Opinions on Colts .38 Super?

kokanee king

kokanee king

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Hey guys and gals........I've seen a couple 38 supers for sale here and was wondering what the scoop is for this "rare pony" that Colt put out? How come there isnt alot out there? Are they that well made that those who have arent giving up or what? ANY kind of info would be appreciated. Ammo availability will be key.
 
What model are you asking about? I have had two pre-seventy .38 Supers and they were extremely accurate, reliable and fun to shoot. More blast than 9mm but not as much recoil as .45acp.
It's ammo that is the problem. It's not easy to get up here and it's expensive. Choices are limited as well. If you reload it's not as much of a problem.
I wish the .38super had replaced the 9mm in military and police applications then things would be different.
 
Factory Colts in .38 Super are decent shooters. WWII and earlier models are mostly safe queens.

It has advantages over the 9mm in that it does use all of the available room in the mag and 10 round flush mags are available. As my paper targets are rarely impressed by the extra 200fps available over 9mm, it's not a big factor.
 
kokanee king said:
Weimajack has one for sale that i saw. He's had it for sale for a bit now and i was wondering why nobody jumped on it. As for cartridge size, is it the same size as the 38 special?
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That gun would make a nice restoration project. Rodger Kotanko can hard chrome it. The beauty of the .38super is that all you need to convert it to 9mm is a barrel / bushing combo and maybe a mag and possibly some tweaking.
 
kokanee king said:
Weimajack has one for sale that i saw. He's had it for sale for a bit now and i was wondering why nobody jumped on it. As for cartridge size, is it the same size as the 38 special?
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Just three words..... condition, condition, condition..... ;) :D

But further.... that one looks like an early 1950's production .38 Super. It needs a complete reblue unless someone wants to take it completely down to the white [it's almost there already by the pics]. The grips are wrong for the era... the 1950's Colts came with the brown checkered plastic jobbies with the molded in rampant Colt pony in a circle... but since those era grips are very delicate [prone to shrinkage/cracking/breakage] it's no wonder the grips were changed out. The ones on it look like smooth wood replacements with the Colt medallions that were around in mid-late 70's. Probably can be salvaged & made to look quite respectable. The only other thing is that on the .38 Super barrels from that era the ctg headspaced on the case rim [the .38 Super is a "semi-rimmed" ctg] instead of the case mouth. Later Colt factory barrels were changed so that headspacing was on the case mouth. The earlier barrels are said to suffer in accuracy and reliability due to the headspacing issue. The .38 Super is a very accurate ctg otherwise and can be made to perform up there with the best of them.

So, if I was to get that certain .38 Super.... a nice hi-polish reblue would be in order. Change out grips to factory Colt checkered medallion grips. And barrel replacement to a modern one [maybe Series 70 barrel] that headspaced the ctg on the case mouth vs the case rim.

My .02..... your mileage may vary..... :)
 
Thanx NAA......I checked the 5 digit serial number and it was indeed manufactured in 1950. I didnt know about the grips but I will source those out. I am going to get it re-blued and was also thinking about getting it converted for 9mm, but im thinking that 38 Super isnt that much more expensive to buy then say .45 ammo. Oh in case your wondering, I did buy it as a project :D As for getting a series 70 barrel to replace the original, I never thought of that.

Darin

PS.......I see you and I are on the island. Im North Van Island tho....my sister lives in Victoria, maybe I should come get a Colt history lesson from you?
 
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kokanee king said:
Thanx NAA......I checked the 5 digit serial number and it was indeed manufactured in 1950. I didnt know about the grips but I will source those out. I am going to get it re-blued and was also thinking about getting it converted for 9mm, but im thinking that 38 Super isnt that much more expensive to buy then say .45 ammo. Oh in case your wondering, I did buy it as a project :D As for getting a series 70 barrel to replace the original, I never thought of that.

Darin

PS.......I see you and I are on the island. Im North Van Island tho....my sister lives in Victoria, maybe I should come get a Colt history lesson from you?
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A good Colt 1911A1 for a 'project' for sure.... :cool:

Likely you can change to 9mm with a barrel & bushing replacement only, as long as your replacement 9mm barrel's hood is the same width as the slot in the slide that the original .38Super barrel's hood fits into. If you can get a drop-in 9mm barrel/bushing I'd give it a go to see if it will work with the existing extractor, ejector and magazine(s).
 
Project it is. This is a step up from tearing apart and rebuilding paintball markers, but im excited about it none the less. Ive just started researching these pistols and the older ones that are in exceptional condition are fetching some serious coin. Not saying that im going to sell it, but its good to know that certain firearms hold their value quite well.
I do know that once I have it in my possession, im heading out to the range to put a box of shells thru it or should I wait till a gunsmith has checked it over first?
 
kokanee king said:
Project it is. This is a step up from tearing apart and rebuilding paintball markers, but im excited about it none the less. Ive just started researching these pistols and the older ones that are in exceptional condition are fetching some serious coin. Not saying that im going to sell it, but its good to know that certain firearms hold their value quite well.
I do know that once I have it in my possession, im heading out to the range to put a box of shells thru it or should I wait till a gunsmith has checked it over first?
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If I was getting it the first thing I'd do upon receipt is detail strip it down to every last part, give it a thorough cleaning, and check out all the parts individually. I'd then reassemble it, give it a light oil, check it for feed [using ONLY inert .38 Super test rounds made up using properly sized cases with NO primer or powder and a typical FMJ round nose bullet seated]. I'd then hit the range with a box of live ammo, but first couple of mags only load a couple rounds to make sure everything is working AS IT SHOULD.

Remember, she's probably going on 60 years old....;)
 
Good point on the detail strip.....I did that with my brand new out of the plastic bag Norinco .45 I bought. This one will be going on at least 59yrs old, so yes a detailed strip it will get as well :D
 
The 38 Super was originally designed as a "block buster" (engine blocks) for the police during the depression, when 38 Specials weren't doing the job (as was the 38-44 HV and the 357 Mag). It became a IPSC favourite when the gamesmen discovered it held more rounds and kicked less then a 45. Had to be pushed a tad to make Major, but not that hard compared to say a 9mm. Interesting cartridge, and every 1911 fan should own one. - dan
 
I've got three Colt Combat Commanders....9MM, 45ACP, and 38Super.
The 9MM and 45ACP are 70 series...so the blue on them in quite a bit nicer, but I seem to prefer the 38Super....It is a 'zippy' round...a little 'warmer' than the 9MM, but easy to reload....
 
.38 Super

dan belisle said:
The 38 Super was originally designed as a "block buster" (engine blocks) for the police during the depression, when 38 Specials weren't doing the job (as was the 38-44 HV and the 357 Mag). It became a IPSC favourite when the gamesmen discovered it held more rounds and kicked less then a 45. Had to be pushed a tad to make Major, but not that hard compared to say a 9mm. Interesting cartridge, and every 1911 fan should own one. - dan
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+1

Dan's got it right! :cool:
 
You boys and your knowledge has helped me tremendously and have also helped my decision making process. Im going to leave it as Samuel Colt intended it to be.......a 38 Super. It is an interesting cartridge to say the least. Once i have it in my hands I will post up pics on this thread. :)
 
kokanee king said:
You boys and your knowledge has helped me tremendously and have also helped my decision making process. Im going to leave it as Samuel Colt intended it to be.......a 38 Super. It is an interesting cartridge to say the least. Once i have it in my hands I will post up pics on this thread. :)
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Well, at least with you picking up that old Colt .38 Super we can let it slip off the radar.... :p

Seriously, though I'd source a 9mm barrel for it, too. You might just be pleasantly surprised that all you need is the 9mm barrel and maybe a bushing for it and your pistol will function with all the other parts you already have. Would make for some nice econo plinking.... ;)
 
Time will tell me friend, time will tell. I do enjoy plinking with my 9mm pistols, so I wouldnt be surprised if somehow a 9mm barrel "fell" into place on it. I did read on the Fusion website that one MAY have to replace the recoil spring with something a bit lighter, but im thinking that may pertain more towards if it was a .45 to 9mm conversion.
 
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