.38 Super

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trapper1

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Don't see much in the way of posts on this. Many of you own/shoot these often? I limit the shooting of mine, due to the cost of rounds. They typically go for around 40 bucks for a box of 50, although a LGS not far from me still has them for 26 bucks a box.
 
trapper,

You are gonna have to start rolling-your-own, both to afford to become competent with your gun and to explore the round's potential!

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Mike
 
im with you mine sits most of the time i would like to get another one and if i did i would proabably get in to reloading.
 
A college colleague of mine turned out to be Mr. 38 Super while I ended up being Mr. 10mm. Odd that we both spent so much time together shooting and ended up with our own odd caliber of choice. His Colt 38 Supers are superb shooters. I always felt they were a real handful, even compared to some of my 10mm handloads. 5,000 rounds of 38 Super brass are sitting under my reloading bench just waiting for me to crank up the Dillon 550B and get after it... Snow is melting, spring is here... Yep, time to stuff some 38 Super lead!
 
Don't shoot mine that often...

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...but I will try to change that.
 
Factory ammo can be mondo expensive, but it is one classy cartridge. Particularly in a 1911. :)
 
I bought this one a couple of years ago. Springer 1911A1. It's my "El Jefe de Jefe". Shoots like a dream. It now sports black buffalo horn stocks. It originally had a set of white pearlized stocks on it.

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I like the Super. Factory ammo is pricey and has been down-loaded in recent years so it no longer offers the performance of the original loading. This caliber requires loading your own. My favorite load is a 115 JHP at 1425 FPS.


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I only shoot 38 Super in my revolvers a S&W686 and 627 factory chambered for 38 Super. The eloads I shoot are mild - 124 gr. bullets at 900-100fps and 147 gr bullets at 800-900 fps.
 
Love the Super and it's often carried at my place. Handloading is the way to go, 9mm, 38 Super and 357mag components basically cost the same and getting into the 1400s can be accomplished easily with a number of powders.

I like to load 125gr Gold Dots for the Para 1911, one loading matches the 357 SIG factory ammunition with a 1371fps MV. I also have a 1445fps load, doubtful the it's more effective than the slower load, but it gives me distance.

A great benefit of the Super is that it can be loaded with 357mag bullets, the Colt 1911 is loaded with 125gr XTPs (1491fps) that match factory 357 mag velocities, but chamber pressures are kept below 33,500psi. The fast velocity/lower pressure loading is accomplished by using a neutral powder such as N105. VihtaVuori #4 hard copy has a lot of load data for the Super, as does Sierra #5; both manuals are highly recommended if you wish to safely load the Super to its potential.

Living in a very rural area, I've have had the opportunity to witness the Super's hammer of Thor performance on charging four legged vermin, when there's only enough time for one shot, I want the Super in my hands. :)
 
I limit the shooting of mine, due to the cost of rounds.

Handloading is the only way to get back to the oringal levels and it saves a lot of money.

I have never fired a factory .38 super round through any of my guns.

The round is way down, probably to protect the dumb .38 ACP shooters.
 
The .38sup is a fine round. Mine is a customized 1911 series 70. I reload for it but am just real on brass. Got to get more.
 
Colt Combat Commander. It is in need of some maintenance and refinishing, but I just became its owner so I will get to it sometime soon hopefully.
 

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I only shoot 38 Super in my revolvers a S&W686 and 627 factory chambered for 38 Super. The eloads I shoot are mild - 124 gr. bullets at 900-100fps and 147 gr bullets at 800-900 fps.


There are .38 Super 686s? Unbelievable, I love Smith and Wesson sometimes.

Does the Super typically come in .355, .356, or .357 bore size?
 
I always thought 38 Super was just a power factor min/max round for race guns.

When it was introduced it was intended to be a power upgrade from .38ACP to better penetrate things like car doors (they used to be thicker than the foil used now).

It had a resurgence in IPSC asa9mm major caliber.

Now that the 'major' level has been decreased, a 9x19 can make the limit.

I have 'switch top' 1911s in .45ACP and .38 Super.

It takes about 30 seconds to swap an entire upper, grab the correct magazines and i am GTG.

Folks turn heads at the sudden change from the .45ACP to the sharper sound and sonic crack of the .38 Super.
 
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I had it built up as a 9x23, but I mostly shoot 38 Supers or 9mm in it. Really, you've got to load it yourself. Costs far less that way and you get rounds at the velocity it was intended to operate in.


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NG VI,
THe S&W 686 in 38 Super was a limted run from the Performance Center for a distgributor and was limited to ca. 200 pieces. The 627 in 38 Super was also a PC limited run which was repeated within the last two years.
I have never measured the bore on either revolver. I use the 147 gr. Berry's plated bullet designed for 9mm - I believe it's 0.356" diameter.
 
Interesting, I always thought 38 Super was just a power factor min/max round for race guns.
Around these parts, it's particularly popular as a side-step for Mexican citizens regarding their national firearms laws relative to "military" calibers. Allaroundhunter's gat is a great example of a Mexican BBQ gun.
When we used to do the Tucson fairgrounds show, it was fun to meet the families of Mexican cowboys (at least in dress) and see some of their beautifully customized and detailed .38 Supers.
 
I've never tried one but would like to. Somebody at my range shoots one--I found a handful of .38SUP brass in the last bucket I sorted.

How much are these cases worth?
 
Nice guns and very accurate is my take. I have one on order with les Baer in a Heavyweight Monolith.

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Here is the first 50 shots I took with my last 38 super. A Les Baer PII 1.5" gun. 50 shots, offhand @ 15 yrds.

This is the last 50 shots (300 rounds later), same setup and number of rounds.

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See why I like 38 Super?
 
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