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Why not a 38 Super revolver?
- Thread starter SIGSHR
- Start date
NoSecondBest
New member
Absolutely nothing to gain. More problematic reloading chambering on the case mouth. I have both, and the 38Super is second fiddle to the .357max for anything you can think of in a revolver. The 38Super was designed to offer a "light" .357mag load in a semi auto handgun. The amount of shooters using the 9mm in a revolver is only in response to the amount of available cheap ammo you can pick up just about anywhere. Not so with the 38Super. The better question is why not a .357mag in an automatic....and there is an answer. It's the Coonan auto. Also, the 357sig does a pretty good job. There's just too many bullet options and more power available with just shooting the .357mag in a revolver over a Super.
It's been done, but not currently manufactured. http://www.gunsholstersandgear.com/2009/07/29/smith-wesson-model-627-in-38-super/
The 38Super was designed to offer a "light" .357mag load in a semi auto handgun.
Nope. The 357 Magnum (1934-1935) did not exist when the 38 Super was created (circa 1933). Hard to design something as a light 357 mag load when the 357 Mag did not exist at the time.
Colt introduced the Super 38 pistol in 1929. It was chambered in 38 Automatic. Around 1933 Remington had increased the power and started to distinguish between the 38 Automatic and the 38 Super Automatic which had two different power levels.
Bill DeShivs
New member
There would be no chambering problems, as the Super is semi-rimmed. It originally seated on the rim.
The Super can probably be safely shot in a .357 mag handgun, if it doesn't have tight chambers.
The Super can probably be safely shot in a .357 mag handgun, if it doesn't have tight chambers.
Isn't the revolver that Jerry Mickelic shoots in demonstrations with moon clips a .38 Super?
And, to muddy the waters even more, I do believe that Starline is producing both semi-rimmed (traditional .38 Super), brass and rimless .38 super that is intended to head space on the mouth of the case.
And, to muddy the waters even more, I do believe that Starline is producing both semi-rimmed (traditional .38 Super), brass and rimless .38 super that is intended to head space on the mouth of the case.
Why not ? Since the 38 Super is to the 9MMP as the .357 is to the 38 Special?
Just involve lengthening the chambers, seems the semi-rimmed case would be easier to extract.
No. 38 super is NOT just a long 9x19. 38 super is a straight case, and .007 smaller
than the tapered 9x19 is at the case head.
well, I'm not so sure. I have had a .38 Super since the seventies and have observed that despite a small ledge in the barrel hood, the extractor also can be in contact with the semi-rim in some guns. If you have a .38 Super auto, drop a round in the unmounted barrel and then wiggle it around. Oft-times (or at least in my Colt's original barrel), you can get the round to over-ride the rim and drop further into the barrel until the mouth contacts the end of the chamber and stops. However, that is misleading inasmuch as when the barrel is mounted in the gun, the extractor keeps the round from overriding the semi-rim cut in the barrel hood...there is just not enough clearance.There would be no chambering problems, as the Super is semi-rimmed. It originally seated on the rim.
Nevertheless, it is my understanding that the custom for modern guns in .38 Super are being chambered to be head spaced on the mouth using those rimless .38 Super brass from Starline.
Except maybe controllability in rapid fire or quick follow-up shots?I have both, and the 38Super is second fiddle to the .357max for anything you can think of in a revolver.
The Super can probably be safely shot in a .357 mag handgun, if it doesn't have tight chambers.
Case drawings say the Super is .384" at the mouth and the .357 is .379".
That's 0.005" larger and the super case gets wider at the head but tolerances being what they are some Super will fit in some .357 chambers. Also possible some Super ammo won't go all the way into some .357 chambers.
they have been made, so its possible, but absent one having a stockpile of .38 super ammo, and a burning desire to shoot it through a revolver, I don't see any point to a .38 Super revolver.
Jim Watson
New member
S&W also made a more conventional looking L frame .38 Super revolver. (Also a .40.)
They didn't last long or sell many. Hmm.
They didn't last long or sell many. Hmm.
Case drawings say the Super is .384" at the mouth and the .357 is .379".
That's 0.005" larger and the super case gets wider at the head but tolerances being what they are some Super will fit in some .357 chambers. Also possible some Super ammo won't go all the way into some .357 chambers.
they have been made, so its possible, but absent one having a stockpile of .38 super ammo, and a burning desire to shoot it through a revolver, I don't see any point to a .38 Super revolver.
The 38 Super does not get wider at the head. It is a true straight-walled cylindrical cartridge just like the 38 Spl/357 Mag.
Why not a 38 Super revolver?
Nothing to gain.
That would be a good question for Jerry Micklich.Nothing to gain.
TruthTellers
New member
Because no .38 Super can shoot anything close to the 180 grain .357 Buffalo Bore, that's why.
And? The 9x19mm and .38 Special are poor sisters next to a .357 Magnum too and it doesn't stop people from buying revolvers in those cartridges.Because no .38 Super can shoot anything close to the 180 grain .357 Buffalo Bore, that's why.
As said, the popularity of 9mm revolvers currently is simply due to the plethora of inexpensive ammo available. There are other issues with the 9mm revolvers (crimp jump and requiring moon clips for extraction being the 2 biggest ones) that you can avoid completely by using a .38 Special.
Don't get me wrong, I own a 5" Colt Competition Model in .38 Super and think it's a great round. Especially in a semi-auto pistol that's as easy to shoot as a Government Model with good sights. It shoots flat and has very mild recoil.
But I don't see any advantages to clambering a revolver in it when the .38 Special and .357 Magnum are available. The rim isn't very big and I'm not sure you could rely on it to extract reliably in a double action revolver. A modern .38 Super like my Colt is setup to headspace on the cartridge case mouth, just like a .45 ACP or 9x19mm. The rim is just a vestige from the early days of smokeless powder and experiments with semi-auto pistols.
I also wonder if the question stems from the misunderstanding of the relationship of the .38 Super to the 9x19mm. They aren't even close to the same cartridge shape, lengthened or shortened.
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Jim Watson
New member
The rim isn't very big and I'm not sure you could rely on it to extract reliably in a double action revolver.
The S&W .38 Super revolvers I saw used full moon clips.
Now if you are talking about cramming Supers into a Special or Magnum, operation can get spotty.
There is nothing mechanically wrong with the setup, just that it did not sell.
Not as powerful as .357, not as cheap as 9mm.
buck460XVR
New member
S&W also made a more conventional looking L frame .38 Super revolver. (Also a .40.)
They didn't last long or sell many. Hmm.
^^^This....just not enough of a market/demand.
I do recall seeing the .38 Super revolvers advertised but never saw one in person. It does make far more sense that they would use moon clips.The S&W .38 Super revolvers I saw used full moon clips.
Now if you are talking about cramming Supers into a Special or Magnum, operation can get spotty.
There is nothing mechanically wrong with the setup, just that it did not sell.
Not as powerful as .357, not as cheap as 9mm.
To be 100% honest, I have tried fitting. 38 Super DUMMY rounds in the .357 Magnum chambers of my S&W 586. Some dummies fit in some chambers, but it wasn't a reliable fit.
I'll also add that having worked in a gunshop on the sales floor, the "semi-automatic" caliber revolvers are more popular on gun forums and with competitive shooters than they are with the general buying public. My prediction is that the recently relaunched S&W 610s will sell well to some dedicated 10mm shooters and enthusiasts early on, but the novelty will wear off for the general population when they realize they can have a .44 Magnum in the same size revolver. Or an 8 shot .357 Magnum.
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