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The .38 Super Comp
The .38 Super Comp is a rimless version of the 38 Super (or +P) with similar internal capacity to 38 Super. The 38 Super Comp was designed to enhance feeding reliability in high-capacity magazines of competition race guns chambered for the .38 Super. Effectively they are interchangeable, Some .38 Super pistols may require minor extractor tuning to allow the extractor to reliably pull the rimless case from the chamber.
Rimless .38 Super Brass: Everything You Need To Know
The .38 Super retains the original dimensions of the .38 ACP case. The cartridge was originally designed to headspace on the semi-rimmed case, which worked in the Colt M1900 due to the design of the feed ramp. When the .38 Auto became the .38 Super, in the 1911A1, the feed ramp could no longer be used as rim support.
As a result of this, observed accuracy of the .38 Super suffered until Irv Stone of Bar-Sto barrels re-designed the chamber to allow headspacing on the case mouth. Since then, all new production .38 Super pistols headspace on the case mouth, as with other cartridges in this class. The semi-rimmed case is known to cause feeding problems in some magazines, especially double stack magazines, and led to the development of new variants with reduced rims (typically only .003 inch per side).
In 1974, the industry added the +P headstamp to the .38 Super to further distinguish it from the lower-pressure .38 ACP. Most current ammunition manufacturers label ammunition for the Super as .38 Super +P. Since the .38 Super is dimensionally the same as the .38 ACP, an unsafe condition can be caused by firing .38 Super cartridges in a firearm designed for the much lower pressure .38 ACP. The weakness, in the Colt M1900, Colt M1902, and others derived from that design, comes from the assembly wedge at the front of the slide. If the wedge comes out, or the slide cracks at the wedge, the slide can come off the rear of the frame when fired. The 1911 and 1911A1, having a slide that is solid on front, cannot come off the frame that way.
In recent years, cases such as the .38 Super Comp, .38 Super Lapua, .38 Super RL (Armscor), and .38 TJ (.38 Todd Jarrett) became available transforming the .38 Super into an almost truly rimless cartridge. These "rimless" cases are somewhat of a misnomer, due to the case rim not retaining the same diameter as the case wall just forward of the extractor groove. A common example is the .38 Super Comp case, which has a semi-rim extending only .003–.004 inch per side, compared to standard .38 Super which has .007–.009 inch per side.
The main reason for the development of new cases was due to the semi-rimmed .38 Super case not always feeding reliably from the double-stack box-magazines used in several semi-automatic pistols popular with practical shooting sports, such as United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) or International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC). The nearly rimless cases improve feeding reliability in these pistols but are intended to be used in firearms that headspace on the case mouth. Other improvements found in some of these cases are modified extractor grooves and increased thickness in key parts of the brass for high pressure loadings.
The related 9x23 Winchester is a further enhanced relative of the 38 Super Comp.
The .38 Super Comp is a rimless version of the 38 Super (or +P) with similar internal capacity to 38 Super. The 38 Super Comp was designed to enhance feeding reliability in high-capacity magazines of competition race guns chambered for the .38 Super. Effectively they are interchangeable, Some .38 Super pistols may require minor extractor tuning to allow the extractor to reliably pull the rimless case from the chamber.
Rimless .38 Super Brass: Everything You Need To Know
The .38 Super retains the original dimensions of the .38 ACP case. The cartridge was originally designed to headspace on the semi-rimmed case, which worked in the Colt M1900 due to the design of the feed ramp. When the .38 Auto became the .38 Super, in the 1911A1, the feed ramp could no longer be used as rim support.
As a result of this, observed accuracy of the .38 Super suffered until Irv Stone of Bar-Sto barrels re-designed the chamber to allow headspacing on the case mouth. Since then, all new production .38 Super pistols headspace on the case mouth, as with other cartridges in this class. The semi-rimmed case is known to cause feeding problems in some magazines, especially double stack magazines, and led to the development of new variants with reduced rims (typically only .003 inch per side).
In 1974, the industry added the +P headstamp to the .38 Super to further distinguish it from the lower-pressure .38 ACP. Most current ammunition manufacturers label ammunition for the Super as .38 Super +P. Since the .38 Super is dimensionally the same as the .38 ACP, an unsafe condition can be caused by firing .38 Super cartridges in a firearm designed for the much lower pressure .38 ACP. The weakness, in the Colt M1900, Colt M1902, and others derived from that design, comes from the assembly wedge at the front of the slide. If the wedge comes out, or the slide cracks at the wedge, the slide can come off the rear of the frame when fired. The 1911 and 1911A1, having a slide that is solid on front, cannot come off the frame that way.
In recent years, cases such as the .38 Super Comp, .38 Super Lapua, .38 Super RL (Armscor), and .38 TJ (.38 Todd Jarrett) became available transforming the .38 Super into an almost truly rimless cartridge. These "rimless" cases are somewhat of a misnomer, due to the case rim not retaining the same diameter as the case wall just forward of the extractor groove. A common example is the .38 Super Comp case, which has a semi-rim extending only .003–.004 inch per side, compared to standard .38 Super which has .007–.009 inch per side.
The main reason for the development of new cases was due to the semi-rimmed .38 Super case not always feeding reliably from the double-stack box-magazines used in several semi-automatic pistols popular with practical shooting sports, such as United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) or International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC). The nearly rimless cases improve feeding reliability in these pistols but are intended to be used in firearms that headspace on the case mouth. Other improvements found in some of these cases are modified extractor grooves and increased thickness in key parts of the brass for high pressure loadings.
The related 9x23 Winchester is a further enhanced relative of the 38 Super Comp.
