Usage
The .38 Super has made a comeback in IPSC and USPSA sports shooting raceguns, particularly when equipped with a compensator, because it exceeds the power factor threshold to be considered a "Major" charge, while having much more manageable recoil than .45 ACP. Part of the felt recoil reduction is due to the use of lighter-weight bullets. The major cause of reduced felt recoil is a compensator, or muzzle brake. The "comp" works by diverting gases at the muzzle. The greater the gas volume, or the higher the pressure, the greater the effectiveness of a comp. As the Super runs at a higher pressure than, say, the .45, a comp will have more recoil-reduction effect.
The comeback began in the early 1980s, when Robbie Leatham and Brian Enos began experimenting with, and competing with, .38 Super pistols in IPSC. At the time, single-stack 1911s in .45 ACP were dominant. Their .38 Super pistols held 1-2 more rounds simply due to the smaller case diameter. However, the biggest advantage was the muzzle brake, allowing for faster follow-up shots, and thus faster stages and subsequent higher scores. Competitors still using .45 ACP pistols attempted to keep pace, both by adding compensators and by reducing bullet weight, quickly reaching the limit at 152-155 grains. The Super could be loaded to Major with bullet as light as 115 grains.
Use of compensators in competition is limited to Open Division in USPSA/IPSC. The other Divisions there do not permit their use, and IDPA does not permit them at all. Lacking a comp, a .38 Super, running at Major, has felt recoil much like that of a .45 ACP, and more than that of a 9mm.
Apart from its popularity in the shooting sports, the .38 Super +P is one of the most popular pistol cartridges in Latin America due to local restrictions on civilian ownership of firearms chambered for the military cartridges, such as the .45 ACP. For this reason, American police departments in the southwestern United States often consider .38 Super shell casings found at homicide scenes as a sign that the firearm was of Latin American origin.
The .38 Super round received further publicity through the single-action "Colt Combat Commander" and lightweight aluminum alloy frame "Colt Commander". When Colt switched the inventory's supply of the model from the Series-70s to the Series-80s, the model fell into lesser demand.
A small number of submachine guns, such as the Ingram Model 6, were chambered in .38 Super. A machine pistol variant of the M1911 chambered in .38 Super was also produced by Hyman S. Lehman.
The .38 Super + P cartridge ballistics have been improved over the years by the use of modern propellants. Ammunition is now available with velocities exceeding 1,400 ft/s (430 m/s). This is impressive from a semi-automatic pistol and is comparable to the .357 SIG. The .38 Super +P is very popular in Australia and Latin America in regards to competition shooting and is also finding its way back into the role of a CCW caliber. Ammunition can now be found in the hollowpoint style bullet with excellent ballistics. A standard single stack magazine 1911 style semi-automatic pistol holds nine to eleven rounds with one in the chamber. Double stack magazine pistols in this cartridge holds fifteen to eighteen rounds with one in the chamber.
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