DoubleTap Ammo is now listing three brand-spankin’-new loadings for the .38 Super +P (note that there’s no non-plus-P .38 Super; the +P in this case is just meant to differentiate the round from the dimensionally identical but much lower pressure .38 ACP).
There’s a 115-grain Barnes TAC-XP listed at 1425 FPS, an unnamed bonded 125-grain JHP at 1350, and a 147-grain flat point FMJ at 1225, all from a 5″ 1911. I’m betting the Barnes TAC-XP load will be impressive; Barnes has a long history of making tough bullets that only get better the faster they’re pushed.
Speaking of pushing, this pushes me ever closer to the edge of buying a .38 Super. I also just noticed that CDNN has stainless 1911 Metalform mags in .38 super for only $17 a pop…
Sounds balistically similar to .357SIG loads. I bet it shoots great out of a full-sized steel 1911.
Too bad it’s an expensive itch to scratch.
If you need an extra push, just imagine what it will be like to be old and gray and sitting in a rocking chair. All the things you’ll remember, all the things you’ll regret. You think you’d ever sit there and go, “Damn, I never should have tried that .38 Super!” Nah. If you’re lucky, you’ll still have it, and be shooting it off the back porch.
The .38 Super just seems a good idea. How does its ballistics stack up against the Europellet?
It has an edge over the 9mm, but +P/+P+ 9mm ammo comes pretty close. There’s a shortage of full-power factory ammo for the .38 Super at the moment, though DoubleTap is about to change that with their new loadings…