As my name implies I am relatively new to pistols. I did a little reading over the weekend came across an interesting ariticle about the .38 Super. It looks like a neat load and I am wondering why is in not that popular. Anyone care to enlighten me?
In a 1911 frame how does the Super 38 recoil compare against a .45?
Noticeably less, but it makes up for it in increased muzzle blast and fireball.
Today 06:03 AM
.41 ACP... Saint Browning was developing it with Colt before the Thompson-LaGarde tests. Makes my trigger finger itch just thinking about it.I believe the 1911 was originally designed to take a cartridge like the .38 super, but the US military said they wanted a .45 caliber, so JMB invented the .45 ACP for the 1911. Not a 1911 expert, just recall reading that somewhere.
-David
It appears that the truth is .38 Super can be found in a few loads where it is more powerful than 9mm, or at least faster. At this point, an advantage that the Super has over the 9mm is missed: While the 9mm can match the .38 Super in some loads, these are maximum effort, maximum pressure loads. Probably out of concerns over older .38 ACP pistols, I do not believe that the Super is loaded to the same levels of performance other than by Corbon and perhaps some smaller makers. Were this done, I do believe that the Super would consistently come out on top in this ballistic comparison. In factory trim, the .38 Super has much potential that's not yet been exploited. The 9mm is probably about as "hot" as it can be unless some new, "super powder" is discovered.