a new 38 super

[tony stark]

i mean new to me. i got a Race gun. it really seems to be set up for bianchi, the recoil spring feels really light and i was told that it was set up for light loads. what can i look at to see if my loads are tearing the gun up, hopefully before i tear it up. i know that it is a really vauge question, sorry
i've shot a lot of 45, just no 38 supers.

[14-O]

I bought a Kimber Stainless Target II in .38 Super and immediately noticed that the recoil spring is not as stiff as my .45. I suspect it's around 12 lbs. Perhaps another reader can say what's standard for .38 Super. I load fairly hot .38 Super rounds for bowling pins (130 grn @ ~1200 fps) and have noticed no appreciable pounding on the sping guide. I'm surprised to hear that a race gun is set up to shoot light .38 Super loads since you literally have to load the .38 Super to a level a little bit above SAMMI maximum to make the minimum power factor. Is it possible that your recoil spring is the right one but just feels light compared to a .45?

[RickB]

Race guns are generally tuned to specific loads. That includes the ejector, extractor, ejection port, springs, etc. If you know that the gun was built for Bianchi Cup shooting, then find some loads used by the shooters of that discipline, and see if they work. Comped Supers shooting major power loads in USPSA still use light springs, as the comp resists barrel unlocking, so a 12# spring doesn't necessarily mean it's set up for light loads. All this assumes that the gun is comped, and running an optical sight.

[tony stark]

rick, yes it does have a comped barrel. i'm sorry if this is a dumb question, but. why does a comped barrel resist unlocking? yes it does have a optical sight. every load i have put together for this pistol has worked.
i just wanted to know what inspection proceedures i can put into place to make sure i'm not tearing this thing up. what specific parts are going to tell the story early.
i talked to some ipsec guys and they suggested a recoil buffer. of which i put one in.
i could very well be that all is well, maybe i'm just a little paranoid.
it is a good gun and really accurate

[RickB]

The weight of the comp, and the redirection of the propellant gases both serve to keep the gun locked. That's one of the reasons why progressive recoil springs are popular for comp'd guns, as you can run a spring that unlocks more easily, but the rising rate will still allow proper ejection and feeding. I don't think the 1911 design is as sensitive as some to the counter-acting effect. A buddy of mine was trying to get his comp'd 10mm Glock to run, and using loads that were hotter than suggested max, even with something like a 10# recoil spring, the cases were just dribbling out, or failing to eject altogether.
Put a shock-buff in your gun, and see what it looks like after a couple hundred rounds. If the buff is really beat-up, your loads are probably too heavy. You can also inspect the head of the guide rod itself; do you see evidence that metal is being displaced by the impact of the slide?

[tony stark]

thank you rick, that is just the information i was looking for. i looked at the animation of the 1911 working and i learned a great deal.
i can see that the increased inertia of the heavier barrel and the redirection of the power gasses would increase the time before the barrel unlocks.
i allready put the buffer in and will load another 2 hundred rounds and then check it.
it is interesting that the caliber that marshall decided on was the 38 super. he was a big bianchi shooter that got me involed in shooting. according to the nra rulebook in bianchi there is no major or minor loads, just a power floor of 120,000. so why not just shoot a 9mm.
even if marshall (now deceased) wanted to shoot epsic (i think that's how it spelled) i wonder why he decided on a single stack frame. would you not have to push a super pretty hard to to make the major loading of 170,000?
i almost have the equipment gathered up to shoot bianchi and plan to start shooting.
long winded, but again thanks

[RickB]

Major power factor was dropped to 165, and 9mm major was legalized for USPSA (U.S. IPSC) a few years ago, so most of the new comp guns I've seen are 9mm.