Help... 38S or 38SC for STI DVC Open?

[DVC-Open]

I am stuck at the moment in choosing between 38S or 38SC for my STI DVC Open 38 Super.

 

First silly question, my pistol says it is 38S, does it mean everything about my pistol is tuned for 38S load?

 

Initial research tells me that all I need to do is get another dedicated extractor for 38SC and I am good to go, is this correct? or do I also need to tune my magazines and what else? Is there anything else  needed to be changed in my 38S barrel? I assume there is no 38SC barrel? please forgive my ignorance....

 

The reason I am wanting to use 38SC brass is what people say about its advantage when it comes to stacking in the magazine and feeding reliability, is there really a massive difference when it comes to reliability? I got used to shooting a very reliable pistol in Production Division for 7 years, 98% of my handloaded ammo went bang, very very few FTE or FTF mostly because of something else, I know that in Open Division I will benefit on my meticulous approach to handloading, but I am unable to figure out which way to go, 38S or 38SC, if my goal is feeding and ejecting realibility.

 

I am also considering at running my main pistol on 38SC then a backup (also a DVC Open) on 38S, will this benefit me or better to stick to one?

 

Please share your thoughts and experiences... 

 

Thanks in advance. Cheers!

 

[jcc7x7]

Use super comp brass

If your extractor needs adjustment (it may not) for the SC brass just tweak it a little tighter until it ejects well .

Lot of info on tuning extractor on this site and the web 

 

The older sTI's that I've owned all ran fine with SC brass from the box FWIW

[DVC-Open]

On 7/11/2020 at 7:53 PM, jcc7x7 said:

Use super comp brass

If your extractor needs adjustment (it may not) for the SC brass just tweak it a little tighter until it ejects well .

Lot of info on tuning extractor on this site and the web 

 

The older sTI's that I've owned all ran fine with SC brass from the box FWIW

Thanks Neil

[jcc7x7]

7 years in the bush!  Mt Garnet, QLD,

God bless Australia!

God bless the USA!

[bradhe]

Bought a new gun ( Akai) last year and new MBX mags.  Wanted 38 super cause I had lots and lots of brass.  Kept having the 1/100 feed malfunction.  Rounds were flopping in the magazine and jamming on the feed ramp.   Made an emergency call to Dillon 2.5  weeks before the Nationals for a 38 supercomp shellplate and 5K brass  (overnight shipping cost was exciting) but essentially no malfunctions since.  Older guns, and particularly older magazines were set up for 38 super and could get highly reliable.  Today, unless you have lots of 38 super brass  (>10k) and like to fiddle there is no reason to use super over supercomp.  Most 38 super guns will run supercomp, if not the only change should be the extractor.  I am partial to the aftec (aftec super and supercomp are different)

[DVC-Open]

11 hours ago, bradhe said:

Bought a new gun ( Akai) last year and new MBX mags.  Wanted 38 super cause I had lots and lots of brass.  Kept having the 1/100 feed malfunction.  Rounds were flopping in the magazine and jamming on the feed ramp.   Made an emergency call to Dillon 2.5  weeks before the Nationals for a 38 supercomp shellplate and 5K brass  (overnight shipping cost was exciting) but essentially no malfunctions since.  Older guns, and particularly older magazines were set up for 38 super and could get highly reliable.  Today, unless you have lots of 38 super brass  (>10k) and like to fiddle there is no reason to use super over supercomp.  Most 38 super guns will run supercomp, if not the only change should be the extractor.  I am partial to the aftec (aftec super and supercomp are different)

thanks mate

[TRPOperator]

Go 38$C for practice you can also use 38TJ and 38RL (I think that is armscor 38$C or RL=rimless) they all run flawless in my gun. My only issue is we have one guy at the local club that runs 38$ and every now and then I miss one while reloading and jams up my press.

[DVC-Open]

On 7/20/2020 at 2:35 AM, TRPOperator said:

Go 38$C for practice you can also use 38TJ and 38RL (I think that is armscor 38$C or RL=rimless) they all run flawless in my gun. My only issue is we have one guy at the local club that runs 38$ and every now and then I miss one while reloading and jams up my press.

thanks mate great insights

[jnkill]

On 7/11/2020 at 5:53 AM, jcc7x7 said:

Use super comp brass

If your extractor needs adjustment (it may not) for the SC brass just tweak it a little tighter until it ejects well .

Lot of info on tuning extractor on this site and the web 

 

The older sTI's that I've owned all ran fine with SC brass from the box FWIW

My trubore runs both 38 s and sc just fine 

[NateTheSkate]

My .38 super STI ran both just fine, and I didn't mess with the extractor at all. Honestly, I didn't pay that much attention to it.

 

That said, If you are handloading, I don't see any reason not to go with .38SC, just to avoid that slim chance that things bounce around in the mag and you get some rim lock.