Hey, Jamie C.
Hey Jamie C. (senior Member),
First let me say I am sorry I have not learned about how to control which message I respond to ect. That is why I "yeled "Hey" for Jamie.
It seems from two of your post that you assume there is not such thing as a 1911 type pistol in .38 Special. If I am mistaken about the intention of your two post, please forgive me.
They were once made up by a number of custom shops for 3 gun NRA bullseye shooting. The Army Marksmanship Unit appearently came up with the idea and because like some here they were concerned about difficulty feeding in the 1911 action they used a .38 Special with a reduced rim and called it the .38 AMU if memory is correct. Later it was found that by limiting magazine capacity to only what was needed for the course of fire that unaltered .38 Special cases could be used.
The amunition was restricted to 141 to 148 grain wad cutters loaded flush with the case and given a roll crimp. Loads were typically fairly light charges of Bullseye powder.
I may be wrong but I seem to recall that these guns had no barrel link or locking lugs in on the barrel and functioned as a fixed barrel Blow back operated pistol and that some models featured ringed groves in the chamber to slow the rearward motion of the case on firing.
There were enough of these guns made up that S&W brought out their Model 52 .38 Special (wad cutter only) as a production gun. Both the Colts and S&Ws still show up at target matches.
Some time things shake loose from the ossified brains of us "upper middle aged" folks and we feel the urge to share them with others.
In the seventies I used to imagine how nice it would be to have three otherwise identical "Gold Cup 1911A-1s, one in the original service cartridge, one in the .38 Special Wad Cutter format and one fitted by Bob Day with his Day 30X .22LR conversion. As no gold meteorites soft landed in the back yard back then ( and have still not) I had to make do with a .45ACP and a Colt Ace type conversion unit.
As to those Seven Guns for the thread starter.
A good DA belt gun in .357 Magnum with four or six inch barrel,
a good service pistol,
the best .22LR auto pistol offered,
a CCW gun you would be comfortable carrying and that you could find multiple means of carrying.
a good SA revolver in a heavy caliber
a good single shot rifle caliber hunting pistol
A gun that would fit your significant others hand and not be two powerful for them.
With out the list I could not recommend anything specifically.