Needing the .38 Super Automatic

 I am still recovering from cancer surgery and I have yet to face radiation treatment.  Recently, I put on my gun again.  Part of my recovery recovering something of my old self.  Having been given a second chance at life, I intend to live it. 

Having gotten a gift card to the range, I decided to oil up my 1911 in .45 Auto in anticipation of shooting a few rounds.  To my surprise, racking the slide of the .45 was much harder than it had been before I went in the hospital (note to self - strength training).  But racking the slide of the .38 Super Auto was much easier.  I therefore switched from carrying the .45 to the .38.

Today I noticed an article by Mike Hardesty at Ammoland entitled Beyond .45 ACP: Exploring 9mm and Other Calibers for the 1911. Long time readers will know that I am a fan of the M1911 pistol, and of John Browning. However, I do not think that Browning's designs are sacred. Everything can be improved, and the M1911 style guns being produced today show many improvements over the WWI and WWII pistols. That includes calibers.

John Moses Browning’s brainchild 1911 design literally changed the world of pistol shooting. From its inception to its adoption by the military – a very interesting story in itself – throughout its storied career, ol’ slab sides, as it has affectionately been referred to, is arguably the most recognizable pistol in the world by non-shooters.

There’s a reason for that: originally chambered in .45 ACP, the gun had (has) a reputation for one-shot stops. Its 230-grain FMJ bullet was greatly feared by those on the other side of the front sight. I had a cousin (second cousin, actually), Billy, who was in the Air Force and was stationed in Japan after the war. He was tasked with helping to keep the peace. He said they’d roll up to a scene where looting or other nastiness was occurring and pull out their M1 carbines. Typically, that had no effect on stopping the activity, but when they pulled out their .45s, all nefarious actions would cease. It seems the bad guys wanted no part of the .45 ACP.

Hardesty includes discussions on .22LR, .38 Super, 9mm, 10mm, and .40 S&W. As he points out, 9mm is the most popular these days, which is too bad. The lack of the availability of .38 Super ammunition drives people away from the cartridge. That in turn causes fewer guns to be built in the caliber. But .38 Super is a wonderful cartridge to shoot, having the hitting power of a .45 Auto in a lower recoil package. Sort of a 9mm on steroids.

.38 Super

Next, there’s the .38 Super. This caliber was one of the original non-.45 calibers to be chambered in 1911s. It was very popular in some South American countries, as laws there precluded owning pistols in military calibers. That effectively ruled out .45 ACP and 9mm. I believe that the .38 Super, which behaves like a 9mm on steroids, was popular for that reason. It is a powerful round. Typically it is loaded about 200 fps faster than the 9mm. It came out in 1929 as a possible solution to penetration issues suffered by the .38 Special and .45 ACP. Today, many competitive shooters use it in matches as it makes major power factor without .45ACP-style recoil in USPSA or similar contests. One of its only downsides is that it is not as available and it costs more than 9mm.

More powerful than 9mm – sort of a “9mm Magnum”

Makes major power factor with reduced recoil

Popular hunting round for small to medium game

Magazines can hold more rounds than .45 ACP

Note that the .38 Super is popular South of the border and in the U.S in competitive circles. More about that in this piece by Stephen Hunter at the American Rifleman entitled The Super 38. About the .38 Super the author notes:

But besides its tactical advantages, the .38 Super represented one allure of gun culture that only occasionally gets acknowledged, and yet one that is absolutely fascinating and all but impenetrable to those who don’t feel the pull. That is, it has charisma; it has personality, pizzazz, and vividness. It’s out of the ordinary, beloved by some, aggressively non-generic and it carries information with it. It says—and we love to say this—“I have thought hard about these issues and come to a logical conclusion and made these sound decisions. I am not passive; I am active in deciding about my own defense.”

I suspect this is why I bought the .38 Super in the first place. I didn't need it, I just wanted it. I wanted it for its "charisma." But now I need it too, I am glad I have it.