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Post by Misfit on Feb 7, 2005 23:57:14 GMT -5
Just wondering if anyone here has or has shot a .38 Super in the 1911 format, and how it compares to the .45. I read a little bit on the origins of the .38 Super, and it seems the impetus for the creation of the round was similar to that of the .357 Magnum. The standard issue .38 Special couldn't penetrate car bodies and the primitive body armor worn by Prohibition-era gangsters, so cops stepped up and purchased the now famous .357 Mag guns. Similarly, the .45ACP, while a great man-stopper, was likewise too slow to penetrate carbodies and armor. The solution was the .38 Super which drove its projectile at upwards of 1400 FPS.
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Post by "DoubleAction" on Feb 8, 2005 1:32:53 GMT -5
Misfit; In the early days of the 38 Super there were issues concerning accuracy due to headspacing problems, bore, groove, and chamber diameters from various manufacturers. This became less of a problem with the among the much better barrels with tighter tolerances.
I do not have a 38 Super to compare with the .45 acp in the 1911, but I do have a Sig 220 chambered in .45 acp and a Sig 220 chambered in the 38 super to compare.
Whether some of those early 38 super cartridges could push a bullet at 1400 fps, would be a mystery to me but I have seen modern handloads with claims of over 1600 fps, using 88 gr. jacketed bullets.
Most of the 38 super ammo I have in my stock is manufactured by Aquila of Mexico, I have other, but I have alot of the Aquila. Mexicans cannot own a firearm which chambers a military cartridge, so the 38 Super is more abundantly used in the 1911, as opposed to the .45 acp.
I do not have the velosity specs on the Aquila, but it feels like a hot cartridge, not as much as the 357 sig, and not near that of a .357 magnum. For the most part it is the effects experienced by those who are in the background, watching the blue flame and yellow fire light up the interior of the range from it's muzzle blasts, and the loud continuous thunder of it's signature.
Compared to the standard 230 gr. FMJ .45 acp, the 38 super is louder, more flash, faster follow ups, higher magazine capacity, and alot of fun to shoot in that particular bullet diameter. The effect of shooting the 38 super seems to be mostly with the propellent and velosity, while the .45 acp deals with the delivery of a larger, much heavier bullet which also requires a formitable amount of energy. A feeling one might get from hitting a baseball and a softball the same distance, using the same bat. Both cartridges are equally favorable for shooting, one is just heavier and slower. The 38 super is a hard bang; The .45 acp is a wham bam. That is the best I describe it for now.
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Post by livnhel on Feb 8, 2005 2:32:01 GMT -5
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Post by BlueSteel on Feb 9, 2005 0:05:04 GMT -5
Woah... Pulp Fiction all over again  |
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