The .38 Super
Learning To Adapt
It’s hard to know where to start with the .38 Super. Its roots as a hotted-up version of the .38 ACP of the Colt 1900, the first semiauto pistol produced commercially in the U.S.? Its devoted following along the border among Texas Rangers and badmen alike, use during the gangster-era, again by both sides, or second lease on life from IPSC, where it led to the creation of the ramped barrel?
Jeremy used Lee dies, a Rock Crusher press and ChargeMaster Lite from RCBS (left), and four different powders to assemble the .38 Super loads in this article. Some of the bullets Jeremy used: (right) left to right, Rim Rock 160-grain LRN, Blue Bullets 125-grain RN and Hornady XTP in 125 and 158 grains. He tried 180 XTPs, but it didn’t pan out … yet.
Jeremy used Lee dies, a Rock Crusher press and ChargeMaster Lite from RCBS (left), and four different powders to assemble the .38 Super loads in this article. Some of the bullets Jeremy used: (right) left to right, Rim Rock 160-grain LRN, Blue Bullets 125-grain RN and Hornady XTP in 125 and 158 grains. He tried 180 XTPs, but it didn’t pan out … yet.
In The Beginning
To load for it, start by looking at your gun — and closely. The Super seems to be enjoying a bit of a resurgence, which I like, but not all handgun models account for its needs.
I recently shot a new .38 Super model with a ramped barrel. While they can offer feed advantages, the real purpose is supporting the case to reduce risk of blowouts, which in the early days of IPSC experimentation caused facial injuries called Super Face. It’s no fun, and I’ve got the photos and x-ray images to prove it. Unfortunately, the ramp on this gun was deeply scooped out well into the chamber, which explained the silky smooth feeding — and dangerously bulged casings. Lesson: “Ramped” doesn’t always equal “fully supported.”
This barrel’s chamber was also out of spec. The leade was too shallow and traditionally shaped .38 Super bullets hit the rifling before the cartridge was fully chambered. This pushed the bullet back into the case, jacking up chamber pressure. SAAMI specs put maximum average chamber pressure of .38 Super at 36,500 psi, above the .357 Magnum’s 35,000. Even a small change in case capacity will spike it dangerously. Next lesson: Make sure your ammo will safely chamber.
A few passes with a chambering reamer may fix that problem, but converting a 9mm to .38 Super takes more than re-reaming the barrel, since the tapered 9mm is larger than maximum chamber specs for .38 (as is 9x23mm, operating at 55,000 PSI). Each caliber needs its own barrel.
The classic Super load is a 130-grain FMJ at 1,300 fps, serious medicine for 1930. Handloading reveals a broader range of performance using 9mm and .357 projectiles in weights from 90 grains to twice that, which an upper range overlaps the .357 Magnum.
The first load I assembled in once-fired nickel cases used 125-grain Blue Bullets. Loaded to an overall length of 1.230″ over a CCI small pistol primer, 5.7 grains of 231 pushed them to a pleasant 1,264 fps. Backing off 0.2 grains to 5.5 produced 1,238, with a shockingly low standard deviation of 5 fps for the 10 I sent over the chronograph.
The second load was created to hit to point of aim in my Western-style 1911. This is the gun I used for all testing, though I changed its antique ivory grips for a pair of G10 VZs to protect my hand in case I blew a casehead (steel-lined rubber Pachmayrs serve the same function). It has a fully supported Kart NM barrel hard fit using the technique I was taught by Wayne Novak. Put bluntly, I know it’s right.
Unfortunately its tall Cinco Peso front sight made it shoot low. Heavier bullets hit higher, and lead slugs seemed okay for the gun’s general je ne sais quoi, so I ordered 0.356″ 160 grain LRNs from Rim Rock Bullets. A max load of 6.9 grains of Blue Dot over a CCI small rifle primer (again, in nickel cases) produced 1,131 fps, with 6.7 yielding 1,098. Better still, the 6.7 loads hits closer to point of aim to 50 yards and beyond, where the gun’s accuracy really shows off.
Rifle primers can improve velocity, but raise pressure. Their hardness resists pressure without deforming as much but signs of excessive pressure will not be as evident — perhaps at all until it’s too late. I watched for primers that were flat or grooved rather than dimpled (from the gun starting to unlock while the firing pin is still forward), and kept a close eye on the chronograph. I stopped increasing charge weight when I was no longer comfortable with the signs I was seeing
Before you decide to spice up your .38 Super, take a look at your barrel.
The Kart (right) provides maximum strength for experimentation. The Colt
in the middle exposes more brass and is adequate for factory loads.
The ramped barrel (left) offers the least support and is unsafe even for factory ammo.
If you start seeing bulges like this, you’re in trouble. Back it off
considerably before one lets go. 1911s don’t usually come to pieces
when they blow a casehead but it can still result in damage to gun,
hand and face. Ask Jeremy how he knows.
Under Pressure
For the loads below, I used rifle primers in +P cases supplied by Starline. Starline has served me well on hot rods like 7.62 x25mm (Tokarev) and .45 Super, and in .38, they’re reported to have more material in the web to better withstand pressure in unsupported chambers. The loads below are max loads and all showed some signs of pressure. They were safe in my gun on the day I shot them, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be safe for you, and neither I nor the publisher take any responsibility for your attempts to recreate them and you do so at your own risk. Safety demands you download and work cautiously up.
I’ve always liked the XTP and Hornady’s load data pushed 125s to 1,290 fps out of my gun at a max load of 7.1 grains of Power Pistol, 40 fps faster than published. Another printed source I’ve relied on for years had data for 125s, 158s and 180s loaded with varying charges of Accurate 9. This is where it gets dicey: 12.1 grains pushed 125s to a 9-round average of 1,416 fps. Not only .357 territory, it was 100 fps over published velocity but under max charge, which I won’t tell you. For comparison, Hornady’s .357 data shows a max charge of AA9 achieving 1,400 fps from an 8″ barrel.
Meanwhile, 8.3 grains of AA9 pushed 158s to 1,021 fps, but 8.4 reduced velocity. I don’t know exactly what that means beyond “no” but that’s where I ran out of courage and stopped working up. I never got that far with 180s. Even reducing the charge 20% produced a compressed load, leading to deformed bullets during seating, which I was unwilling to fire. Adding a pinch of pumpkin spice was right out.
So yes, the .38 can perform on par with some .357 loads — but it doesn’t have to. And, if that’s where you want to head, take nothing for granted.
