jimbullet Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Not sure if this is the proper forum but since its all about 1911 style pistols, I thought it would be the place. I am wanting to have a dedicated steel challenge 1911 or 2011 pistol for limited division. I am undecided though what caliber is best suited as I only need to run minor loads here. I would like to know what caliber would you choose over the other and why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al503 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 9mm due to cost of brass. Powder selection and pressure are non issues with minor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbullet Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 Nothing to do with one caliber having a flatter trajectory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al503 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 With the same bullet weight and velocity, there will be no difference in trajectory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dkrad1935 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 As far as I know and I am sort of a newbie. Trajectory isn't really am issue with pistol shooting. I think when people use the term flat they mean the recoil of the pistol and how fast the sights settle ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quack Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 9mm due to cost of brass. Powder selection and pressure are non issues with minor. +1. Since you only need minor PF. Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Because of the larger case capacity the same bullet at the same velocity will require more of the same powder; more powder leads to more recoil so in theory the 9 will shoot flatter with minor loads than the 38. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Nothing really wrong with either caliber, but if I was building a new steel challenge type gun to shoot minor or (preferably) sub minor I'd get a 9mm only because the brass is cheap. My old .38 super single stack open gun was converted to a "steel challenge" dedicated gun and works and runs fine after tweaking the springs and ammo to run sub-minor. I thought about getting a new 9mm barrel for it but it had just been re-barreled with a nice bar-sto before I quit using it and switched to a wide-body years ago. At club steel matches I seem to get >90% of my brass back so .38 super isn't such a loss at club matches. Good Luck with your build! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEH Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 For steel shoots brass recovery is easy.It should all be pretty easy to find,so to me brass would not be a problem..I have a few supers and love them they feed great mags not a big problem,no spacers needed for mags. Just my feel but I like the way the supers shoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Kneelingatlas - Recoil is very subjective so this just just my observation, but I've tried running 9mm in the gun I mentioned above and with the same bullet, same powder, and close to the same velocity I couldn't tell any difference in recoil between the 9mm or .38 super. The gun ran fine with the 9mm ammo, but 1) the groups ranged from lousy to horrible and 2) at the sub-minor power factor range the 9mm case mouths did not seal and I had gas blow-by which left a slight mark on the breech face the same outer diameter as a 9mm case. So, I abandoned any further minor/sub-minor 9mm use in this gun and just stick with .38 super. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 If the cost of brass is no problem for you, I'd go 38 Supercomp. Its easier to make totally reliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Thanks for the info Bamboo, I don't have any experience with 38 super, so it's all theory for me. I also just loaded my first batch of sub minor 9mm, so hopefully they're good enough to keep em on the paper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I don't think that sub-minor 9mm out of a 9mm chambered gun is a problem, it just didn't work for me out of a 38 super chamber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerTrace Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I don't think that sub-minor 9mm out of a 9mm chambered gun is a problem, it just didn't work for me out of a 38 super chamber. Yeah, it's not meant to work. I've accidentally loaded 9mm into a 38SC open gun when I was doing a demo. The gun fired, but wouldn't run. To the OP, go with a 9mm if you have a really good smith as the 1911 platform can be tricky with short ammo. I have one widebody 9mm and it's the most fun to shoot of all my guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 No spacers as you can just run factory 9mm 126mm mags. The one that came with my 2011 works perfect. 140 mm mags can (are not always) a challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanc Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I think 38 super will in general be more reliable right? I don't know but have read and been told that OAL of the cartridge is a key piece of 1911 reliablility. 38 super is basically the same length as 45 230 ball ammo, hence an increase in reliability. I have a Colt 1911 in 38 super. While I have not shot 1000's and 1000's of round through it subjectively I can tell you that the gun has functioned just fine as it came from the factory with remington factory 38 super ammo. No tweaking or any changes. It came from the factory with a couple of wilson mags and I have 1 colt mag, and they all work just fine. I had a smith fit a briley 9m barrel to it and got some of the mec 9mm mags that have the indentation down the front. With my uspsa production load, the gun seems to work fine, but have only put a couple hundred rounds through it, so its not much data. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob DuBois Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I'd suggest 9mm minor with a bushing barrel. Beside steel challenge you could shoot ESP in IDPA and Limited minor USPSA. Sugested this to a friend who wanted to shoot a little IPSC and only shoots factory ammo. Worked out great for him, good shooter so he usually down only a few points. Pistol holds 23 rounds with 140 tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chirpy Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 If I hadn't had a .38 Super rebuilt from a ss race gun I would have gone with a 9mm. If I could sell the .38 S and components and such or trade it for a 9mm top end I would! JMHO Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v1911 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I'd suggest 9mm minor with a bushing barrel. Beside steel challenge you could shoot ESP in IDPA and Limited minor USPSA. Sugested this to a friend who wanted to shoot a little IPSC and only shoots factory ammo. Worked out great for him, good shooter so he usually down only a few points. Pistol holds 23 rounds with 140 tubes. If you were looking for a multi purpose gun I'd recommend .40 so that you make major. In IDPA, .40 minor is crazy soft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxshooter Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I am doing exactly what Bob mentioned. 9 mm Limited gun with a 5" bushing barrel. Perfect for SC and 3 gun as well as Limited minor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troupe Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Go with the 9mm, it will run in a fatgun or a single stack. Brass is the key (cheaper). How did trajectory come into play ??? A fatgun in 9mm is like cheating and much more fun to shoot. No brass pick up is a great plus. Watch the brass rats scrounge like chickens is funny to me !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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