Adventures in Reloading the .38 Super Auto Round Redux

Back on March 13, I had a post entitled Adventures in Reloading the .38 Super in which I mentioned that I had a new load based on using Hodgdon Lil'Gun powder. The powder's burn rate is substantially slower than typical pistol powders. As a result, if I understand the physics, the powder releases the gases more slowly, such that it is still expanding as the bullet reaches the end of the barrel, pushing the bullet as fast as it will go. Additionally, the slow burn rate means that the bullet starts moving before the pressure builds too much behind it, so it keeps the pressure from building too high.

Yesterday I got to the range.  I had meant to go during the following week, but various things kept getting in the way.  Anyhow, I had 50 rounds loaded with 124 grain plated bullets and 12.5 grains of Lil'Gun.  Theoretically, the bullets should have had a muzzle velocity of 1315 feet per second (fps) but I don't have a ballistic chronograph, so I am forced to take Hodgdon's word for it, as it was their data on which I was relying.  From my purely subjective evaluation, the recoil was more than I experienced with other loads and with commercial rounds I had tried.  The flash was certainly greater, and the report was louder, but it was very controllable.  This must be what the early adopters of the 1911 platform in .38 Super Auto must have felt.  Remember, this round could penetrate steel car bodies, that .38 Spl could not.  By contrast, typical carry ammo today would be something like Federal American Eagle 115 grain JHP at 1130 fps.

After my range session, I noted another .38 Super shooter who shoots competitively around the country, as well as teaching and coaching at our range.  We discussed various loads for the .38 Super.  I mentioned 130 grain bullets coupled with 6.0 grains CFEPistol.  He noted that he had used that as well, and it was a very economical powder to use for people who shot a lot.  He also mentioned that the .38 super could be driven to 1400 fps with Lil'Gun.  And maybe that is the powder that buffalo Bore is using to achieve 1450 fps with a 124 grain bullet.

 In other news, Alien Gear Holsters has the Top Ten 1911 Upgrades people make to their weapon. What Sam Hoobler is talking about here is a pistol built to the specifications of the iconic M1911A1 pistol that served our military through two World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam.  The 1911 platform is now over a hundred years old, and yet it shows no signs of slowing down.  It's all steel and wood design creates a heavy gun, to be sure, but that weight also helps absorb some of the recoil.  The straight back trigger and the relatively close to the bore axis of the grip mean less felt recoil.  On the downside, it does carry less ammunition than many plastic fantastics.  Glocks of course are fine weapons that do the job quite well,  But for some of us, there is no substitute for the feel of a 1911.

However, the 1911 is not perfect.  Hoobler discusses how to improve on a good design to make it better.  Go have a look.