Any experience with a Dan Wesson in .38 Super?
- Thread starter Atrox88
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CoalCrackerAl
Member
I have a RIA 1911 IN 38 38 super. It's a nice round to shoot. Think of it as 9mm magnum. 
Coyote3855
Member
I have two Colt Commanders in .38 Super and .38 Super barrel for Ruger LW Commander size. I like the cartridge and the 1911 platform very much. The guy who sold me the above three guns has a DW in .38 Super and loves it. $1000 is a smoking deal where I come from.
tommy.duncan
Member
I have a Colt 1911 in 38 super. The round is amazing!!
Super accurate and incredibly accurate.
I would be all over a Wesson 38 super at that price!!
Super accurate and incredibly accurate.
I would be all over a Wesson 38 super at that price!!
Howland937
Member
Or any other DW 1911 for that matter.
It is a steal, but if you're not a reloader 38 Super isn't that exciting. Factory ammo is similar to 9mm +P performance at over double the price. If you reload, there's no comparison. Plenty of data, brass is obtainable, bullets and primers are same as 9mm and most of the best 9mm powders work well in 38 Super too. Buy it. If you don't like it, you can sell it to me for $200 profit. (Not an official offer to buy as that's against the rules)
I was thinking the same. I spent a bit of time today seeing what was available. I do not reload anymore but my Buddy will do it for me. All I will have to do is supply the materials.
TomJ
Contributing Member
I have the Guardian in 9mm, and it's a gem. I would buy the 38 super at that price in a heartbeat.
earlthegoat2
Member
If 38 Super was truly super in factory loadings then 38 Super might have a leg to stand on. As it is, it really is just novelty and nostalgia anymore.
Wouldn’t stop me from buying one though.
Wouldn’t stop me from buying one though.
I do not have any experience with Dan Wesson 1911's but have several Colt 38 Supers. In some respects, a 1911 is a 1911.
The 38 Super is a great round, as said, it is kind of like a 9mm Magnum. You need to be a reloader to get maximum performance from the cartridge.
Some additional information...
Up until the 1990's or so, most 38 Supers head spaced on the cartridge rim which was not good for accuracy. In the late 1980's, many competition shooters found the accuracy of the 38 Super improved greatly if the barrel was chambered to head space on the case mouth. I believe, most of the major 1911 manufacturers have embraced the "head space on the case mouth" standard so a Dan Wesson should be OK unless it was made a long time ago.
I could tell the accuracy difference between a Colt barrel that head spaced on the rim vs a Colt barrel that head spaced on the case mouth. These were pre-1980 barrel vs a post 1980 barrel.
This is just something to keep in mind.
The 38 Super is a great round, as said, it is kind of like a 9mm Magnum. You need to be a reloader to get maximum performance from the cartridge.
Some additional information...
Up until the 1990's or so, most 38 Supers head spaced on the cartridge rim which was not good for accuracy. In the late 1980's, many competition shooters found the accuracy of the 38 Super improved greatly if the barrel was chambered to head space on the case mouth. I believe, most of the major 1911 manufacturers have embraced the "head space on the case mouth" standard so a Dan Wesson should be OK unless it was made a long time ago.
I could tell the accuracy difference between a Colt barrel that head spaced on the rim vs a Colt barrel that head spaced on the case mouth. These were pre-1980 barrel vs a post 1980 barrel.
This is just something to keep in mind.
Jim Watson
Member
I am pretty sure Dan Wesson was not making automatics in the semi-rim era.
Rock185
Member
My Dan Wessons have been the full sized 9MM PM-9 versions, but a DW .38 Super would likely be a very nice pistol.
As to the .38 Super cartridge, I like it and have loaded it for years. Yes, some major manufacturer .38 Super ammo may not really be too super. Some smaller boutique type ammunition companies produce ammo with ballistics closer to what the Super is safely capable of. Within my humble experience, using 5" pistols with well supported barrels, 124/125 grain bullets at 1450 FPS and 140-147 grain bullets at 1250 FPS ballistics are easily achieved by hand loading...YMMV
As to the .38 Super cartridge, I like it and have loaded it for years. Yes, some major manufacturer .38 Super ammo may not really be too super. Some smaller boutique type ammunition companies produce ammo with ballistics closer to what the Super is safely capable of. Within my humble experience, using 5" pistols with well supported barrels, 124/125 grain bullets at 1450 FPS and 140-147 grain bullets at 1250 FPS ballistics are easily achieved by hand loading...YMMV
Howland937
Member
I tell people that 38 Super is what 9mm wants to be when it grows up. Buffalo Bore makes some potent factory ammo that gets pretty close to maximizing the potential of the cartridge. It's pricey though.
It's also not difficult to install a 9mm barrel and lighter recoil spring (maybe adjust extractor tension, maybe not) and have the option of switching back and forth for cheap. You'd need to read up a little first. Short of a .22, it's hard to find a softer shooter than 9mm in a full size 1911.
That has been my experience as well. The DW will undoubtedly fall into the "fully supported" variety. Bear in mind, the published load data that achieves that performance is also considered safe in unsupported chambers as there aren't 2 sets of data.
tommy.duncan
Member
The higher pressure from the 38 super would keep me from doing this!!
Being semi rimmed it will work, but I won't do it. Sorry
Jim Watson
Member
.38 Super pressure isn't going to hurt a .357 revolver, but the Super has a thinner rim and larger body diameter, so it depends on tolerance overlap to get it into the revolver and go off. I wouldn't do it unless the zombies were real bad this year.
S&W made a few .38 Super revolvers, I was interested but did not buy, then IDPA changed the rules and I was glad.
S&W made a few .38 Super revolvers, I was interested but did not buy, then IDPA changed the rules and I was glad.
RainDodger
Member
I've been loading and shooting .38 Super for many years. It's one of my favorite handgun calibers. Easy to load and the 1911 platform does very well with it. As mentioned above, the commercial .38 Super rounds tend to be very mild in my opinion, and barely (if at all) perform any better than 9mm cartridges. If you're a hand loader on the other hand, you can take advantage of the cartridge's possibilities. From mild loads to really hot rounds, the .38 Super is a lot of fun. I've loaded all kinds of bullets, from 147 grains down to 90 grain Sierra bullets that are smokin' along at ~1500 FPS with little recoil but some noticeable muzzle flash. Lots of fun.
SAAMI lists 36,500 psi for 38 Super and 35,000 for the 357 Magnum so I don't think it's dangerous. When we're working at those levels a couple of thousand psi difference can result from powder position.
Not that I shoot 38 Super in a 357 regularly. I heard about it a few years ago and tried it. It worked, haven't done it since.
fxvr5
Member
- Joined
- May 26, 2017
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Here's some inexpensive factory 38 Super ammo that is close to what the round is capable of;
https://www.killoughshootingsports.com/38-super-comp-major/1045-eley-action-38-super-comp-major.html
reviewed here;
https://www.ssusa.org/content/review-eley-38-super-comp-ammunition/
https://www.killoughshootingsports.com/38-super-comp-major/1045-eley-action-38-super-comp-major.html
reviewed here;
https://www.ssusa.org/content/review-eley-38-super-comp-ammunition/
Rock185
Member
For any that might be interested, I've chronographed the 124 grain Eley Super Comp and GECO .38 Super factory loads in a .38 Super pistol with 5" barrel. The Eley averaged 1392 FPS, the GECO ~1350 FPS. Both loads were 100% reliable in my guns, and there were no indications of excess pressure with either load..
In contrast to the above, the factory Armscor 125 grain 38 Super produced a lackluster 1130 FPS.
In contrast to the above, the factory Armscor 125 grain 38 Super produced a lackluster 1130 FPS.
tommy.duncan
Member
Sorry, I don't load anything over SAMMI spcs.
So you never shoot 9mm NATO or European ammo loaded to CIP specs?
tommy.duncan
Member
Let me try again, I don't load anything above SAMMI specs.
You can shoot anything you want in anything you want, but, I don't shoot anything over SAMMI specs.
9mm NATO is a different pressure listing, and I don't load to 9mm NATO specs.
