If I understand correctly, they are one and the same in todays factory loaded ammo. Is this correct? I have a 1972 vintage Colt LW Commander 1911 in 38 Super, is the +P too much for it? Thanks in advance

It's NIB, I've never fired it. Just picked up some ammo for it to have on hand.

I shoot a lot of 38 Super and I believe you’re correct that there isn’t much difference between the 38 Super and 38 Super+P in conventional loadings. Nice Commander BTW, I’d love a LW one in 38 Super.

__________________
Some Might Say.

They are one in the same. “The +P designation was added to the .38 Super in 1974 to further distinguish it from the older .38 ACP. The full name is properly .38 Super Automatic +P.”

__________________
213th FBINA

Exactly! .38 Super and .38 Super +P are the same and operate at significantly higher pressure than the dimensionally identical parent cartridge, the .38 ACP. Shooting .38 ACP is fine in a pistol chambered for .38 Super, but firing .38 Super in a pistol chambered in .38 ACP (often marked .38 Auto) can be very damaging to the pistol. The +P designation was added to the .38 Super name in 1974 to further differentiate between .38 ACP and .38 Super.

__________________
VCDL, GOA, NRA

Thank you everyone for the explanation. I appreciate the education.

Some of the earlier Colt autopistols (pre-M1911) made for the .38 ACP can be irreparably damaged by shooting .38 Super ammo in them. It is usually manifested by slide cracking at the key notch at the front of the slide. Same is true for the early .45 Colt Model 1905 pistol which uses the same slide design. The earliest .45 Auto loads in use were somewhat less powerful than today's .45 ACP, but dimensionally identical to it, much like the .38 ACP vs. the .38 Super. .38 Super and .38 Super +P cartridges are the same thing.

Because of it's odd evolution, what the cartridge with the same dimensions has been called has changed over the years.

After the 38ACP was chambered in the 1911, in the 1920s (1928/1929), their slides were marked as Colt Super 38 Automatic as the cartridge's power slowly went up over the coming years.

Then in 1934 Remington started listing it's ammo as "38 Super Automatic Colt Pistol" but still headstamped as 38ACP, while Winchester had been headstamping theirs as 38CA.

All the while the more powerful cartridge could be chambered in the older, weaker, pistols with nothing to signify a difference from the original cartridge.

Eventually it just came known as the 38 Super Automatic until 1974 when SAAMI came out with the (+P) designation for any cartridge loaded to pressures higher than the standard's power.

At this time the 38 Super Automatic was re-designated as the 38 Super Automatic +P, dropping it's former name, and making it clear, finally, of it's power difference.

Technically the 38 Super Automatic doesn't exist, as far as SAAMI is concerned as it lists no specs for it, only for the 38 Automatic & 38 Super Automatic +P, nowadays.

.

__________________
Waiting for the break of day

.38 Super/Super .38/.38 Super +P, same same. Just an administrative thing to reduce the likelihood of someone using 38 Super ammo in one of the older,weaker 38 ACP Colts. Attached a photo of my older,weaker 38 ACP/".38 Colt Automatic" with the less robust parallel ruler locking system...

Attached Images

Old Colt .JPG (93.9 KB, 15 views)

__________________
NRA Life, COTEP 640