Jim...Imported handguns was not the reason .38 Super pressures are kept down...there are very few non-American made .38 Supers out there...at least from the time period you are talking about. The correct reason was the early Colt 1903 semis were cambered for .38 Auto. The .38 Super is just a .38 Auto case loaded to a higher pressure. This is where the problem came in...people started using .38 Super in the 1903s...not dangerous...but it beat the guns to pieces.

And it was not the manufacturers who got upset... SAMMI (I think that is the name) who sets the standard pressure limits for cartridges (regular, +P, +P+) recognized the problem and set the limits. So in reality .38 Super isn't much hotter that the original .38 Auto. .38 Super +P is really .38 Auto +P and the only real .38 SUPER ammo on the market that is loaded up to the true potential of the cartridge are those from CorBon.

Bob