Hmmmmmmm.1200 FPS? Is that with 230 gr. RN? It can't be. I think my patty cake target loads are poking along at just over half that. My top end reloads come out in the mid 950 FPS range. The 1911 isn't exactly rude at those power levels... but it certainly barks. I personally would not recommend it to noobs or youngsters. If you have to fight with a handgun a 9mm might be a better choice for some.
Ad says 38 super. What is your max fps for that?
ReplyDeleteOkay, my mistake, Jim.
DeleteFrom the Hodgdon on line data, 115~124gr jacketed bullets will do those velocities at +P pressures. I would not want to run the gun on a steady diet of those.
How does that compare with the 9mm? Let's find out!
According to the tables some of the hotter, lighter 9mm Luger loads will do the same... but you have to push it. With 124 grainers it will come close.
I used to be a big fan of the 38 Super but in this light... given the availability of ammo and brass, the 9mm is hands down the way to go from a purely practical standpoint.
https://shop.hodgdon.com/reloading-data-center?rdc=true&type=53
I shoot 124s at 1450fps, VERY safely out of my super. And not just a couple, but tens and tens and tens of thousands. I generally get 60k rounds out of a barrel before the throat is washed out.
ReplyDeleteI notice you are genuinely frightened of 1200 fps in a super, but nonchalantly mention you can get that out of a 9mm 'but you have to push it'
I admit I have no experience with the 38 Super, and very limited experience with the 9mm. All I have is the Hogdon reloading data to go by. The experts I listen to are cautious with hot +P ammunition. If they are wary, I am too. I am not a lawman, or a competitor, I am a gun club stubfart with opinions that are not always popular or even necessarily correct, for that matter. As such I am always open for rebuke and correction by my moral and intellectual superiors.
DeleteYour mileage may vary, but if I need performance like that, the magnum revolvers will do the job easily. I think they finally resolved the problems Colt had when they chambered their 1911 to the hotter 10mm... so maybe that would be an option too.
Regardless, I’d rather not run my guns on the ragged edge of their performance envelopes, but that’s just me.
1450 fps is far from the ragged edge when the bbls last 60k rounds.
DeleteJust sayin.
Try to put 60k rounds through a model 29 without major timing problems.
That’s fair. If you have done your homework and hand loaded your ammo safely and responsibly, it’s entirely possible I suppose. But at the end of the day, unless I have pooped the bed on the manuals... you are moving 250 FPS faster than maximum book velocities. If that gun goes kaboom, and someone gets hurt...you might be in for some legal troubles. When semiautomatic pistols blow up, it’s usually the frame, slide and toggles that fail.
DeleteWhy not just go to a 10mm if you want those ballistics?
Because I DO use a 10mm, 1200 fps with a 200 gr, and no the frame, slide and toggle don't go. If you have ever experienced a catastrophic failure, you would see grip panels blown off and a mag blown out of the bottom.
DeleteLotsa good info here...
ReplyDeletehttps://brianenos.com/
9mm is the easiest to find and cheapest. I'll stick with it for my go to caliber.
ReplyDeleteJust saying.
Yup. And in normal market times, it’s one of the very few calibers where it isn’t cheaper to reload... but right now the prices are stupid, or so I’ve heard...
DeleteThe 38 super was popular in Mexico since you could'nt legally own a military caliber gun down there.
ReplyDeleteIn the 20's and 30's, it would defeat the rudimentary bullet proof vests they had.
One of my boss's had his dad's. I always wonder what happened to that beautiful piece of history....
I'd want the hammer in cocked position before starting the kinetic energy session with the beast in the ad.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'd really like to start with a big bore rifle instead of a pistol.
Or an artillery barrage or an air strike.
Even better, I'd like the whole incident to happen to someone else!