The Unforgiving Minute

As I continue to kick around the .38 Super idea, I’m halfway tempted to do a Gunsite Service Pistol-type build on a plain base gun (Yes, I know full well that Cooper would not have approved of a GSP in .38 Super, though he actually carried a Super when he worked in Central America).

The original GSPs were straightforward guns with only the modifications Cooper considered really important: sights, trigger, dehorn job. I’d probably start with a basic stainless Colt .38 Super and follow the original plan pretty faithfully, using parts mostly from Evolution Gun Works:

• Trigger job with an EGW hard sear and disconnector. The only MIM parts in current Colts are the sear and disconnector. If the gun’s getting a trigger job anyways, I’d just as soon replace those parts with high-quality machined components. The factory hammers are made from barstock and should hold up just fine.
• Extended single-sided thumb safety. EGW apparently makes the only barstock safety on the market. It seems everyone else, even the big-name premium brands, uses castings or MIM.
• Angle-bored bushing, again from EGW. I’ve been hearing great things about these bushings for years now; I really ought to try one.
• EGW oversized firing pin stop, fitted tightly. These also come with a square bottom, which can be radiused as the user sees fit. A small radius lowers the contact point with the hammer, which slows down slide opening. This might be helpful with the high-pressure .38 Super.
• Trijicon fixed night sights. My favorite pistol sights, made here in Michigan.

Dehorn the tangs and grip safety, give all the external surfaces a light beadblasting, maybe slap on some nice micarta grips, and I’d have a slick little pseudo-GSP.

Hmm, I wonder what I should sell to finance the project…