.38 Super

Pistol cartridge designed by Colt's Manufacturing Company, LLC .38 Super .38 Super.jpg 200px United States Pistol World War IIColt Super .38 (Civilian/Military) https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30035889 Polititegn -Justismuseet / DigitaltMuseum https://digitaltmuseum.no/021026906254/polititegn Colt's Manufacturing Company 1929–present .38 Super Comp.38 Super Lapua.38 Super RL (Armscor).38 TJ (.38 Todd Jarrett) no .38 ACP Semi-rimmed, straightRimless, straight .356 in (9.04 mm) .346 in (8.79 mm) .385 in (9.75 mm) .385 in (9.75 mm) .406 in (10.31 mm) .05 in (1.27 mm) .895 in (22.75 mm) 1.28 in (32.51 mm) 1.14 1 in 14 in (406 mm) Per Colt Manufacturing. Small pistol 36,500 psi grain 130 (8.42 g) Magtech FMJ 1215 426 115 (7.45 g) Buffalo JHP +P 1450 537 147 (9.53 g) Double Tap FMJ FP 1225 490 130 (8.42 g) Remington UMC 1215 426 124 (8.04 g) Ruag FMJ 1411 546 5 in 38 Super Ballistics Chart from Ballistics 101. The .38 Super, also known as .38 Super Auto, .38 Super Automatic, .38 Super Automatic +P (High Pressure Variant), .38 Super +P (High Pressure Variant), or 9×23mmSR, is a pistol cartridge that fires a 0.356 in mm mid -diameter 2 bullet. It was introduced in the late 1920s as a higher pressure loading of the .38 ACP, also known as .38 Auto. The older .38 ACP cartridge propels a 130 gr on bullet at 1050 ft/s on 1, whereas the .38 Super pushes the same bullet at 1280 ft/s on 1.Speer Reloading Manual #13, 1998, 1999. The .38 Super has gained distinction as the caliber of choice for many top practical shooting competitors; it remains one of the dominant calibers in IPSC competition.Boatman, Robert H.: Living With the 1911: A Fresh Look at the Fighting Gun, p. 15. Paladin Press, January 2005. Design The .38 Super originated with the Colt M1900 pistol chambered for the .38 ACP cartridge. In the late 1920s, Colt improved both the gun and the cartridge to go with it.Ness Williams 2006 30 The .38 Super was capable of penetrating automobile bodies of the late 1920s, but it was deemed as lacking stopping power due the initial lack of hollow point factory loads. When jacketed hollow point (JHP) rounds were introduced nearly 40 years after the .38 Super introduction, +P+ 9mm ammo that equaled or surpassed the Super ballistics were already available in the market.Massad Ayoob http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_3_47/ai_70650308 https://web.archive.org/web/20040909040931/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_3_47/ai_70650308 usurped 2004-09-09 .38 Super Guns Magazine 3 47 March 2001 2006-04-01 The .38 Super retains the original dimensions of the .38 ACP case. The cartridge was originally designed to headspace on the semi-rimmed case, which worked in the Colt M1900 due to the design of the feed ramp.Cartridge of the Week: The .38 Super https://www.thearmorylife.com/forum/threads/cartridge-of-the-week-the-38-super.8741/ The Armory Life Forum The Armory Life 19 January 2025 1 August 2021 When the .38 Auto became the .38 Super in the 1911A1, the feed ramp could no longer be used as rim support.Miller, PhD. Brad Rimless .38 Super Brass: Everything You Need To Know https://www.ssusa.org/content/rimless-38-super-brass-everything-you-need-to-know/ 19 January 2025 NRA Shooting Sports USA National Rifle Association 23 July 2019 As a result, the observed accuracy of the .38 Super suffered until Irv Stone of Bar-Sto barrels re-designed the chamber to allow headspacing on the case mouth. Since then, all new production .38 Super pistols headspace on the case mouth, as with other cartridges in this class. The semi-rimmed case is known to cause feeding problems in some magazines, especially double stack magazines, and led to the development of new variants with reduced rims (typically only .003 inch per side). In 1974, the industry added the +P headstamp to the .38 Super to further distinguish it from the lower-pressure .38 ACP. Most current ammunition manufacturers label ammunition for the Super as .38 Super Automatic +P. Because the .38 Super is dimensionally the same as the .38 ACP, it will chamber in pistols chambered for the .38 Automatic, but it should not be used in them, since they were not designed to handle higher pressures.Ness Williams 2006 30 Cartridge dimensions The .38 Super has 17.6 grains H2O (1.14 ml) cartridge case capacity. 500px|.38 Super maximum C.I.P. cartridge dimensions. All sizes in millimeters (mm).http://www.cip-bp.org/index.php?id=tdcc-telechargement C.I.P. decisions, texts and tables - free current C.I.P. CD-ROM version download (ZIP and RAR format) 2008-10-17 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090620230409/http://www.cip-bp.org/index.php?id=tdcc-telechargement 2009-06-20 The common rifling twist rate for this cartridge is 1 in 16 in (406 mm), 6 grooves, ø lands = .346 in, ø grooves = .355 in, land width =.12 mm and the primer type is small pistol. Both the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) and fr Commission internationale permanente pour l'épreuve des armes à feu portatives (C.I.P.) specify a bullet diameter of 0.356 inches (9.04 mm). According to the official C.I.P. guidelines, the .38 Super case can handle up to 230 MPa (33,359 psi) piezo pressure. In C.I.P.-regulated countries, every pistol cartridge combo has to be proofed at 130% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to be certified for sale to consumers. The SAAMI pressure limit for the .38 ACP or .38 Auto is set at 26,500 psi (182.72 MPa), piezo pressure. The SAAMI pressure limit for the .38 Super +P is set at 36,500 psi (251.66 MPa), piezo pressure.Voluntary Industry Performance Standards for Pressure and Velocity of Centerfire Pistol and Revolver Ammunition for the Use of Commercial Manufacturers http://www.saami.org/specifications_and_information/publications/download/205.pdf American National Standard Z229.3 Sporting Arms & Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute, Inc. 4 May 2013 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20131016171817/http://www.saami.org/specifications_and_information/publications/download/205.pdf 16 October 2013 The C.I.P. and SAAMI specified .38 Super (+P) has a semi-rimmed cartridge case. Rimless .38 Super cartridge case variants thumb|right|Starline 38 Super Comp rimless brass. In recent years, cases such as the .38 Super Comp, .38 Super Lapua, .38 Super RL (Armscor), and .38 TJ (.38 Todd Jarrett) became available transforming the .38 Super into an almost truly rimless cartridge.Association National Rifle An NRA Shooting Sports Journal Rimless .38 Super Brass: Everything You Need To Know https://www.ssusa.org/content/rimless-38-super-brass-everything-you-need-to-know/ 2025-08-13 An NRA Shooting Sports Journal en These "rimless" cases are somewhat of a misnomer, due to the case rim not retaining the same diameter as the case wall just forward of the extractor groove. A common example is the .38 Super Comp case, which has a semi-rim extending only .003–.004 inch per side, compared to the standard .38 Super which has .007–.009 inch per side. The main reason for the development of new cases was due to the semi-rimmed .38 Super case not always feeding reliably from the double-stack box magazines used in several semi-automatic pistols popular with practical shooting sports, such as United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) or International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC). The nearly rimless cases improve feeding reliability in these pistols but are intended to be used in firearms that headspace on the case mouth.Rimless .38 Super Brass https://web.archive.org/web/20090106124538/http://www.38super.net/Pages/Brass.html 2009-01-06 . Other improvements found in some of these cases are modified extractor grooves and increased thickness in key parts of the brass for high pressure loadings. Performance Because of its larger case volume, which allows for more smokeless powder and results in higher muzzle velocities at similar pressure levels, the .38 Super offers higher bullet velocity potential than the 9×19mm Parabellum when handloaded and in some defense loadings. The 9×19mm Parabellum is however approved for higher pressure +P loadings by both SAAMI and C.I.P., which compensates for much of the case volume difference in factory-loaded ammunition. The .38 Super is generally regarded as a well-balanced cartridge with a flat trajectory, good accuracy and relatively high muzzle energy; most loadings have greater muzzle energy than many factory-loaded .45 ACP loadings.Boatman, 16 Muzzle velocity 115 Gr (7.5 g) full metal jacket: 1405 ft/s m/s 124 Gr (8.0 g) full metal jacket: 1350 ft/s m/s Cor-Bon/Glaser offers the .38 Super +P in several full-power self-defense–style loads with advertised velocities such as 115 gr 1425 ft/s m/s on and 125 gr 1350 ft/s m/s on. Tests with ammunition besides Cor-Bon/Glaser increases velocity by between 30 ft/s m/s on to 50 ft/s m/s on on average.https://books.google.com/books?id=g02yCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA102 A Guide to Handgun Cartridges Holloway T. 2015 Lulu.com 978-1-329-00762-8 102 Usage During World War II, the Office of Strategic Services used M1911 pistols in .38 Super.Colt Super Atomic Copy https://historicalgmen.squarespace.com/s/colt-super-automatic-copy.pdf historicalgmen.squarespace.comBrunner John W. OSS weapons 1994 Phillips Publications 0932572219US Handguns of WWII: Secondary Pistols & Revolvers by Charles Pate 9780917218750 The Norwegian resistance used .38 Super M1911 pistols, purchased 1,429 examples in mid-1940 by the British Purchasing Commission. King Haakon VII of Norway used one of the .38 Super M1911s as his personal defence weapon in WW2.May 2025 M1911 pistols chambered in .38 Super also found use with American law enforcement officers and gangsters alike in the pre-WW2 period; perhaps the most notable example of this is Texas Ranger Frank Hamer's usage of the pistol while pursuing Bonnie and Clyde and in the shootout that ended their lives.Brown Matthew Shane 2025-03-18 .38 Super Ballistics – The Thinking Man's 9mm - The Upland Soul https://theuplandsoul.com/38-super-ballistics-the-thinking-mans-9mm/ 2026-03-12 en-US The .38 Super has made a comeback in IPSC and USPSA sports shooting raceguns, particularly when equipped with a compensator, because it exceeds the power factor threshold to be considered a "major" charge, while having much more manageable recoil than .45 ACP.March 2023 Part of the felt recoil reduction is due to the use of lighter-weight bullets. The main cause of reduced felt recoil is a compensator, or muzzle brake. The comeback began in the early 1980s when Rob Leatham and Brian Enos began experimenting and competing with .38 Super pistols in IPSC.March 2023 At the time, single-stack 1911s in .45 ACP were dominant. Their .38 Super pistols held one or two more rounds simply due to the smaller case diameter. However, the biggest advantage was the muzzle brake, allowing for faster follow-up shots, and thus faster stages and subsequent higher scores.March 2023 Competitors still using .45 ACP pistols attempted to keep pace, both by adding compensators and by reducing bullet weight, quickly reaching the limit at 152-155 grains.March 2023 The .38 Super could be loaded with a bullet as light as 115 grains. Use of compensators in competition is limited to the Open Division in IPSC and USPSA, as well as in certain cases for the International Defensive Pistol Association Enhanced Service Pistol division.2023 Equipment Appendix https://www.idpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023_Equipment_Appendix_Master_v2.pdf IDPA.com International Defensive Pistol Association 19 December 2024 The other divisions do not permit their use, such as the (IDPA) Stock Service Pistol division. Apart from its popularity in shooting sports, the .38 Super +P is one of the most popular pistol cartridges in Latin America due to local restrictions on civilian ownership of firearms chambered for military cartridges, such as 9mm Parabellum and .45 ACP. While the .38 Super is popular in the Western hemisphere in general, it is less commonly found in Europe.Ness Williams 2006 30 The .38 Super round received further publicity through the single-action "Colt Combat Commander" and lightweight aluminum alloy frame "Colt Commander". When Colt switched the inventory supply of the model from the Series-70s to the Series-80s, the model fell into lesser demand. An ASP pistol was available in .38 Super.Cold War Mystery Pistol? The Story of the Revolutionary 9mm ASP 27 July 2017 https://gunsamerica.com/digest/cold-war-mystery-pistol-story-revolutionary-9mm-asp/ A small number of .45 ACP submachine guns were also made in .38 Super, such as the Ingram Model 6 Ingram Model 6 (M6) submachine gun (USA) 27 October 2010 World Guns http://world.guns.ru/smg/usa/ingram-m6-e.html 2011-09-28 and Thompson submachine gun. Cartridges of the World: A Complete and Illustrated Reference for Over 1500 Cartridge Frank C. Barnes 2014 Gun Digest Books Iola, Wisconsin 9781440242656 A machine pistol variant of the M1911 chambered in .38 Super was also produced by Hyman S. Lehman. Thompson Leroy The Colt 1911 Pistol https://archive.org/details/coltpistolweapon00thom limited Osprey Publishing, Limited 2011 978-1-84908-836-7 22 The .38 Super +P cartridge ballistics have been improved over the years by the use of modern propellants. Since the early 2000s, ammunition is available with velocities exceeding 1400 ft/s m/s on. This is impressive from a semi-automatic pistol and is comparable to the .357 SIG.The .38 Super +P compared to other pistol cartridges https://web.archive.org/web/20090325091809/http://38super.net/Pages/comparisons.html 2009-03-25 . Ammunition is also being manufactured in the modern hollowpoint style bullet with excellent ballistics for personal defense. A standard single-stack magazine in a 1911-style semi-automatic pistol holds nine to eleven rounds, plus one in the chamber. Double-stack magazine pistols in this cartridge holds fifteen to eighteen rounds, plus one in the chamber. See also 9mm Major .38/.45 Clerke .356 TSW 9 mm caliber List of handgun cartridges Table of handgun and rifle cartridges References Bibliography Ness Leland Williams Anthony G Jane's Ammunition Handbook 2006-2007 2006 Jane's Information Group Surrey 978-0-7106-2746-9 15th https://books.google.com/books?id=cvHvPAAACAAJ en External links "The Super .38" 38 Super 38 Super 38 Super