Pilgrim86314
Alpha
Oughta be one! I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
Thoughts from the herd, please.
Pilgrim
Thoughts from the herd, please.
Pilgrim
SA35 in .38 Super?
- Thread starter Pilgrim86314
- Start date
Talyn
SAINT
Can't work.
#1 - The .38 Super round is too long (OAL) for the magazine, magazine well & ejection port.
Cramming a long round that what the pistol was built to handle just won't work period.
The entire pistol would have to be redesigned then it's not a BHP look-a-like.
Get a Rock River Arms 1911 in 9mm, and get a .38 Super barrel fitted, and .38 Super 1911 mags.
#1 - The .38 Super round is too long (OAL) for the magazine, magazine well & ejection port.
Cramming a long round that what the pistol was built to handle just won't work period.
The entire pistol would have to be redesigned then it's not a BHP look-a-like.
Get a Rock River Arms 1911 in 9mm, and get a .38 Super barrel fitted, and .38 Super 1911 mags.
Talyn
SAINT
Much to hot for what the BHP was designed for.
FN has to rethink how to make the BHP in order to handle the .40 S&W back-in-the-day. That resulted in the Mk. II's having beefed up framed & slide with better steel, and even then the .40 S&W really didn't work out.
And the Mk. III BHP was the only one that FN said could handle the +P loads. I would put a steady diet of +Ps thru a SA-35 since it's not built like the Mk. IIIs were.
The BHP design was made for the 9mm Luger.
While Browning had a 40 Hi power it was beefed up (had a mousetrap type spring that shot the mags out pretty forcefully)
To me It changed tha balance in a negative way as it was beefier and with the slowing popularity of 40 let along nich market for 357 Sig I’d say slim chance.
Pilgrim86314
Alpha
As to the .38 Soop, I can dream. But it was, as was said above, it was designed for the 9mm.
I had a .40 Hi Power 20 or so years back. It was a gift, but I sold it pretty quick because it never felt right.
Back '74 I had a Lightweight Commander in the .38 Soop. Carried it on duty until I discovered that the 3 or 4" vertical stringing at 25 yds wasn't my shooting. An old shooter told me that the cartridge headspaced on the rim and if case length varied at all, primer ignition and powder burn were erratic and thus, so was accuracy. Since I could shoot my Govt Model and S&W Model 19 well I went along with his thoughts and sold it.
Any opinions on that theory?
I like the. 38 Super and wish it was more popular.As to the .38 Soop, I can dream. But it was, as was said above, it was designed for the 9mm.
I had a .40 Hi Power 20 or so years back. It was a gift, but I sold it pretty quick because it never felt right.
Back '74 I had a Lightweight Commander in the .38 Soop. Carried it on duty until I discovered that the 3 or 4" vertical stringing at 25 yds wasn't my shooting. An old shooter told me that the cartridge headspaced on the rim and if case length varied at all, primer ignition and powder burn were erratic and thus, so was accuracy. Since I could shoot my Govt Model and S&W Model 19 well I went along with his thoughts and sold it.
Any opinions on that theory?
I wish SA would do their Garrison 4 1/4 in it like Colt does.
Commander - Colt's Manufacturing LLC
www.colt.com
Talyn
SAINT
Colt 38Ss headspaced on the rim until the mid-80's when Colt followed BarSto's lead to chamber it for the case mouth.An old shooter told me that the cartridge headspaced on the rim and if case length varied at all, primer ignition and powder burn were erratic and thus, so was accuracy.
Any opinions on that theory?
Everyone has done it that way since.
Talyn
SAINT
It never felt right because they had to beef up the slide on the 40's. That messed with the feel & lines, and one of the reasons the .40 BHP really didn't do well.I had a .40 Hi Power 20 or so years back. It was a gift, but I sold it pretty quick because it never felt right.
But the Mk. III 9mm benefitted from the work on the work on the .40 since the traditional forged frames cracked with the .40. FN found out using a cast frame using better steel fixed that problem.
The 9mm Mk. III used the same cast frames, and the better steel in the traditional 9mm slide. The 9mm Mk. IIIs are the strongest BHPs.
I don’t like .40 cartridge and don’t like the way the.40 BHP handles with the heavier slide. However, I will say I think Browning is one of the very few makers who got the .40 right.
My BHP may handle like a pig, but it is the most accurate .40 I’ve owned. When the .40 was popular, I tried hard to like that cartridge and went through several .40 guns. Aside from a CZ75B, I never could get one that shot very well.
Finally I came into a .40 BHP that I only bought because the price was right (being a .40). It shot so well I still have it. As much as I ended up disliking the cartridge, I’ve hung onto that gun. I guess I thought that when I found a good one I should keep it.
It also sees the least use of any BHP I have. I haven’t shot it in years.
At one time, some people were using 9mm conversion barrels in their BHP .40s and claiming it made an extra-durable gun. Maybe, but I couldn’t get over the feel of the .40 BHP. It was so different I might as well carry a 1911.
And that’s how a .38 Super BHP would probably feel.
Which is a shame. What a neat combination that would be.
My BHP may handle like a pig, but it is the most accurate .40 I’ve owned. When the .40 was popular, I tried hard to like that cartridge and went through several .40 guns. Aside from a CZ75B, I never could get one that shot very well.
Finally I came into a .40 BHP that I only bought because the price was right (being a .40). It shot so well I still have it. As much as I ended up disliking the cartridge, I’ve hung onto that gun. I guess I thought that when I found a good one I should keep it.
It also sees the least use of any BHP I have. I haven’t shot it in years.
At one time, some people were using 9mm conversion barrels in their BHP .40s and claiming it made an extra-durable gun. Maybe, but I couldn’t get over the feel of the .40 BHP. It was so different I might as well carry a 1911.
And that’s how a .38 Super BHP would probably feel.
Which is a shame. What a neat combination that would be.
It seems like when the 40 BHP around 1994 was the same time the HK USP and SIG 229 came out and what they all did right was build the guns around the 40 cartridge bs just rechambering a 9mm. I think the only gun that worked in was the S&W 3rd generations.
Even today (well since 2014 wjem the VP series came out) the HK VP40 has a heavier wider slide than a VP9 and after 30 years of perfection Glock Gen 5 40 cal slides are .
1.08” wife and 3oz heavier vs the 1.0” wide on Gen 2-4 40 cal models!
Grayfox
Professional
A HP in 38 Super would be a dream gun for me. But, as mentioned, the mag well isn't deep enough to accommodate the longer cartridge. It would require re-designing the whole gun. 
I tried a 40 when they first came out. Never liked it, never could get it to shoot worth a damn. I'll never own another.
Now days its become a niche cartridge. There is a small but loyal group of fans, but most everybody else has forgotten it.
Its gotten so that you can't hardly give a .40 away. I had a table at a fairly large gun show a few years back. A young man came by trying to sell a Berretta .40 cal. I said no thanks and he replied " Yeah, that's what everybody is telling me."
I tried a 40 when they first came out. Never liked it, never could get it to shoot worth a damn. I'll never own another.
Now days its become a niche cartridge. There is a small but loyal group of fans, but most everybody else has forgotten it.
Its gotten so that you can't hardly give a .40 away. I had a table at a fairly large gun show a few years back. A young man came by trying to sell a Berretta .40 cal. I said no thanks and he replied " Yeah, that's what everybody is telling me."
HansGruber
Ronin
The Beretta 96 was a pretty solid performer in .40, and that was just a beefed up 92…
But I agree…the USP40 & Compact, and Sig 229 are probably the best .40 platforms out there.
Annihilator
Emissary
I had one of the USP40’s, great gun, my sheriff talked me out of it, he eventually carried it for years.
I believe the 96 had a beefed up locking block so they got around having to make it bigger. But year my State police here ran 96’s for several years
This
HansGruber
Ronin
MN State Patrol ran 96G Brigadiers for quite some time; I had one as a surplus pistol, did the “D” spring swap…
It wasn’t a bad piece at all, but I didn’t like it when I accidentally swapped mags with it for my buddy’s 92 he had at the range, and launched a couple 9mm’s through a .40 (no damage, but it does make an interesting case).
Grayfox
Professional
A few years back I bought a RIA 1911 in 9mm just to see what all the fuss was about as they seem to be quite popular. It did nothing for me. I converted it to 38 Super and now enjoy it a lot. While I do still have the 9mm barrel, I seriously doubt I'll ever use it again.
For a 9mm, I much prefer the Hi-Power.
For a 9mm, I much prefer the Hi-Power.