Uh... not really. Colt made the .38 acp for the M1900 pistol. The dimensions of the 38 super and 38 acp are identical. 38 super is just the +p loading of .38 acp.Originally Posted by Zincwarrior
Colt loaded the round hotter fir the 1911 because it was stronger than the 1900, but they did not make the dimensions for 1911s. That is, at best, a happy accident.
Better for civilian and law enforcement use. The super was introduced in 1929 as an improved 38 ACP. As the 38 Super didn't exist in 1911 when the military adopted the design it's apples and oranges. Colt wasn't competing for a military contract with the Super so it's a good bet that it was developed for civilian and law enforcement use.
I've always liked the cartridge but not enough to reload for it. Case dimensions and barrel bore have been all over the place since it was introduced. I think it's now a rimless cartridge but that wasn't always the case.
Last edited by Borderland; 03-03-2020 at 12:57 PM.
In the P-F basket of deplorables.
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It has always been my understanding that the case has never changed, but the modern barrels do not use the rim for headspace.
I have long term plans to try and fit a 38 Super barrel into one of my 9mm 1911s, but mainly because I am a gun nerd that likes to tinker
I've read that the prewar chambers were cut for a semi-rimless case and the switch to true rimless came after WW2, but I don't have any first hand knowledge about that.It has always been my understanding that the case has never changed, but the modern barrels do not use the rim for headspace.
I have long term plans to try and fit a 38 Super barrel into one of my 9mm 1911s, but mainly because I am a gun nerd that likes to tinker
In the P-F basket of deplorables.
I think the case never changed and I think many people credit Bill Wilson as being the dood that quit head spacing on it, but I am just working from foggy memory.
It's true that the .38 Super was not created specifically to fit in a 1911.
But it isn't an accident that they fit so well together. When Colt drew up the .45 ACP cartridge they simply reused the length dimensions of the .38 ACP, but made the diameter bigger - that's why the M1905 is basically a M1902 on steroids. It's also why the .38 Super works well in 1911s, because .38 Super and .45 Auto are based on the same length specifications from the get-go. It's not really an accident so much as a reflection of the history of the development of each cartridge and how they are intertwined.
Colt's first pistol to head space on the chamber mouth was produced in 1986. By 1989-1990 all Colts chambered for 38 Super head space on the chamber mouth.
Exactly. Thus eliminating the need for a semi-rimless cartridge. Originally the extractor held the case in the chamber with the semi-rimmed cartridge. That was an unfortunate disadvantage of the 38 Super. Why it ever went into production like that has always been a mystery to me.
In the P-F basket of deplorables.
That’s where the 38 super comp and TJ come in. Rimless versions of the 38 super. Super comp brass works fine in my supers, supposedly an advantage with feeding from double stack mags.
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