38 Super carry ammo? DeltaKilo?

[SOA1911]

DeltaKilo, I respect your technical opinion very much, and a buddy and I were wondering if you had a good suggestion for carry ammo for our 1911s in 38 Super? I have some of Wilson Combat's new 38 Super ammo with the Hornady XTP that travels about 1,335 FPS. It seems to be an excellent round--at least for accuracy. And, I have always trusted the XTP line of bullets. Also, we have some other ammo from Corbon, Magtech, Fiocchi, and Winchester (STHPs). Any suggestions DeltaKilo (or anyone else)?

[maf]

I have chronographed Winchester 124 grain Silver Tips. I got a ten shot average of 1,214 FPS out of a Colt Government Model. They are supposed to be going 1,240 FPS. I guess that's close enough to what they advertise. I can reload the same type of bullet with N340 and get an honest 1,350 FPS with the same gun.

I would suggest that instead of just going by velocity, you test for reliability, acceptable accuracy, and then velocity-in that order. I haven't really heard anything bad about the XTPs. If the Wilson Combat load is reliable, accurate, and truly going 1,335 FPS, I would think that would be my first choice. Unless the powder is too flashy for possible nighttime use.

[superdude]

http://38super.net/Pages/Factory2.html

[maf]

Originally Posted by superdude

http://38super.net/Pages/Factory2.html

About ten years ago, I called Speer and suggested a Gold Dot .38 Super load. I was told that there were not immediate plans for one. Apparently, one of their engineers at the time was a .38 Super fan, and he was trying to get the company to produce one as well.

[SOA1911]

Oh, I forgot to mention the Buffalo Bore line of 38 Super, which looks mighty impressive to me, especially the 33B 124 gr JHP @ 1350 fps and +500 ME with low flash powder (definitely not Power Pistol). This might be the "cats meow"!

[superdude]

several companies offer high performance ammo for the 38 Super as noted at the link provided above. an important variable is that the ammunition is safe to use in your gun. according to the information in that link some ammunition showed excess pressure that caused malfunctions in the test gun. whatever ammo you try, make sure it doesn't produce similar symptoms.

[Emerson]

I load 124gr Gold Dots to ~1,500FPS in my .38 Super. I figure that ought to work.

Most factory loads are WELL below the safe limit for .38 Super. A few years ago the Vihtavouri loading manual listed a load with N105 at 1,597 FPS. I played around with it and it worked as advertised but it was a pain in the butt to load because the case was so full of powder.

[superdude]

Originally Posted by Emerson

I load 124gr Gold Dots to ~1,500FPS in my .38 Super. I figure that ought to work.

Most factory loads are WELL below the safe limit for .38 Super. A few years ago the Vihtavouri loading manual listed a load with N103 at 1,597 FPS. I played around with it and it worked as advertised but it was a pain in the butt to load because the case was so full of powder.

don't you mean N105?

[Emerson]

I certainly meant N105. My mistake. Corrected that.

[ghitch75]

i carry Montana Gold's 125gr JHP and run them at 1375fps with 13.8gr of LIL-GUN......will go through a winter coat and 2 gallon milk jugs full of water

[SOA1911]

Wow! The Montana Gold JHPs are very high quality, and Power Pistol is one of my favorite powders for the 38 Super. But, I bet that the muzzle flash at night would be blinding!

[ghitch75]

Originally Posted by SOA1911

Wow! The Montana Gold JHPs are very high quality, and Power Pistol is one of my favorite powders for the 38 Super. But, I bet that the muzzle flash at night would be blinding!

it's a little bright

[DeltaKilo]

Winchester silvertips and the various loads of buffalo bore are your best bets in .38 super. Outside of the gaming arena, it's sadly a caliber that has fallen out of favor, despite having a lot to offer.

If you reload, obviously that opens up a few avenues. Reloading discussion on this cal is a good topic for the reloading forum specifically.

[yaonttwo]

Georgia Arms loads a 124 grain Speer bonded HP for 1,350 fps.

[TaxPhd]

Originally Posted by DeltaKilo

Winchester silvertips and the various loads of buffalo bore are your best bets in .38 super. Outside of the gaming arena, it's sadly a caliber that has fallen out of favor, despite having a lot to offer.

If you reload, obviously that opens up a few avenues. Reloading discussion on this cal is a good topic for the reloading forum specifically.

What about the Corbon and Wilson loads with Barnes bullet?

[superdude]

Originally Posted by ghitch75

i carry Montana Gold's 125gr JHP and run them at 1450fps with 13.8gr of Power Pistol......will go through a winter coat and 2 gallon milk jugs full of water

Umm, that number seems a little high for Power Pistol, based on my experience. i recently produced 1300 fps with a 115 grain bullet with only 6.9 grains of Power Pistol. My estimate of 13.8 grain of PP for a 115 grain bullet would put velocity around 2400 fps. are you sure about your numbers? It's twice the maximum limit in the Hornady manual. I'd hate for someone to try that based on your post thinking that's safe, and found out that it isn't, or is a typo or something.

[DeltaKilo]

Originally Posted by TaxPhd

What about the Corbon and Wilson loads with Barnes bullet?

The barnes bullet has and continues to prove itself very capable, so I would not hesitate to use it in whatever brand/caliber you're looking at.

As fast as reloading goes, please take that to the reloading sub forum. Thanks.

[TaxPhd]

Originally Posted by DeltaKilo

The barnes bullet has and continues to prove itself very capable, so I would not hesitate to use it in whatever brand/caliber you're looking at.

Stan Chen is loading that in his ASYM line. If he'd expand his line to include .38 Super, it would give us another good factory load option.

[NoJoy]

Doubletap ammo has some good 38 Super ammo too. For trail use, they have a 147gr +P fmj for your Super.

[DeltaKilo]

I personally would stay away from double tap. Their ammo is expensive, and their loads tend to be inconsistent.

As for ASYM, stan tends to operate on the KISS principal and focuses on outstanding quality for common calibers rather than spreading a small operation thin over a large range of ammo.

[ghitch75]

Originally Posted by superdude

Umm, that number seems a little high for Power Pistol, based on my experience. i recently produced 1300 fps with a 115 grain bullet with only 6.9 grains of Power Pistol. My estimate of 13.8 grain of PP for a 115 grain bullet would put velocity around 2400 fps. are you sure about your numbers? It's twice the maximum limit in the Hornady manual. I'd hate for someone to try that based on your post thinking that's safe, and found out that it isn't, or is a typo or something.

thanks for bringing it to my attention.....i read the wrong box of ammo.....that was for 357mag load....

[SOA1911]

Thanks guys. It looks as if there are several good options for this excellent cartridge. Too bad it never caught on with most end users. I believe that the popularity of the revolver, especially in .357 Magnum, during most of the 1900s did not help matters. But, it is still a very capable round.

[Budrichard]

Corbon DPX.
I had to change my original Colt magazines for Mec Gar for reliable feeding in my Series 70 Combat Commander.
http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/C...mo%20Tests.htm
-Dick

[Bill Mannatt]

147 gr. Golden Sabers on top of WSF powder is my carry ammo for the Super.Around 1100 fps,plenty of power,super accurate and absolute reliability.

[1911A1FS]

I've gotten 2 orders of 500 rds each from SGAmmo for my RIA 1911 Super .38. The ammo I'm getting is Aquila .38 Super A+P. Although it's manufactured in Mexico, the parent company is Remington. Here's a snippet from another vendor about the ammo:

This is Aguila 38 Super 130gr. +P FMJ ammo. This ammo is brass cased, boxer primed and 100% non-corrosive. This ammo is manufactured by Tecnos Industrias, which is Remingtons plant in Mexico, and is premium quality ammo. They are the exclusive manufacturers of ammo for the mexican military and police forces. Remington built this factory in Mexico years ago and they continue to produce quality ammo. This ammo is manufactured to military and SAAMI specs. It is packed in 50rd. boxes.

When ordering 500 rds, the price comes to $179.50 + Shipping. Both orders I've placed have arrived within 4 days from the time of order.

So far, I've been very pleased with the performance and results.