Chris Keen Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Same price from Starline. And I can't stand Aftec extractors ....... don't say the A word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Your welcome to try your mag and some of my 38sc loads in your gun. Same powder, but 124gn bullets. I might take you up on that Larry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueOvalBruin Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I’ve done the math and 38SC is cheaper if I can recover at least ~75% of my brass on average. At the indoor matches I’m recovering 100%, outdoors I’m losing maybe 10-20 pieces per match (roughly $1-2 to replace vs $4.5 for leaving once fired 9mm on the ground). At majors I lose 100% of course, but the cost delta between 9mm and 38SC is ~$25 (not too bad considering the overall cost of the match). I use a trash picker upper with rubber cups and a pond skimmer to retrieve brass and it works good, is fast, and is not fatiguing. I buy 9mm brass at $30/K for my 9mm major and do not pick it up. I suppose it’s still useable but not worth the risk. For some 38SC might be easier to reload but I’m using a 1050 so crimped primers is not a problem. I don’t really have a preference for one or the other at this point. They both have plusses and minuses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guma Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 OP Here... I read a few more topics on this discussion, along with all the info in this thread. I have read where some people make a choice between the two because of their inexperience with reloading. I have never reloaded pistol ammo before. I understand there is now a lot more info on reloading 9mm Major than in years past, but being new to reloading pistol, I would feel more comfortable loading 38 super than I would 9mm Major. Not that it is any easier to load one over the other but dealing with the high pressures of 9mm Major can be a bit intimidating to a reloading rookie. Guess it is a case of better safe than sorry. Is that sound reasoning? For me, picking up or not picking up brass is not a major factor in the decision. I consider picking up brass part of the routine of shooting anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Do I need to modify the feed lips of the mags at all? Nope... ;-) I can run Super and Supercomp in my mags, no problem. In fact, I've managed to run 9mm in my three SV tubes, as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcs Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Your welcome to try your mag and some of my 38sc loads in your gun. Same powder, but 124gn bullets. I might take you up on that Larry. Glad to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcs Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Do I need to modify the feed lips of the mags at all? Nope... ;-) I can run Super and Supercomp in my mags, no problem. In fact, I've managed to run 9mm in my three SV tubes, as well... I have four older style SV tubes that I ordered directly from SV and they run 9 or 38. Never been tuned either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guma Posted November 11, 2011 Author Share Posted November 11, 2011 [/threadjack] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 [/threadjack] Yeah. And the funny part is two of those guys shoot together every week! Here, let me get this thread back on track. 9MAJOR!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcs Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 [/threadjack] Yeah. And the funny part is two of those guys shoot together every week! Here, let me get this thread back on track. 9MAJOR!! Nah, slight thread drift, not a complete hijack! Real men shoot 38S/SC! Turn in your mancard Sanders! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Stevens Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 (edited) I converted my 38 super over to 9 major a while back. Since I have been shooting single stack I never really finished the project, I finally got around to working on it and am very pleased with the results. I had to cut one port off of the comp to lighten it up a bit. Also put some lightening cuts in the slide. Played around with loads for a bit and settled on Montan Gold 121's and 8.2 of HS6. Comes in at 170 power factor and gets good ejection. The gun/load combination is very accurate, which is a good thing. All in all, I am a happy camper. Edited November 12, 2011 by Gary Stevens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guma Posted November 12, 2011 Author Share Posted November 12, 2011 As someone who has no experience in reloading, I think I feel more comfortable starting off with 38 super. There is already a lot to learn with reloading, so I don't want to compound those issues with worrying about the high pressures of dealing with 9 major. This comes from reading a lot of posts on here about reloading and PF and pressures... Is this reasoning valid, or am I overly concerned about the pressures associated with 9 major? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Stevens Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 As someone who has no experience in reloading, I think I feel more comfortable starting off with 38 super. There is already a lot to learn with reloading, so I don't want to compound those issues with worrying about the high pressures of dealing with 9 major. This comes from reading a lot of posts on here about reloading and PF and pressures... Is this reasoning valid, or am I overly concerned about the pressures associated with 9 major? With either caliber you will be dealing with high pressures. There is a body of research now on powder/bulett combinations to make either viable. One thing your gun must have is a barrel with a supported chamber. I don't remember what gun you have or are building so I am throwing that out for general information. You can learn all you need to know about either caliber, as far as reloading, right here in the reloading section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deathtrap Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 I have a 9 major gun right now but prefer 38sc so I'll be making a switch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exs4 Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 (edited) I myself am partial to .50 BMG. It makes it easier to locate my brass! Edited November 14, 2011 by exs4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 As someone who has no experience in reloading, I think I feel more comfortable starting off with 38 super. There is already a lot to learn with reloading, so I don't want to compound those issues with worrying about the high pressures of dealing with 9 major. This comes from reading a lot of posts on here about reloading and PF and pressures... Is this reasoning valid, or am I overly concerned about the pressures associated with 9 major? With either caliber you will be dealing with high pressures. There is a body of research now on powder/bulett combinations to make either viable. One thing your gun must have is a barrel with a supported chamber. I don't remember what gun you have or are building so I am throwing that out for general information. You can learn all you need to know about either caliber, as far as reloading, right here in the reloading section. If you follow established load recommendations 9MAJOR is not any more dangerous than loading any high pressure load. What makes reloading dangerous is not paying attention and not adhering to established guidelines. I believe the 38 super family is loaded hotter than it was actually designed to run. So like Gary said it is a high pressure load as well. 9MAJOR is a load that you should not mess with if you are not in the habit of doing lots of QC during the loading process. I check my powder drops and oal every couple of primer tubes just to make sure nothing is changing. With 9minor loads you can get a powder drop drift and not really have a problem. With 9MAJOR you don't want to suddenly find out your oal has shrunk or your press is throwing .3 too high. If you are careful and follow good recipes it is not a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 If you follow established load recommendations 9MAJOR is not any more dangerous than loading any high pressure load. What makes reloading dangerous is not paying attention and not adhering to established guidelines. I believe the 38 super family is loaded hotter than it was actually designed to run. The main difference between the 38 super family, and 9MAJOR is that we have a long history of experience with 38 super. Not to mention back in the day, when the USPSA PF for Major was 175, and guys were loading to 180~181 just to be safe at chrono. We are still developing safe, comfortable, efficient loads for 9MAJOR. But that shouldn't keep one from loading safely at this point. It's been a viable choice in open for quite a few years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Here's some more fuel on the fire... This weekend, at the Area 2 match, I observed a total of 12 different open guns in operation on 2 different squads. 7 of them had one or more failures that cost the users 4+ seconds on each occurrence. Guess what was common between all of them? Not the gunsmith - though five of the six were built by well known and competent smiths. They were all 9mm. Of the remaining 5 that worked through the match, 2 were .38 Super and 1 was .40. The two 9s that seemed to work were only under observation for a couple of stages, so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 (edited) I shot a match last week that had one Open gun having problems. It was 38 Supercomp. It was most likely ammo related but then again maybe so were the 9mm's you witnessed. I shot my 9 all summer and finally last week had my first malfunction. It was mag related. Any gun can quit working or not run perfect but any gun also CAN run perfect. There are generally 4 or 5 of us who regularly shoot Open locally and we have a good mix of 9's and 38's and for the most part all the guns run pretty well! We also have a great local Mag mechanic. Good running mags are huge with these guns and it's nice having him around. Edited November 14, 2011 by Kevin Sanders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whoops! Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 I have to disagree about 9 major being as safe as 38 super major. There are far less powder options because it is a far higher pressure round with most powders. It is also much more sensitive to OAL than 38 super. If you have a neck tension issue for some reason and it's intermittent and you don't realize it, you just might have a really bad day with 9 major that may have been avoided with 38 super depending on the powder you use. One example being, you can make major power factor with 38 super and N105 and be below the minimum book load, hence, far less pressure than any 9mm major load. Also, we've already established, real men shoot 38 super. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 I have to disagree about 9 major being as safe as 38 super major. There are far less powder options because it is a far higher pressure round with most powders. It is also much more sensitive to OAL than 38 super. If you have a neck tension issue for some reason and it's intermittent and you don't realize it, you just might have a really bad day with 9 major that may have been avoided with 38 super depending on the powder you use. One example being, you can make major power factor with 38 super and N105 and be below the minimum book load, hence, far less pressure than any 9mm major load. Also, we've already established, real men shoot 38 super. Here we go. Like I said, you have to be on top of your QC. You can get set back in a mousefart 9mm load and blow up a gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Also, we've already established, real men shoot 9MAJOR. I couldn't agree more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whoops! Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 (edited) I have to disagree about 9 major being as safe as 38 super major. There are far less powder options because it is a far higher pressure round with most powders. It is also much more sensitive to OAL than 38 super. If you have a neck tension issue for some reason and it's intermittent and you don't realize it, you just might have a really bad day with 9 major that may have been avoided with 38 super depending on the powder you use. One example being, you can make major power factor with 38 super and N105 and be below the minimum book load, hence, far less pressure than any 9mm major load. Also, we've already established, real men shoot 38 super. Here we go. Like I said, you have to be on top of your QC. You can get set back in a mousefart 9mm load and blow up a gun. Exactly, setback with a 38 super is much less likely to blow the gun thanks to the deviation in oal not affecting the pressure in much. I've run a .38 super with no neck tension at all through my gun and saw a finished OAL of 1.190 after starting at 1.25. With the vast majority of .38 super loads, that won't really cause too much of an issue. With the vast majority of 9mm loads, that OAL deviation from, for example, 1.155 to 1.1 or less will definitely cause an issue. To the other issue, tell a women that you're a man because you can shoot a 9mm and she'll laugh at you. Lol... Edited November 14, 2011 by Whoops! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robot Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 I love 38 super comp, but the biggest problem for me is that I spend 60% of my time on the range looking at the floor searching for my brass. I HATE IT! I wish I would have gone 9mm major, then I don't have to bother with picking up brass. If cash isn't a problem with you or if you get your ammo from a sponsor, I'd recommend 38 super comp. If you reload, stick with 9mm major. it'll save you lots of stress so you can focus on shooting and being with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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