Nobody told me about the 38 Super.
- Thread starter Brutus
- Start date
Super 38
Have always known about the Super 38 and always wanted one...
Wanted to buy one many years ago when Colt put out Gold Cups in the Super and 9X19mm...
Other priorities like kids and other more necessary/wanted guns kept me from buying one...
This time when Colt put out Gold Cups in the Super and 9X19mm I HAD TO buy a Super...
Have not shot it much yet but it has become a favorite of mine along with my 10mm Gold Cup...
Looking for another...
TW
Have always known about the Super 38 and always wanted one...
Wanted to buy one many years ago when Colt put out Gold Cups in the Super and 9X19mm...
Other priorities like kids and other more necessary/wanted guns kept me from buying one...
This time when Colt put out Gold Cups in the Super and 9X19mm I HAD TO buy a Super...
Have not shot it much yet but it has become a favorite of mine along with my 10mm Gold Cup...
Looking for another...
TW
Gotta watch out they can be habit forming. Started out with a Dan Wesson
PM-38 which got me hooked. Liked the cartridge so much I decided it was perfect for CCW so I just had to get a pistol for that purpose.
Decided to go with the DW Guardian because it's a commander size with a alloy frame and has the bob-tail configuration.
Still keep a .45 1911 for home defense as it won't blind me in the middle of the night or blow out my eardrums.
.38 Super
I have two .38 Supers. The first one is what is left of a seventies Colt Combat Commander that was out of spec and the slide (and barrel) had to be replaced. It is what I call my "FrankenColt" due to the assortment of parts it has become... but still a favorite.
The second is this one, a recent acquisition, a RIA which happens to have a fully-supported and ramped barrel.
After examining (and shooting) it I have found it to be way tighter (very little vertical or axial play between the slide and the frame), than either my FrankenColt or my XSE .45 ACP Colt Combat Commander. Certainly not deserving the contempt it seems to garner from high-priced 1911 fans.
I have two .38 Supers. The first one is what is left of a seventies Colt Combat Commander that was out of spec and the slide (and barrel) had to be replaced. It is what I call my "FrankenColt" due to the assortment of parts it has become... but still a favorite.
The second is this one, a recent acquisition, a RIA which happens to have a fully-supported and ramped barrel.
After examining (and shooting) it I have found it to be way tighter (very little vertical or axial play between the slide and the frame), than either my FrankenColt or my XSE .45 ACP Colt Combat Commander. Certainly not deserving the contempt it seems to garner from high-priced 1911 fans.
Brutus, I agree on the AA-9 for use in the 10mm.
The DW PM-38 was introduced just after I bought my last Colt Special Combat Govt. If I'd known DW was coming out with a PM-38, I would NOT have bought the rather expensive Colt. The DWs are fitted better throughout, and have a ramped barrel with better case head support to boot.
The DW PM-38 was introduced just after I bought my last Colt Special Combat Govt. If I'd known DW was coming out with a PM-38, I would NOT have bought the rather expensive Colt. The DWs are fitted better throughout, and have a ramped barrel with better case head support to boot.
I had never heard about the 38 Super until I bought a used set of reloading dies. They were advertised as 380 Auto, but looking on then it said 38 ACP. I was going to send them back, but after reading about the 38 Super I just bought a gun to go with them instead. I got a RIA 380 and I enjoy shooting it.
@dahermit
Lower priced guns tend to gain contempt from fans of higher priced guns simply because it's troubling to them that someone might have a gun of the same model as they do of similar quality that cost them substantially less.
People just don't want to accept that sometimes you can get a less expensive product of similar quality that was made in another country where the cost of labor is simply lower than it is in the United States, so they act like any inexpensive import is made in Khyber Pass, and get all passive-aggressive if anyone dares to suggest that a RIA 1911 might possibly be similar in quality to their Colt 1991.
Furthermore, some 1911 Fans are just plain snobs who act like anything that isn't made by Colt isnt a "real 1911" and by extension that anything that isn't made by Dan Wesson, Wilson Combat, Les Baer, Nighthawk, or any other manufacturer of semi-custom 1911 isn't worth buying at all.
Lower priced guns tend to gain contempt from fans of higher priced guns simply because it's troubling to them that someone might have a gun of the same model as they do of similar quality that cost them substantially less.
People just don't want to accept that sometimes you can get a less expensive product of similar quality that was made in another country where the cost of labor is simply lower than it is in the United States, so they act like any inexpensive import is made in Khyber Pass, and get all passive-aggressive if anyone dares to suggest that a RIA 1911 might possibly be similar in quality to their Colt 1991.
Furthermore, some 1911 Fans are just plain snobs who act like anything that isn't made by Colt isnt a "real 1911" and by extension that anything that isn't made by Dan Wesson, Wilson Combat, Les Baer, Nighthawk, or any other manufacturer of semi-custom 1911 isn't worth buying at all.
And some of us are real snobs who think that the only "real" 1911s were made by Colt, for the US government, between 1911 (year of adoption) and about 1922-23 when they 1911A1 replaced them on the production line.
And we feel that the guns Colt made for the commercial market are not 1911s or 1911A1s, either, they are Colt Government Models, which is how they are marked.
Call them whatever you want to call them, guns are what the maker designates them as. Shorthand versions of name work in casual conversation where the subject under discussion is well understood by all parties involved, but when things turn to technical aspects, using the incorrect, or incomplete terms creates confusion, because some things with very similar names (and identical "shorthand nicknames) can be quite different in their technical aspects.
My son has a S&W 1911PD. Its a great gun. You might call it a 1911, S&W does, sort of, its a 1911PD. I call it a S&W 1911, to be sure to differentiate it from the actual 1911 military pistol.
Now if you really want to get confusing to many people look at Ruger's Vaquero and New Vaquero. Nearly identical names, quite different guns.
You may say "what's in a name?,,," and often in general conversation it doesn't really matter, but when you go to order parts, or discuss technical aspects, the correct name really does matter.
Say 1911 pattern or 1911 style guns and I get an idea what you're talking about, Just say 1911 and to me, you're talking about a specific historical firearm not the type in general.
Specifically referring to the guns made before WWII, the .45ACP guns made by Colt for the military were marked "1911", and then "1911A1" when the a1s were introduced.
The .45acps that Colt made for sale on the civilian market were marked "Colt Government Model". They were not marked 1911 or 1911A1.
The .38 Supers that Colt made were marked "COLT Super ,38 Automatic".
They were not marked "govt model" or "1911A1". They were Colt Super.38 Automatics. And the original rounds were all marked .38ACP. The gun was called the Super 38, originally. The name .38 Super transferred to the cartridge a bit later, to more clearly differentiate the high pressure "super" load from the original .38ACP load.
Commanders, and other models produced post WWII all have their specific model names marked on them. Commanders are not Govt Models, they are Commanders...
I've known several guys over the years that everybody called "Bud". That was their name to everyone, except the DMV (or IRS or other govt agencies) who had "Everett" or George" or "Winston" on the driver's license...
Brutus, I've owned several 9mm 1911 type pistols. I admit I just like the 9mm cartridge, have 9mm revolvers and a carbine too. I fitted a 9mm barrel to one of my current 38 Supers. Other than the 9mm barrel and magazine, no other changes were necessary to achieve reliable function. Even the warmest 9mm ammo is soft to shoot in the 1911 9mms. Due to my arthritic hands, I've been shooting more 38 Super and 9mm in 1911 type pistols in recent years than .45 ACP, etc. I have no other excuse. Is there no help for me
Mike Irwin
Staff
"That's all very interesting but what I can't understand is this current fad of 9mm 1911's. Why would anyone opt for one of those when they could have a Super. "
Why would anyone want a .38 Super when they can have a 1911 in 10mm or even .45 ACP?
Maybe because not every one wants to own a gun chambered for what is realistically a niche cartridge that's best suited for handloaders.
Why would anyone want a .38 Super when they can have a 1911 in 10mm or even .45 ACP?
Maybe because not every one wants to own a gun chambered for what is realistically a niche cartridge that's best suited for handloaders.
Aguila Blanca
Staff
Maybe because 9mm ammunition is far more readily available than .38 Super, in a much wider variety of bullet weights and types, and at lower cost.Brutus said:
claydoctor
New member
I'm embarrassed to say that over time, I have accumulated over twenty five 1911's. It has only been in the last year or two, that I have become interested in the .38 Super and now have two examples. The first is a Colt Competition Series, that I bought from CDNN. It is a Lew Horton 1 of 100 edition, which I recently sent to Nighthawk for custom work including their smoked nitride finish. The second is a Les Baer, Hillsdale Commanche in nice condition. Before my recent interest in 1911's and about 40 years ago, I bought a 1947 vintage Colt Govt .38 Super, which I later sold for $500 (pause while I lean over so you can kick my ass). A neighbor had a professionally built range in his basement. We were used to shooting ,45's and we were shocked to see flames coming from the barrel of the Super. More recently, I have really enjoyed the two .38's I now have. A little like a 9mm but we it a little more oomph.