Where Can A Single Stack .38 Super Be Competitive?

[mike cyrwus]

Now, I know some of you guys/gals could outshoot me in any class with a bb gun, but is there anyone at the top who has used the strategy of shooting a .38 super in limited 10?

-minor loads with a better balancing gun??

What about the single stack division; 10 rounds of minor 9mm vs. 8rounds of major?

I have a possible trade lined up for a SA in .38 super; which was why Im asking.

I normally shoot lim-10 with my .45acp.

It seems like a single stack in .38 is a beast past its prime; at least for competition.

Id welcome any comments you might have regarding this.

thanks!

[MikeFoley]

I think it would be very competitive in the new SS division. It could save you a standing reload because of the increased capacity, and A hits would score the same as major.

Other places a .38 super shine are: Steel Challenge, IDPA ESP, Bianchi, Masters, Bullseye centerfire.

Besides, they are just cool, and it is OK to have a gun for that reason.

Edited May 1, 2006 by fomeister

[Merlin Orr]

....IDPA ESP, .....

Besides, they are just cool, and it is OK to have a gun for that reason.

Damn Skippy!

[Carmoney]

If you run a search on this forum, there will be several threads relating to this topic as it relates to the provisional single-stack division. I shot a lot of major USPSA matches last year, and so I went through all my old match booklets to see how many stages would have created a probable advantage for the 10+1 pistol (even with minor scoring) over the 8+1 pistol. My conclusion was that about 30-40 percent of the time I would have chosen to shoot my .38 Super over one of my .45s if I had been shooting single-stack division.

[JFD]

IDPA ESP is where I use mine. No comment on the SS division.

[Ron Ankeny]

I shot a single stack .38 Super built on a Caspian race ready frame all last summer. I sold it to help finance a new Open gun and I have been kicking myself in the butt ever since. I went to the .38 Super to get away from the recoil of major loads because of arthritis, tendonitis, etc. I shot the gun in L10 minor. Man how I wish I would have kept that gun.

Minor scoring is a disadvantage and there is no way around that fact. However, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to shoot SS Provisional with 10 rounds minor in club level matches. For that matter, I would seriously consider shooting the gun in any match where the club is known for 9 round arrays with a popper or paper scattered about between arrays.

As for the original question, do top shooters drop to minor in L10? Not as a general rule.

[Carmoney]

As for the original question, do top shooters drop to minor in L10? Not as a general rule.

Apples and oranges......L-10 doesn't offer two additional rounds per mag to offset the minor scoring disadvantage, but Single-Stack sure does! It puts the two options much closer to parity, which makes it quite interesting!

As I've said before, which option is best (10+1 minor or 8+1 major) will depend wholly on the individual match. I can think of one major match last year that happened to be heavy on stages with round counts of 9, 18, and 19. If I can eliminate several standing reloads across an 8- or 10-stage match, I'll gladly shoot minor.

[1911user]

What is the advantage of a 38 super over 9(x19)mm when shooting minor PF in a 1911 frame?

[Merlin Orr]

What is the advantage of a 38 super over 9(x19)mm when shooting minor PF in a 1911 frame?

In some (most?) guns the 9 mm does not feed as reliably...due to the shorter AOL.

[mike cyrwus]

good stuff; thanks.

Im not at the point where I can just pick up anything and shoot it well; so I think Ill stick to my 1911 .45., rather than try to cut out a reload during a stage; Im still learning how to read a stage.

If it were a 9x19mm 1911, then it very well could be a excellent training aid.

[Harmon]

you can get 10 rounder mags for the super but only 9 round mags(correct me if im wrong) for the 9mm. downside is brass...super brass is 10 cents each, 9mm ammo is 11 cents each...take your pick.

[1911user]

you can get 10 rounder mags for the super but only 9 round mags(correct me if im wrong) for the 9mm. downside is brass...super brass is 10 cents each, 9mm ammo is 11 cents each...take your pick.

That's just cruel irony. Thanks for the info.

[superdude]

the 38 super is still alive and well, and the new Single Stack division will no doubt revive interest in this respectable cartridge. the extra rounds and reduced recoil are two pluses that make it appealing. Bullets are a little cheaper than for the 45, if you happen to load your own. And as was noted above, the 38 super feeds more reliably in a single stack than does the 9mm Luger. this is likely because the 38 super has a longer overall length than the 9mm, and the 38 super has a straight walled case which tends to reduce nose-dive feed failures that the 9mm might be more prone to because of its tapered case. That is certainly true in my double stack para ordnance gun.

It is worth noting that as recently as this last weekend minor power factor cartridges in a single stack placed well in competition. The Single Stack Classic National match held in Barry, Illinois saw minor power factor guns placing 4th and 7th out of 230 shooters. According to the results these guns were used by Taran Butler and Doug Koenig, two skilled and respected shooters. That's a pretty good endorsement. I don't know if they used the 38 super, 9mm, or 40 S&W (which is considered minor power factor if over 8 ropunds are in the magazine - according to their rules: http://www.1911society.org). In any event the 38 Super has a strong following even in guns without red dot sights and compensators.

for the Final Results of the Single Stack Classic National Match, go to:

http://www.1911society.org/overall05.txt