Advice on a Colt 1911 in 9mm or 38 super please

[44wheelman]

If everything you shoot is under 25yds, I’d recommend the 9. I could put 50% of my 38 supers into a 9” paper plate at 100yds offhand. That’s just as good as I can see.

My 9mm is a stainless commander, I think I would like the LW officer in 4.25 length. To me the 1911 size is a bit overkill for 9mm. So many better options for the 9, but is still a fun gun in 1911.

Ammo, .38 will run at least 2x -3x what I can get 9 for.

To me, comes down to how much & where you will be shooting.

 

[DWalt]

Without supporting information, I suspect that a very high proportion of .38 Super fans never buy a box of factory ammo. I have been firing the .38 Super for over 50 years, and every single round has been one of my handloads. So I care zero about availability of factory ammunition as I am sitting on several thousand empty .38 Super, .38 SC, and 9x23 Win.cases and can use whatever bullet and propellant is available. So I will never run out.

 

[wbraswell]

Can you have too many 1911’s?

I seriously doubt it. Darn things are as addictive as S&W revolvers. I've got an itch for an old Lightweight Commander in .38 Super now. I'm wondering if you can ever have enough?

 

[Warren Sear]

Without supporting information, I suspect that a very high proportion of .38 Super fans never buy a box of factory ammo. I have been firing the .38 Super for over 50 years, and every single round has been one of my handloads. So I care zero about availability of factory ammunition as I am sitting on several thousand empty .38 Super, .38 SC, and 9x23 Win.cases and can use whatever bullet and propellant is available. So I will never run out.

I am the same way for all of the guns I own. I don't understand why anyone would buy factory ammo, except in very rare circumstances. Most of my firearms have never fired a factory loaded round of ammo, and most of these were loaded with my own cast bullets.

 

[BB57]

Without supporting information, I suspect that a very high proportion of .38 Super fans never buy a box of factory ammo. I have been firing the .38 Super for over 50 years, and every single round has been one of my handloads. So I care zero about availability of factory ammunition as I am sitting on several thousand empty .38 Super, .38 SC, and 9x23 Win.cases and can use whatever bullet and propellant is available. So I will never run out.

I’m the same way with .38-55. I have a box of factory ammo that came with a rifle. Otherwise a 1000 2.085” .38-55 cases and a 1000 2.125” .38-55 cases, and a few bullet molds have kept my several .38-55s well fed.

But I’m not inclined to lay in a large number of .38 Super cases for the limited advantage is offered over 9mm Luger.

 

[BB57]

…My 9mm is a stainless commander, I think I would like the LW officer in 4.25 length. To me the 1911 size is a bit overkill for 9mm. So many better options for the 9, but is still a fun gun in 1911...

That’s the appeal of the Star BM for me. It’s more or less a 1911 scaled down for 9mm, roughly the size of an officer framed 1911, but slimmer and trimmer.

I like it so much I bought three, for less than the price of a single 1911.

 

[dsf]

I'm leaning towards the .38 Super because I've never owned one, and other than .45 ACP in a Colt 1911, it seems the most traditional. The consensus seems to be Colt is making a pretty good pistol at this time so I will probably stay with a Colt.

Thank you members for all of your comments!

I have the new made Colt (CZ) National Match Gold Cup however it's in 45 ACP. Believe it or not, for a short time these were sold in CA as "C&R eligible" under the theory they were a continuation of the previous model. Oh well, I got mine "cash & carry" using my C&R FFL.



I would go with "nicely executed". The bluing is a bit subdued compared to the originals. But it is deep and should wear well. The rib is still there but the front sight is dovetailed. It's a Series 70 so no FP block & plunger. Very nice trigger press and the trigger itself is metal, not plastic.

Slide to frame fit is pretty casual. Barrel has no up & down movement when the hood id pressed, and it looks well fitted to the slide.

The gun comes with two magazines and color coded recoil springs with a guide which I presume advises hard ball and wadcutter.

All in all a pretty nice set up.

If I could just throw out a curve ball - I also have a Springfield Armory Range Officer in 9mm. Pretty much the same as the Colt but uses a ramped (Nowlin IIRC) barrel. I bought a Sig 38 Super barrel from CDNN, everything matched up just right - the barrel hood at the slide, the barrel diameter at the bushing. Barrel lugs were sharp as heck but a touch of softening and it runs great. Barrel cost $34.99 at the time. I think it may be up to $39.99 now. Just something to consider.



I added the ambi safety, standard is single sided.

But again, the Colt is a great buy.

 

[Warren Sear]

Following up on an earlier post, I did end up buying a new Colt Government Model in 38 Super a few days ago. I also bought a set of RCBS dies and ordered 200 38 Super Comp cases. I also bought a single box of Federal 38 Super 115 grain hollowpoint ammo, just so I could shoot my new pistol a little. That will be the only box of factory ammo I expect to buy for it.

I have already cast lead bullets for it, but am still waiting for my brass cases to arrive.

The pistol came with a single stainless steel magazine. I don't know why it didn't get shipped with a blued one, to match the gun. Oh, well.

The gun arrived almost bone dry. I took the pictures just as it came. I quickly field stripped it and lubricated the entire pistol. The blueing looks great now.

 

[Warren Sear]

I noticed the barrel on my new pistol is stamped "N M", for "National Match". Is there any significance to this, or are they all stamped like this?

 

[TXBryan]

Yes on a .38 Super

Especially if you handload, which you do, the .38 Super is something you just have to have. My son refers to it as the 9mm magnum and he is not very far wrong.

We have a Rock Island 1911 in .38 Super and it is off the charts fun for the money. Somehow 9mm seems more suited to other platforms.

Bryan

 

[Rock185]

Warren Sear, In recent years Colt has been stamping "NM" on more and more of it's O-Frame barrels. Owners and potential customers like to see that, makes them feel the Colt they have or are considering is special. I've owned a number Colts with the NM marked barrels. Some very few were very accurate, most OK, some just dismal. Colt barrels are of good, consistent quality, but are not fitted, just assembled to the pistols from bins of parts. The barrel bushings are just drop-in.

Within my humble experience, most barrels are adequate internally to produce good accuracy. What matters is precise fit of the barrel to the particular pistol, no matter what is marked on the barrel hood...

 

[AJ]

Warren Sear, In recent years Colt has been stamping "NM" on more and more of it's O-Frame barrels. Owners and potential customers like to see that, makes them feel the Colt they have or are considering is special. I've owned a number Colts with the NM marked barrels. Some very few were very accurate, most OK, some just dismal. Colt barrels are of good, consistent quality, but are not fitted, just assembled to the pistols from bins of parts. The barrel bushings are just drop-in.

Within my humble experience, most barrels are adequate internally to produce good accuracy. What matters is precise fit of the barrel to the particular pistol, no matter what is marked on the barrel hood...

Fitted barrel bushings and proper length barrel links are 90% of the battle in accuracy.

 

[BE Mike]

I've had a few Colt 1911's, including a series 70 Gold Cup (not what it was cracked up to be). I still own a couple of accurized Colts. I think that there are better options for 1911's. Colts are over priced for what one gets, but they do hold value, as less familiar folks don't know about different brands. I favor Springfield Armory, but others get good reviews, like Dan Wesson, S&W, Sig and Tisas. There are plenty of low quality brands out there, as well as, low priced, but decent quality basic pistols. I haven't bought a Colt 1911 in decades and I doubt that I'll ever buy another one. As far as caliber, 9mm is easy to load for and cheap. The .38 Super has more punch and you probably can get better accuracy with less effort than the 9mm. On the down side, .38 Super brass isn't commonly available for free, like 9mm.

 

[AJ]

I've had a few Colt 1911's, including a series 70 Gold Cup (not what it was cracked up to be). I still own a couple of accurized Colts. I think that there are better options for 1911's. Colts are over priced for what one gets, but they do hold value, as less familiar folks don't know about different brands. I favor Springfield Armory, but others get good reviews, like Dan Wesson, S&W, Sig and Tisas. There are plenty of low quality brands out there, as well as, low priced, but decent quality basic pistols. I haven't bought a Colt 1911 in decades and I doubt that I'll ever buy another one. As far as caliber, 9mm is easy to load for and cheap. The .38 Super has more punch and you probably can get better accuracy with less effort than the 9mm. On the down side, .38 Super brass isn't commonly available for free, like 9mm.

All NIB M1911's nowadays are over priced. Some way more than others, especially the ones from folks that like to have their name on the gun. Tisa's amd Rock Island's are probably the way to go. Get the aftermarket parts and install them yourself. That said I have two M1911's left in the stable. Both are Colts, one a Series 70 NMGC made in 76 and the other was made in 1958. Will not buy another 1911 platform as I see no need for another. Have several slides with seven different barrels to mix and match.

 

[Warren Sear]

Especially if you handload, which you do, the .38 Super is something you just have to have. My son refers to it as the 9mm magnum and he is not very far wrong.

We have a Rock Island 1911 in .38 Super and it is off the charts fun for the money. Somehow 9mm seems more suited to other platforms.

Bryan

It's too bad they didn't give the new, much higher pressure cartridge a more distinctive name, such as you suggested, or maybe 9mm Super, to more clearly indicate that this cartridge is not for a 38ACP chambered pstol.

 

[Warren Sear]

I've had a few Colt 1911's, including a series 70 Gold Cup (not what it was cracked up to be). I still own a couple of accurized Colts. I think that there are better options for 1911's. Colts are over priced for what one gets, but they do hold value, as less familiar folks don't know about different brands. I favor Springfield Armory, but others get good reviews, like Dan Wesson, S&W, Sig and Tisas. There are plenty of low quality brands out there, as well as, low priced, but decent quality basic pistols. I haven't bought a Colt 1911 in decades and I doubt that I'll ever buy another one. As far as caliber, 9mm is easy to load for and cheap. The .38 Super has more punch and you probably can get better accuracy with less effort than the 9mm. On the down side, .38 Super brass isn't commonly available for free, like 9mm.

I bought a new Colt Gold Cup 45 ACP in the mid 80s. That pistol would really shoot! After a while, I decided I didn't like the wide trigger or the big, blocky adjustable sights.

In the end, of course, only the buyer can decide which manufacturer, model type, and caliber is right for him. Not a big deal if that buyer later changes his mind.

 

[stansdds]

Colt's NM (National Match) barrels used to be hand selected for better fit to the slide and maybe better fit of the bottom lugs to the slide stop pin, the result was better accuracy. Not sure when, but at some point NM barrels become nothing more than a standard barrel stamped "NM" and dropped into any version of the Colt 1911 priced above the standard Government Model. It would not surprise me if all of their barrels were now being stamped "NM" as a marketing gimmick.

 

[Imissedagain]

Every Air Force competitive shooter I met had three 1911s.
22LR, 38Super and 45ACP.

 

[Jerry M]

I've always wanted a 1911 in .38 Super. Some day...

 

[JRB416]

Went with the 9mm

Thought I would update this thread regarding my choice between a Gold Cup National Match in 38 Super or 9mm Para. I purchased a blued Gold Cup 9mm today. I wasn't able to find a 38 Super in my area but found a nice 9mm with a good barrel to slide fit and crisp trigger. There were a few 38 Supers from various online sellers but I really wanted to be able to do some basic 1911 checks in person before purchase. As some of you members mentioned, I may get a 38 Super barrel and have it fitted at some point. Thanks for all the comments and advice.