38 Super vs 357 Sig

[farook]

38 Super vs 357 Sig both being NPB bores and more powerful than a standard 9 mm lugar need more discussion. Can other members put in their views please....

[Kittu]

farook bhai
do you live in us?.357sig is much better than 38 super.357 sig is bottle necked cartridge to accept a 357 bullet.wheras.38 super is strait farwrd case its dead cartridge now taking new birth in us.sig is much better then 38 super

[Baljit]

Yes, it's is more powerful then 9mm. 38 Super have a .356 and 9MM have a the .355 bullet diameter.The other difference between these two caliber is case length,38 Super have a .900 case length and 9MM .754 have a case length.

I had a .38 Super but not anymore,but still have a 9MM.

Here is a link for .38 Super.....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.38_Super

Here is a link for 9MM...........http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9_mm_caliber

.357 Sig is totally different caliber then .38 Super and 9MM,.357 Sig based on .40 S&W case necked down to accept 9MM bullets (.355). Bullets travel much faster then 9MM but very close to .38 super

Here is a link for .357 sig....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.357_SIG

If you go through in these links then you can see the different between these calibers.Now the main issue here is again ammo availability in the market.I think it's next to impossible to find ammo for both of these caliber in India.

Baljit

[timmy]

You can think of the .38 Super as a 9mm Parabellum Long, especially in the +P loading, as the case is pretty close to the same diameter and about 4mm longer. 38 Super can be loaded quite stout, and will give a 357 a run for its money ballistically.

The problem with 38 Super is that it is semi-rimmed, like 32 ACP. Originally in the 1911 model, the only surface for the 38 Super case to headspace on was a small "hood" on the top of the barrel. Manufacturing tolerances of the cartridges or even of the barrel could, at times, cause the rim to work under this surface on the barrel hood, causing the cartridge to move further into the chamber.

This could make ignition unreliable, but mainly the small headspace surface caused mediocre accuracy. Back in the 70s and 80s, when the pin gun game got going, 38 Super was a more powerful alternative to the 9mm, and gunsmiths began setting up 1911 barrels with a positive ridge to headspace the 38 Super case on the mouth, like 45 ACP does. This cured all of the problems of accuracy and ignition.

So, if you are comparing a pistol where 38 Super headspaces on the mouth with the 357 Sig, then both are hotter than 9mm by a fair amount.

As Baljit suggests, ammo availability would be the determining factor for choosing one over the other.

[farook]

That was a great insight there Timmy. I do believe that 38 super is know for its accuracy and the preferred ammo for ipsc events.

http://wilsoncombat.com/new/handgun-sup ... y5revmSx8E

http://shopwilsoncombat.com/38-Super-P- ... U-115-XTP/










and as for availability its as simply as that....