SharpsDressedMan said:
The necessity for a ramped barrel is overrated and misunderstood. The 9x23 Colt was originally designed as a non-ramped barrel by Colt, and works safely at higher pressure than the .38 Super. The difference is a properly designed (aka "tight") chamber and brass (strengthened in the right places). It has been rumored that a stock type Bar-Sto barrel for the .38 Super can even be used with 9x23 ammo as is. If I had some 9x23 brass, I'd give it a test, as my gun has a Bar-Sto.
It's not over-rated. Guys who ran IPSC race guns to make Major ramped the barrels because if they didn't, they ran the risk of blowing a case. They also loaded them with Small Rifle primers, which I do anytime I run a hot 38 Super or 9x23 load through mine.
You might get away with a Major 38 Super load in an unsupported barrel on the first loading of the brass. But the chances of a blown case increase substantially when you run them through a second loading. The conditions are much the same as a reloaded .40 S&W in a Glock, and the case fails for the same reasons.
The 9x23 is an entirely different beast. It doesn't need a supported barrel because the brass is much,
much stronger. The outside dimensions are different than the 38 Super. The 38 Super is a straight walled case. The 9x23 is slightly tapered, larger at the web, just like a 9mm case is ever-so-slightly tapered. The extra brass thickness at the base gives it support.
The inside dimensions are also different. There is less internal case capacity in a 9x23 than the 38 Super because the brass is so much thicker. If I used the same powder charge that I use to load my 38 Super in a 9x23 case, I blow the primer completely out. A Small Rifle Primer. Pierced and in pieces.
So the 9x23 case can support itself.
The 38 Super case cannot, when we loaded it to Major Power Factor.
Additionally, it's not wise to assume you can mix & match 38 Supers in 9x23 barrels, and 9x23s in 38 Super barrels.
The 38 Super chamber is cut for a straight-walled case. Fire that 50 PSI-generating 9x23 Winchester in it, and it will expand to fill it. Maybe even enough to rupture. Not you might be OK in a tight-cut chamber. But because the rear case dimension of the 9x23 is larger than the 38 Super case by about .007, the 9x23 cartridge might not fully seat in a 38 Super chamber. Especially once it's dirty. But it might be seated just enough to let the hammer drop. Disaster.
Firing 38 Supers in a 9x23 chamber have similar problems, working in reverse. They'll go bang just fine. They just won't go bang just fine very long. Firing hot 38 Supers in an unsupported 9x23 barrel - you'll get one safe loading out of those. Maybe. Throw them away afterwards. You will get a kaboom if you reload them, just like an unsupported 40 S&W case. It's only a matter of throwing the dice before that weakend portion of the brass lines up with that unsupported portion of the chamber again.
And because the back end of the 9x23 chamber is about .007 larger than the case dimensions, you're simply exacerbating that condition of weaker brass in a larger-than-necessary rear chamber dimension.
If the 9x23 were around for IPSC in the 70's, the 38 Super would have met the same fate as other obsolete cartridges. When it was finally introduced, shortly thereafter the IPSC Major Power Factor was reduced from 175 to 165, and the 9x23 really didn't have a chance to take hold.