About the .38 Super

[stealthgoat]

BullfrogKenBut, many with 38 Supers have simply bought a box of 9x23's and ran them through it. It can be done, but it might not be especially prudent.
I agree 100%. However in my very limited experience it seems like the Colt enhanced 38S chambers are generous, as are Barsto, and mine work with either using just a spring swap. I also have a Colt enhanced 9x23mm factory barrel that feeds 38S perfectly. Winchester brass is supposed to be much stronger.

FortyFive70 The enhanced version, in Commander length, was exactly what I had. I had put a Videki trigger on it, Wolf Springs, cocobolo grips, and a Bar Sto barrel. I'm kicking myself for ever selling it.
Was that LW or steel combat commander? I wish you sold it to me! I have been looking for a flattop 38S commander for a couple years now, can't seem to find one, I wasn't sure if they were even ever made.

 

[BullfrogKen]

stealthgoat said: Was that LW or steel combat commander? I wish you sold it to me! I have been looking for a flattop 38S commander for a couple years now, can't seem to find one, I wasn't sure if they were even ever made.

I noticed your thread in the for sale forum, looking for one. Have you tried GunsAmerica? There are many listed there, varying degrees of pricing, quality, and versions.

What did you want? A LW alloy frame, or steel?

 

[TonyT]

S&W currently chambers their 1911 in 38 Super, as does Springfield Armory. S&W also chambered an 8 shot 627 and a 6 shot 686 in 38 Super.

 

[FortyFive70]

Was that LW or steel combat commander? I wish you sold it to me! I have been looking for a flattop 38S commander for a couple years now, can't seem to find one, I wasn't sure if they were even ever made.

Steel.

 

[Cowboybootnut]

My .38 Supers, Colt Series 80 on left Auto Ordinance on right.

 

[MatthewVanitas]

Not drifting the thread, just tossing in a closely-related question: what's the cost per round for .38 Super for us non-reloaders?

This question (.38S ammo costs) hasn't had its own thread since 2003. My vague impression is that (in bulk) it's pricier than 9mm but cheaper than .45

EDIT: Ooh, Metalform makes Officer-length .38 Super mags! I could get a CCO-size .38 Super...

-MV

 

[soutex50]

Good Luck, I've been trying to find a 38 super in officer's length for years now......nothing. even requested some manufacturer to make a barrel to no avail. But let me know if you find one.

 

[willbrink]

"S&W Performance center makes a .38 Super 1911. "

I own two SnW 1911's (and I found them to be great guns for the $$$) , but $2300 + for their .38 super? I had a full house custom Ti Caspian 1911 built for less then that.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Cowboybootnut,,,

My .38 Supers, Colt Series 80 on left Auto Ordinance on right.

How is the AO .38 Super...quality and function OK? Does it have a ramped barrel? Is it a Kahr or a pre-Kahr?

Sorry to be so nOsEy!

 

[MatthewVanitas]

Good Luck, I've been trying to find a 38 super in officer's length for years now......nothing. even requested some manufacturer to make a barrel to no avail. But let me know if you find one.

Actually, I was thinking CCO-sized: Commander slide with Officers grip. Concealability of a Officers, but with sight-radius of a Commander. Since more barrel is easier to hide than more grip, this seems a good balance.

Caspian makes .38 Commander slides and Officer frames, Metalform makes .38 Super Officer magazines, and Barsto makes .38 Super Commander barrels. All premium parts, now get a guy to assemble them for you and you're golden. Those parts total about $600, then add in the cost of all the springs-n-pins, and a gunsmith to put them together.

Pricier than if you could buy a stock .38 Super CCO, but at least you're getting deluxe, and not really any more expensive than a custom .45 would be.

-MV

 

[Cowboybootnut]

Cocked & Locked,

It is an older one that I bought in the mid-1980s. It had a ramped barrel, that I had smoothed out. It always functioned pretty good, but I had a lighter combat trigger and extended safety put on later.

Quality wise---it ain't a Colt of that time, but then, it was about 1/2 the cost too. I think you could say that for a lot of the 1911 clones of those days, it wasn't a Colt, but if you had a couple hundred $$ work done on it, it came close.