I haven't loaded Super for self defense yet, but had planned to do so. This thread got me off my duff. I just ordered 1000 of the 125gr Sierra V-Crown bullets (used in the Sig loads). I'm not going to go crazy on velocity. As long as I can get 1,300 in my 5-inch Nowlin barrel, I'll be more than happy.

Several years ago after selling my (cracked and welded frame) Caspian 38s race gun I wound up with 1000 rounds of major loaded 38s and nothing to safely shoot it in. I didn’t feel comfortable shooting these in an alloy frame gun so I researched to see who made 1911’s with a fully supported chamber and a steel frame. I found that Kimber made an all steel frame and slide with fully supported chamber. Not to take any chances I contacted Kimber support and the assured me the gun would be fine with major loads. The person I talked to said they have several customers shooting major without any issues. So I bought a new Kimber Eclipse Target 5” and proceeded to shoot 1000 rounds of major 38s. I went up in spring weight 2 pounds and added a shock buffer. The Eclipse digested my loads with no issues. I’ll say though, a 124 grain FMJ pushed to just over 1,400 FPS has pretty heavy recoil, lots of flash and a serious bark. At 1,400 FPS you’re in the 357 range and it feels like it.

My very first .38 Super was also a Llama, the "Extra" military model. It wasn't really in .38 Super, but 9mm Largo (aka 9mm Bergman-Bayard), but it handled .38 Super with no problems. I bought it sometime in the later 1960s, and they were very common at gun shows back then, selling for around $25-$30. There were many of them imported, most of which had been somewhat crudely arsenal re-blued. There wasn't much mechanical difference between the Llama Extra and the Colt 1911 except the caliber. The only problem I ever had with it was when the tip of the extractor broke off, effectively making it a single shot. At the time I could not find a replacement extractor (Colt extractors did not fit), so I just applied a dab of steel on the tip with my arc welder and shaped it into a claw with a Dremel tool. It worked fine. Back then, surplus 9mm Largo and 9mm Steyr ammo was available cheaply, and I used them in it, along with .38 Super. That was when I first started handloading .38 Super. I sold that Llama sometime in the early 1990s, but I can't remember why I did that, as I always liked that Llama, and shot it a lot. I haven't seen one of them in a long time. Wish I still owned it.

Just to double check, does that mean you used a 16 pound spring? The standard Colt spring weight in the Super is 14 pounds. I just wanted to make sure as I currently have a 14 pound spring in my Para since I'm just shooting factory rounds right now.