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rebarrel my 9major gun thinking .38 super comp


Mat Price

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It is coming time to think about dropping a new bbl in my trubor and I would like to have the option of .38 super comp. Is this possible by just a rebbl and extractor switch? or is there a breech face work that would have to be done also. What i am looking for is the option to shoot either .38 super comp OR 9 major. Reason being i shoot a couple matches a month that are lost brass matches. I would like to shoot 9 major there.

This is a stock STI trubor in 9mm. the only thing I have done is some trigger work and cameron cmore mount.

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Once you re-barrel for .38 Super, you will be able to shoot either that, or 9mm without any problems, interchangeably, most likely. I do it all the time - it is very convenient. Shot 9mm in a 38 SC barrel a lot in matches - never an issue.

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The extractor holds it securely, accuracy does not suffer at all, the gun works 100%. People have been also shooting .40 in guns chambered for 10mm for years.

To use minor loads you will most likely need to change the spring.

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  • 1 month later...

Once you re-barrel for .38 Super, you will be able to shoot either that, or 9mm without any problems, interchangeably, most likely. I do it all the time - it is very convenient. Shot 9mm in a 38 SC barrel a lot in matches - never an issue.

I've got a STI in 38 Super and I was thinking about converting it to 9MM to take advantage of the cheap brass. After seeing your post, I decided to try some 9mm shooting range reloads in my 38 Super bbl. The 9mm did work, but I had some problems. I would get a stove-pipe jam pretty frequently (probably need lower power recoil spring) and accuracy with the 9mm was horrible (12in groups at 25 yds). At least I didn't find any over-pressure signs in the 9mm brass.

The good news was that when I could occasionally get off 6 shots of the 9mm without a stovepipe jam, I was able to shoot some of my fastest Bill Drills ever. Those soft 9mm reloads almost felt like 22's in my Open gun.

So I will get a lower power recoil spring and try some longer OAL 9mm's to fix the stove-pipe jam and accuracy problems from shooting 9's in my 38 Super. If the 9mm erodes the throat of the 38 Super bbl, it will give me an excuse to get a new bbl/comp combo.

Edited by gdboytyler
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Once you re-barrel for .38 Super, you will be able to shoot either that, or 9mm without any problems, interchangeably, most likely. I do it all the time - it is very convenient. Shot 9mm in a 38 SC barrel a lot in matches - never an issue.

I've got a STI in 38 Super and I was thinking about converting it to 9MM to take advantage of the cheap brass. After seeing your post, I decided to try some 9mm shooting range reloads in my 38 Super bbl. The 9mm did work, but I had some problems. I would get a stove-pipe jam pretty frequently (probably need lower power recoil spring) and accuracy with the 9mm was horrible (12in groups at 25 yds). At least I didn't find any over-pressure signs in the 9mm brass.

The good news was that when I could occasionally get off 6 shots of the 9mm without a stovepipe jam, I was able to shoot some of my fastest Bill Drills ever. Those soft 9mm reloads almost felt like 22's in my Open gun.

So I will get a lower power recoil spring and try some longer OAL 9mm's to fix the stove-pipe jam and accuracy problems from shooting 9's in my 38 Super. If the 9mm erodes the throat of the 38 Super bbl, it will give me an excuse to get a new bbl/comp combo.

There is nothing cheap about shooting 9 major. With 38SC I reload it till it splits or probably more than 20 times. With 9 major, I buy once fired brass shoot it once let it go, doing otherwise is risky. So my expierence is 9 major costs more to shoot, I like 9 major since I don't pickup brass anymore and get to spend my time enjoying the match. Two of my guns have barrels and comps for 9 and 38SC, but the 38SC barrels have not seen action in 2 years.

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I would like to have the option of .38 super comp OR 9 major. This is a stock STI trubor in 9mm.

Mat, not much advantage to having the .38 SC, IMHO. If any??

Might be some slight advantage if you're going for Master level?

But, I know an A shooter who is going for Master, and he's using

a 9mm major...

I'd invest in a slide racker - just got one a year ago - WOW, that

makes things a lot easier:)

Good luck,

Jack

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I had steve moore switch my open 38sc over 9mm for steel matches. It takes about 2 minutes to switch it back to 38sc. The gun is an open infinity and I have never had a problem with it, going on second year with it. Harder to make major though if you are using it for IPSC. cocobolo is right though, nine brass is trashed after once fired in major. Nothing I would trust to keep reloading.

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There is nothing cheap about shooting 9 major. With 38SC I reload it till it splits or probably more than 20 times. With 9 major, I buy once fired brass shoot it once let it go, doing otherwise is risky. So my expierence is 9 major costs more to shoot, I like 9 major since I don't pickup brass anymore and get to spend my time enjoying the match. Two of my guns have barrels and comps for 9 and 38SC, but the 38SC barrels have not seen action in 2 years.

If I can get the 9mm to shoot semi-accurately and reliably out of my 38 Super bbl, I would be loading up 9mm minor for 3-gun matches (no power factor limits) and use 38 SC ammo for USPSA matches.

I don't mind picking up the 38SC brass, but my recovery rate ranges from 20% to 50%.

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The brass is the main reason Im looking at a 9mm major over the 38super. For me, its easier to just let the brass fly and not worry about it than searching for every piece of brass fired. I can get 9mm for dirt cheap and just shoot and not worry about it

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