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Moonduck · 12-12-2003, 04:16 PM

Definitely .38 Super. I've owned one. Various companies have looked for .357 Magnum performance in an autopistol friendly cartridge for years. .38 Super has been around since the 30's (I think) and is ballistically similar. It was intended as a police round, from what I recall, and had some popularity with the harder units within depts (sort of like today's SWAT, but much more informal). They liked the .38 Super in the 1911 because it was a fast shooter and punched through steel car bodies well.

If you read up on Bonnie and Clyde, you'll find references to .38 Super both in their hands and in the hands of various law enforcement types that sought to stop them.

The .38 Super I had was a Series 70 Colt Commander with an alloy frame. The shorter slide, alloy frame, and hot load combined to produce a gun that was very unpleasant to shoot. I'd bought it as a CCW piece and was terribly happy about it. Then I took it to the range. I realized that it was overly hoppy during recoil, and had accuracy issues as a result (first shot was great, slow-fire was great, rapid-fire was problematic). I sold it with a quickness.

As time went on, I came to realize that it was simply the 1911 design that I didn't care for (yes, I am aware that it is blasphemous to say that). I didn't really give that Colt a fair shake. Later 1911's I've owned were worse in some cases. A Para-Ordnance P14-45 was much better though, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. (I also sold the Para-Ordnance, at a loss, though it was to a good friend).

To sum up, .38 Super is a great, classic round if you want better terminal performance from an auto pistol. Just don't buy it in a very light package like I did. Another thing to realize is that I expect accuracy out of any gun I own, and have thus gone round and round on concealment pieces. My standards for accuracy aren't unrealistic, but are high. Take my comments on the Commander in .38 Super with another grain of salt.

Oh, if you want to pack an obscene amount of firepower in a normal autopistol, take an EAA or CZ full-sized frame (for the .45ACP), add a .38 Super top-end (moderately common for IPSC style usage). EAA used to make .38 Super magazines and Brownells used to carry "repair" kits for them. The bloody things held 19 rounds. Yup, 19+1 with a ballistic efficacy approaching .357 Magnum, all in a large-framed autopistol. That's a lot of shooty.

12-12-2003, 04:16 PM	#14 (permalink)
Moonduck Junkie Location: SE USA	Definitely .38 Super. I've owned one. Various companies have looked for .357 Magnum performance in an autopistol friendly cartridge for years. .38 Super has been around since the 30's (I think) and is ballistically similar. It was intended as a police round, from what I recall, and had some popularity with the harder units within depts (sort of like today's SWAT, but much more informal). They liked the .38 Super in the 1911 because it was a fast shooter and punched through steel car bodies well. If you read up on Bonnie and Clyde, you'll find references to .38 Super both in their hands and in the hands of various law enforcement types that sought to stop them. The .38 Super I had was a Series 70 Colt Commander with an alloy frame. The shorter slide, alloy frame, and hot load combined to produce a gun that was very unpleasant to shoot. I'd bought it as a CCW piece and was terribly happy about it. Then I took it to the range. I realized that it was overly hoppy during recoil, and had accuracy issues as a result (first shot was great, slow-fire was great, rapid-fire was problematic). I sold it with a quickness. As time went on, I came to realize that it was simply the 1911 design that I didn't care for (yes, I am aware that it is blasphemous to say that). I didn't really give that Colt a fair shake. Later 1911's I've owned were worse in some cases. A Para-Ordnance P14-45 was much better though, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. (I also sold the Para-Ordnance, at a loss, though it was to a good friend). To sum up, .38 Super is a great, classic round if you want better terminal performance from an auto pistol. Just don't buy it in a very light package like I did. Another thing to realize is that I expect accuracy out of any gun I own, and have thus gone round and round on concealment pieces. My standards for accuracy aren't unrealistic, but are high. Take my comments on the Commander in .38 Super with another grain of salt. Oh, if you want to pack an obscene amount of firepower in a normal autopistol, take an EAA or CZ full-sized frame (for the .45ACP), add a .38 Super top-end (moderately common for IPSC style usage). EAA used to make .38 Super magazines and Brownells used to carry "repair" kits for them. The bloody things held 19 rounds. Yup, 19+1 with a ballistic efficacy approaching .357 Magnum, all in a large-framed autopistol. That's a lot of shooty.