean Sistema Colt, in 11.27 MM.



Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Walkalong]

My son and I shot this .38 Super last weekend. It was a retired race gun I picked up very reasonable. Shoots great.

 

[2@low8]

I bought a Colt Combat Commander in 9x19 to practice with cheap factory or reloaded ammo and then I was going to purchase a .38 Super barrel for carry.

I changed my mind about the Super barrel and upped the ante by buying a Colt 9x23 barrel (they only come in a 5” length) and had my gunsmith cut it down to 4 ¼ “ to fit the Commander. I get a solid 1400 fps with a 125 gr. bullet -- true .357 Mag performance in a very controllable package with 9 + 1 capacity and no worries about blowing up a case that is rated for 50,000 psi when loading to max 9x23 velocities . (Must be reloaded with small rifle primers.) The rimless case also feeds better than the Super as well.

I have 6 1911 pistols in various configurations and except for the Detonics (issues with safety) that I carry without hesitation. However, I’m beginning to enjoy shooting the 9x23 more and since .357 performance is nothing to be sneered at I find myself carrying it more and more.

 

[rfwobbly]

What hasn't been mentioned is the pregnant guppy appearance of the extractor groove - web area of the case where the case upon firing expands to fit the feed ramp.

That's a function of the unsupported chamber provided by the manufacturer, and is certainly not common to all 38S guns or aftermarket barrels.

 

[tipoc]

What hasn't been mentioned is the pregnant guppy appearance of the extractor groove - web area of the case where the case upon firing expands to fit the feed ramp.

I also was trying to figure this comment out. I've never seen any "pregnant guppy" look to the extractor grove of the cases after firing. Either with commercial ammo or handloads from the Super. That look, and damage to the case, is not typical of the 38 Super.

This would be a symptom of a seriously overpressure load though and I have seen it in some handloads done as an experiment by a friend with the 40S&W.

For 70 years the Super did just fine shooting from standard barrels even with hot loads. Provided those loads are within standard pressure range for the Super. Only in the last 15 or so years have ramped barrels with fully supported chambers become popular in some quarters, particularly with competitive shooters. They can help extend case life though. That's the case with any caliber brass though.

tipoc