Who carries a .38 super.

I carry a lwt Colt Commander in .38 Super Comp. Why? Simple enough, I like the gun. Edited to add an image. The pistol was a project gun. I did a Bobtail, changed the thumb safety, did a trigger job, added a long ejector, changed the extractor, lowered the ejection port and moved it forward, dehorned (slightly), etc. Then a friend of mine finished the slide and bead blasted the small parts to match the frame as best he could. I am running Lapua Super Comp Brass.

Ditto. A Talo LWT Commander.

Love it.

9+1 capacity. Hotter than a 9mm. On the 1911 frame, which fits me perfectly. Readily recoverable from recoil.

And best of all, not everybody carries one!

My .38 Super is my "sleeper" gun. In the event that someone challenges me to a shootoff ("I can shoot better than you/ my gun is better than your gun AND I can shoot better than you"), I hope to be carrying my "birthday" gun, a 1952 Colt Super .38. By cursory appearance, it is stock. If you look closely, you might notice the Bar Sto stainless barrel. The hammer, trigger, mainspring housing, and slide catch have been replaced by retro, 1927 Argentine Colt parts, and they make the gun look even older than 1952. The trigger pull and sear are stock, and break clean, at a very reasonable poundage. The barrel was fit tight, and properly, by SDM Fabrication , and the sights (still stock), are right on. This gun will shoot WAY better than it looks, and as long as I can still make out the sights with aging eyes, I can kick your butt with it. So far, I haven't had the opportunity to wager any real money on it, but still waiting for that uninformed guy at the range to take me on. PS: I do have it in the CCW rotation, and feel 100% confident in it when I do. ..................... [/URL][/IMG]

Yes I carry a Super occasionally. Sometimes a 130 grn JHP at 1300 is comforting. Not needed of course, but just comforting. Especially in a gun that I can hit accurately with. I normally carry my Les Baer PII in 38 Super.

Always thought the 38 Super was very under appreciated as a defensive round. The name doesn't help, as "38" to most people mean "medium powered", even if that isn't true. Perhaps 355 Magnum would work better.

Hometeached1 said:

I've read a bunch of people use this round in IPSC.

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True. But that really has very little to do with carry applications. Power factor in IPSC/USPSA is simply a momentum calculation. And that's a game that, in many classes (especially Open) rewards high ammo capacity. It's easy to get a high power factor for a big bullet, like a .45 200 gr SWC, but capacity will be limited (fat bullets take up more room). In order to get a lightweight bullet going fast enough to "make major," .38 Super was about the only answer for a long time (barring bottle-necked rounds). Since they dropped the floor for major power factor a little, some people load 9mm up WAY past SAAMI specs for "9mm major" loads, but those are scary. I saw a 9mm major case rupture just last night! If you don't want to do that, then .38 Super is the easiest (and probably best) way to make major without sacrificing capacity.*

The other thing is that most IPSC/USPSA limited- and open-class guns are based on 1911s. That's not as universally true as it used to be, but it's still pretty true. 1911s generally work more reliably with cartridges that have a length similar to a .45ACP. 38 super is about that length, so it's a little easier to make a 1911 run .38 super reliably than .40S&W or 9x19.

None of that means that .38 Super isn't a great carry round... just that the things that have made it popular/optimal for some IPSC/USPSA guns don't necessarily have much bearing on, say, terminal ballistics.

*Note: USPSA has some minimum bullet diameter requirements in most classes that make .38 super ineligible for major scoring, but it works for race guns. And actual IPSC, IIUC, allows .355-size projectiles for major in all classes.

I carry a Colt Commander in .38 Super in my purse. It's easy to control, accurate and I'm confident that should the worst happen it has enough power to do the job.

I have an old Colt in .38 super. I like the caliber but do not carry it often-reason I don't is NOT because of the caliber. I certainly would feel adequately protected with it.

I skimmed the other posts, and didn't see this mentioned...

EAA/Tanfoglio makes their CZ75 clone in .38 Super. As far as I'm aware, this is the only non-1911 I can remember in .38 Super... Although, I'm sure there is a Derringer of some sort out there.

38 super will it shoot out of a 357/38?

Taurus made a few guns different than the 1911 that fire the .38 Super, and Sig had the P220 in .38 Super, also, but it was discontinued some time ago. S&W also did a some limited revolvers in .38 Super on the L or N frame, if I recall. A barrel for the Glock 20 can be had in .38 Super from Lone Wolf.

I currently have a Colt Lightweight Commander in .38 Super that is part of my CCW rotation.

once in a while I carry this one

My .38 Super is my main carry gun (although I did just pick up a Springfield XDs in .45ACP... ). I hand load however and I feel that's the only way you will reliably find decent full power .38 Super loads, with the exception of some more expensive factory rounds.

My Kimber Pro Carry HD (steel receiver) has never failed me, and it's quite accurate with any loads I've put through it. It's a tad bit heavy, but I'm used to it and it conceals quite well in a nice holster.

Nope, but I'd like to. I've been thinking of reaming out the 9mm 1911 I currently carry to either .38 super or 9x23. I need to get set up to reload, first.