Add to Wish List. I never got around to installing a Bar-Sto barrel, so my hand loading bullet choices were limited. B. Gillett, 1911 Colt Pistols, Capt. Keep Reading. The caliber saw extensive use in the hands of the FBI and figured into the demise of dangerous fugitives such as Baby Face Nelson. Read the article about the Amy McNeil Kidnapping. This is easily my favorite caliber to shoot and i have guns in .357 magnum, 9mm 45acp 50ae 44 magnum 10mm 380acp 38special. If you have a question about an item, please call or e-mail for more information before placing your order. Veteran Deputy Bob Alcorn had chugged away with his hefty Browning Automatic Rifle and ripped some respectable holes all the way through the car. In those days, the lawmen were revolver men. $1,836.00. Both of my Open STI Race Guns are .38 Super made for Major Power Factors of the 1990s. It is possible to handload a 115-grain bullet to over 1,400 fps and a 124-grain JHP to a solid 1,350 fps. Ive been around Rangers, guns, and popping primers, and they all can shoot. It was shipped to McBride's Guns, Inc. in Austin, Texas, on March 24, 1984. ATF understands the importance of this historically significant firearm, Guy Thomas, Special Agent in Charge of the ATFs Boston field division, said in a news release. SDS Imports 10100513 1911A1 Regulator 9+1 5" Hard Chrome Plated Barrel, High Polished Chomium Coated Serrated Steel Slide & Frame w/Beavertail Frame Checkered Wood Grips. In my shooting experience, people have either never heard of the round, remember it being mentioned in passing, or go through a few hundred rounds of it a week for USPSA or something similar. . . Call me the oddball but I prefer the .40 S&W in an actual S&W or the .38 Spl. The 38 Super is a great cartridge which has been kind of left behind with the popularity of 9mm Plus-P loadings. Can a 9mm barrel be used in a Metro Arms 1911 38 super? Serial numbers 1TR to 200TR were reserved for the deluxe engraved examples. Firing System: External Hammer Frame Material: Steel Magazine Type: Single Stack Magazine Barrel Configuration: Single Rifled Barrel: Yes Minimum Pull Length: 0 in. TriStar 85680 SPS Vista LNG 1911 Black/CHR 18rd. Look at some old gangster photos for 1911s with curiously small holes in the barrel. The first consideration is a 38 Super barrel. I always loved that pistol. . Belgian made six shot revolver. Revolver has approximately 50% original blue. Adding a stainless-steel Tactical Ambidextrous Thumb Safety accommodated his left-handedness. TriStar 85608 American Classic Government 1911 38 Super 5 in 8+1 Chrome Steel Frame/Slide Steel Barrel Wood Grips Right Hand with Mil-Spec . Burley Auction Group - TEXAS RANGER COLLECTION/ESTATE AUCTION - TEXAS RANGER COLLECTION/ESTATE AUCTION - New Braunfels, . . Note that I give the same respect to the 357sig as the 38 super, both available in concealed carry frame size. The Colt Walker was created in the mid-1840s in a collaboration between Texas Ranger Captain Samuel Hamilton Walker (1817-1847) and American firearms inventor Samuel Colt (1814-1862), building upon the earlier Colt Paterson design. Its a good-looking pistol! Texas Meet Arkansas The loading gate is loose when down. Item Number: PR52796. After shooting it, I wanted a smaller grouping and purchased a Bar-Sto barrel and bushing, when they were still located in Southern California. A rumor had been circulated that the Rangers had orders from the Governor not to shoot. While this is often the stated purpose of the .38 Super, there were two other roles that were more important on a commercial basis. Along with extra magazines. While every effort is made to include accurate and correct images, descriptions and pricing for all products, inadvertent errors may occur. That small change means that modern .38 Supers are as accurate as 9mm or .45 ACP pistols. Is it good for self-defense? Its very accurate too, I was easily hitting a bowling pin at 50 yards repeatedly. Seller: Cliffs Guns Safes Reloading. By any standard, the caliber and the 1911 handgun are excellent defensive or tactical choices. He slept under his horse drawn wagon in bad weather and studied accounting alone by the light of campfires often with snow and rain falling around him. One is the Colt Competition 1911, one is the Taurus PT and the third one is an EAA Witness, which holds 17 + 1 rounds. The nemesis of Bonnie and Clyde packed an M1911 but it was a .38 Super. This Texas Ranger collector firearm features handsome 24-karat gold decorations, including the hammer, slide stop, safety lock, grip screws, barrel bushing and magazine catch. 's blog. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Shortly thereafter, many Rangers adopted the platform, first in .45 Auto, later in the .38 Super. It is also doubtful John Moses Browning expected that his most famous and enduring creation, the 1911, would be alive and kicking, with no signs of retiring, nearly 100 years after he finished the last of the Armys requested improvements. I now have a 18 shot, 3 caliber 1911. When he got to the next group, his fingers curled for the draw and poised just above the grip of his pistol. *Colt Style Belgium ''Texas Ranger'' 38 RevolverThis *Colt Style Belgium ''Texas Ranger'' 38 RevolverThis is a Belgium made Colt western style single and double action revolver. The penetration of the cartridge and reliability of the 1911 gave law officers a great advantage. Its used most commonly in competition teamed with a compensated 1911 (opinion). The cost of the 1911 chambered for it was a deterrant too. Clyde certainly did not intend to be taken alive. This Colt was shipped to a hardware store in El Paso, Texas in January 1932 for a Texas Ranger named Ralph Rohatch. After the Texas Rangers returned here safely, she (with the help of her father) gave each of the Ranger's involved an engraved Colt Commander. The Colt .38-caliber Detectives Special revolver, which was recovered from Parkers body by Texas Ranger Capt. There is no pistol faster to an accurate first shot than a 1911 handgun properly carried cocked and locked. After I retired from a near 30 year career in emergency services (firefighter/paramedic) I got a job in a gun store. (Normal boolits are .355 .356. I now carry the .45 ACP. Self-sufficiency has been a common thread throughout Texas Ranger history, because there have always been so few Rangers at any time (even today there are only134 commissioned positions). Hamer also owned many other guns. I have heard all the bull about the 9mm. This P320 features a custom engraved slide with the quote "one riot, one ranger" on the side and a Texas Ranger badge on the top. Para is out of business, some miss them, while some do not. HT110, OW86, W:D71) called Old Lucky, either in a holster on his right side, or, when he was no longer required to ride a horse, simply tucked into his waistband. Hard to find ammo in a platform I dont particularly care for and no, I cant stand Glock either. If you want to know more about Glenn Elliiott, he has written two books: A Ranger's Ranger and Still A Ranger's Ranger. Very inexpensively made and prone to breakage with no parts availability. . In addition, it includes a custom serial number and a commemorative coin with a pouch. Hamer drew down on him with a shotgun and told him to not do it. We want you, our readers, to be able to make informed decisions. I actually have & use three of those,(I had to modify its lower lug from Wilson/ Nowlin to Para.Clark with TIG weld), custom fitted w/ Evolution Gun Works (EGW) bushings + Wilson.Combat #4 links, with awsome results. Barrel is marked "Texas Ranger". He resigned in 1908 to become the Marshal in Navasota, Texas, a violent boom town in which shootouts on the main street were so frequent that in two years at least a hundred men died.. Colt 1911 Heritage .38 Super Full-Size Stainless Pistol with Custom Scroll Engraving. Midwestern banks were easy picking for a gang that outgunned the cops with fully automatic 30.06 Browning Automatic Rifles and fast cars. At the beginning of her second term, she fired all the Rangers that remained and appointed replacements for them. Notify Me When Available. A 2.5 to 3-inch group for five shots at 25 yards is the standard. I use the Colt Combat Commander. Such a reputation is in itself a most intimidating weapon and Hamer never slowed down as he approached Parrs gunmen. When Stevenson sent lawyers to Alice demanding to see the voting records (pursuant to Texas voting statutes) their lawful demands were refused. At the time, you had to know not to fire a .38 Super in older Colt 1903 pistols. Perusing the museum, which is an absolute must for anyone living in Texas or simply traveling Interstate 35, I found one sole surviving 1860 Army full fluted cylinder Colt. Serial Colt Model 1889 U.S. Navy Revolver. Gun #: 999474294. Little did anyone with whom Bill Wilson began his 1911 shooting, well over three decades ago, realize his interest in Colt 1911s would prove such a driving factor in his life. On April 21, 1906, Hamer enlisted as a Texas Ranger. Hi Ben, email me at bowhuntr1959@yahoo.com if you are interested in selling your 38 super ammo. Ballistically though, 9mm+P comes real close to catching up with the Super in performance, and so it will most likely remain a niche gun and caliber. This 9mm Full Size Pistol offers the same innovation and versatility as the U.S. Army's new M17 in a civilian version. today it is in the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco. cartridge. . The cop in the bunch and 2 of 4 others all had 38 super weapons within a month. Over the years, the pistol was chambered for .45 ACP, .38 Super, 9 mm, .22 LR and various. Muzzle brake . Advice: Buy ammo when ever you find a good price ( I need to start reloading again). Elliott carried the pistol on duty while assigned to work with the Texas Rangers in the 1957 Lone Star Steel Strike. I recently came across a 1929 Super .38 that also came from Texas. One can assume this must have been at a bit of a distance or Hamer hit him in the legs as apparently the guy lived. Advantage is you only have to find an FFL in your area to handle the transfer (also easy to do with Google), and once everything is said and done, youve escaped all the sales tax (unless you get it from someone in your state) and the higher price that a retailer is likely going to charge from the get-go, so you end up saving some money and can shop around without leaving your keyboard! While the first Wilson Combat pistol that started his journey to Wilson-Combat Rangers pistols was a CQB, Trace McDonald chose a built-to-order Professional Model. But when you are not much from arms length of a life and death situation I suggest a 45acp in 180 xtp hollow point. Got out and bought a new Glock as they were the new kids on the block. than 9 out of that platform @ 1200 FPS. I usually load to USPSA Major PF using .38 Super Comp brass. However, it certainly wasn't his only one. Everyone i have let shoot my competition series 38 super have loved it, and likes how accurate it is. It was the only pistol chambered for .38 Super that I ever shot until I got one. My father removed this gun from the inside thigh of Bonnie Parker where she had it taped with white, medical, adhesive tape. Most competitive race guns at that time were using nothing but .38 Super. And it was so heavy that Colt said it would take a "Texan to shoot it.". But, ammo is not plentiful and 9mm+P is. I have been shooting 38 super for over 15 years. Some are accurate, but most require a Bar-Sto barrel for best results. Fortunately, the Texas Ranger Museum and Hall of Fame in Waco, Texas would prove to be a valuable resource. Hamer left the Rangers and then returned again in 1921, transferring to Austin where he served as Senior Ranger Captain. The town had seen over one hundred men killed in shootouts but the town became tame while Hamer was the city marshal. Great decision on my part for sure! Campfire Ranger. They cost me $35.00 a box, so $105.00 is nothing to sneeze at. COLT 1911 45 ACP STAINLESS . 1911forum is your friend. I love my 38 supers! I used Glocks exclusively for carry went through models and calibers, ending up with the G30 and 45ACP. Bonnie Parker was just 24 in 1934 when she and Clyde Barrow died in a hail of gunfire after being ambushed by authorities in Louisiana. Colt 1911 Government Model Mark IV Series 70 38 Super Box. or redistributed. My latest purchase was a Nighthawk Custom that I ordered, and they made me, in 38 Super. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. To Chris. and quality ammo. Nevertheless, the brief opportunity to look at the election documents inside the bank was made possible by Hamers 200 yard walk down the center of Alice, Texas with his coat off. Great Britain took delivery of 1429 1911s in .38 Super in the 30s to . Thus, Johnson was off the ballot in the general election unless Johnson could do something quickly. Since Capt. With the bull barrel there is no bushing used in the slide so the problem of bushing breakup that some Colt officer-sized guns have experienced is now a thing of the past. At distances of 50 or less, the Super has virtually the same muzzle velocity of the .357 Magnum. colt .38 Super head space 1911forum site:www.1911forum.com - Google Search. The little guy hold an honorary place in my collection and I smile when I think back to when I purchased it for $100.00. A gentleman in Texas made the gun up for me and I am very happy with it. This is an easier cartridge to master than the .45 and has two more rounds of magazine capacity. Buy ammo while supplies last. When you read the engraving it will bring a tear to your eyes. Modern ammunition is often marked .38 ACP +P. You wont find a better pistol and caliber. The Republic of Texas served as its proving ground and was nearly the only market for Colt's revolutionary product. Energy equals the current watered-down .357 Magnum. Range Time That afternoon, the lynch mob threw gasoline into the courthouse; the rangers attempted to rescue the prisoner while the mob prevented firemen from putting out the fire and cut their hoses. Texas Rangers are an independent lotalways have beenperhaps from that time alone riding horseback across the vast expanse of Texas. Where in AZ do you live? Sort By: 19 Item(s) Show. Ahhhh, the good old days. I am a reloader and shoot it all the time. Disenchanted with the Democratic Party, Coke Stevenson supported Republicans for the rest of his life, including John Tower for the Senate and Nixon and Goldwater for the presidency. To me, affinity for those two rounds would go hand in hand. Well, my grouping sucked. The Combat Commander 45 ACP pistol on the right includes a nickel engraved finish and custom silver grips. Texas Rangers are an independent lotalways have beenperhaps from that time alone riding horseback across the vast expanse of Texas. Shopping with us is absolutely safe - you never have to worry about credit card safety when shopping here Share your latest AR build or photos from the range with #RangeDayFriday for a chance to win a new firearm! Its worth considering that Dan Wesson makes several 1911s in .38 Super including the Guardian, a lightweight Commander type. Shot well and handled very similar to a baby eagle. My 38 Super commander is my EDC. What these stories contribute to the readers world view needs no exaggeration. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. jacketed bullets Im sending them across my Chrony at 1550 fps. Winchester Ranger 9mm; Wolf 223 Ammo; Wolf Ammo; Gun Models. Shoot 38 Super most of the time rather Shortly thereafter, many Rangers adopted the platform, first in .45 Auto, later in the .38 Super. Most were marked " For .38 Colt Special " which is nothing more than the S&W .38 Special but with a flat nose. The result? Im glad for that because todays Texas Rangers, just like those hard men who came before, still work in harms way. My carry ammo is loaded considerably hotter (think 923 Winchester level). When asked why he carried Colt's .45 Government Model, he replied in typical Ranger fashion 'Because they don't make a Colt .46!' Texas . As to the rifles ability to tear holes in a V8 Ford, Frank Hamer had an unimpeachable source Clyde Barrow. The conservative ranchers and almost everyone else in Texas loved Coke Stevenson and what he stood for. And of course, all of the preceding is fitted by one of Wilson Combats skilled smiths, using CNC-machined internal parts, and the entire package dehorned. In those days officers from one state were legally prohibited from chasing suspects across the border of another state. Guy I worked for said to try this, a Colt Combat Commander in .38 Super. Please be respectful of others. It fits like a glove. A 6 1/2 inch gun would have been difficult to use. When looking for additional magazines specific for my Rock Island combo 9mm/22TCM I was told they were just 38 Super mags; 38 Super mags could be used in 9mm 1911s but not vice versa. He tuned and polished up the feed ramp and removed some burrs, no issues now. At about the age of sixteen Coke Stevenson began his career as the sole proprietor of a freight hauling business traveling back and forth across the rugged Hill Country of West Texas every week. The .38 Super was introduced in the 1911 handgun in 1929 to arm peace officers with a hard-hitting handgun that offered good penetration against the new breed of mechanized thug. The Rock Island is a fun gun to fire and use. He ordered the lower courts injunction stayed, and the ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court. The Rangers were dealing with arms smuggling, bandits and bootleggers along the Mexican border. It is made to use Colt 38 Colt Model 1889 U.S. Navy Revolver. The Colt Walker, sometimes known as . In 1948, Stevenson led the Democratic primary with 39.7% to 33.7% against Lyndon B. Johnson. Ralph Rohatsch was a friend and associate of my father, who was the sheriff of San Patricio, County Texas . I rank the .38 Super along with the .45 ACP and the .44 Special as the 3 best calibers in America. I carry either an XDS in 45 auto or my Nighthawk in 38 super nearly every day. Maybe then change the name from .38 Super to 9mm Super and lets see how much folks jump on the bandwagon for this new??? An advantage of this caliber is penetration. It was given to the museum by Mrs. Clyde Decker in honor of Sheriff Bill Decker and offers an early example of the standard Commander. I bought a RIA 1911 in .38 super because everybody has a 1911 in .45. LBJ won the runoff by only 87 votes out of a total of 988,295. Bonnie and Clyde Director Arthur Penn Dies at Age 88, Guns of outlaws Bonnie and Clyde to be auctioned. Had some handloads that shot 5 out of nine kill shots on a siloute at 100 yards, back when I could see that far. I agree that the round can stand its own with the 9 and .45. Jun 25, 2019. Governor Moody dispatched more National Guard units and martial law was in effect from May 10 until May 24. Today, many thousands own pistols reflecting the success of Bill Wilsons foray into pistolsmithing and his commitment to producing the best that Wilson Combat can offer. Its too bad, that it didnt take off the way Colt intended, because it is a good round that most likely would have had a stellar LEO career. Picked up 150 Rounds of 38 Super by mistake. The Texas Rangers may also have been the first law enforcement . In 1905, he captured a horse thief while he was working on a ranch in West Texas. As long as I do my bit, its a straight shooter. All rights reserved. Why so popular South of the border? HT108, W:D71) and the lever-action rifle with a .35 Remington Model 8 semiautomatic rifle (p. W:D72) with 20-round magazine extension (both weapons offering superior penetration against bullet-proof vests and the heavy Ford V8 sedans Clyde Barrow was partial to). Hinton requested a BAR because he knew that the lawmen would be up against more than one BAR that Barrow had stolen from a National Guard armory and with which Barrow had already gunned down several peace officers. The entire paternal side of my family witnessed Frank Hamer shooting one of the rioters in Sherman. Looking for even more I bought some 923 Winchester brass and long story short from the 5 Super 38 barrel using VV 105 powder and 124 gr. Texas Ranger Colt .45; Texas Ranger Matt Cawthon's M1911; The Guns of the Dillinger Gang; WWI Navy and Marine 1911's; Historic 1911 Pistol Visual Display; Historical Articles On The M1911 Pistol . Its low muzzle blast, light recoil and accuracy are hard to duplicate. He and forty other Rangers resigned to avoid serving under Ma Ferguson. Bore is near excellent. I have been reloading .38 Super since 1982 and find it to be a great round, very accurate and hits harder than 9mm. He hated political corruption as much as he hated murder and the other lawless activities that characterized Texas in the early Twentieth Century. remarkably easy to handload. Your gun and its caliber are a tool to be used for sport shooting, hunting, and self-defense. I agree the .38 Super is a fine round in the FWC but I would definitely like to try the standard rounds as well. Finally, after the last batch of rounds, which I paid extra attention to the details, still had an alarmingly high rejection rate, I finally said I had enough and sold it for a 10mm. This is simply because the original before the +P designation was a development of the .38 ACP. Four of his five brothers also became Texas Rangers. Frank Hamer, on the other hand, retired in 1949 and lived in Austin until his death in 1955. The 9mm is not my choice short of shooting at paper. Combat mags. The unfortunate rarity of any sort of bulk ammunition and the corresponding magazines makes it more of a niche type of weapon but they are worth the extra effort. According to one of the posters, the reason that the Texas Rangers liked the Super 38 was that it would penetrate car bodies better than other calibers. Posts: 24,416. , This is a great history of a very great man fighting bad men including LBJ and the criminal democratic party, Your email address will not be published. Hamers first stint as a Texas Ranger was with Captain John H. Rogerss Company C. In his first assignment he put a stop to murders and riots in the Rio Grande Valley that, notwithstanding the efforts of federal troops, had been raging unabated for many months. So if the ammunition is marked .38 Super +P, it is still a .38 Super. Gun is heavy but soaks recoil nicely, shoots straight. What drew me to the round was the cool history and the cool factor (and yeah, its cool, lol). used to rainbow trajectories with 45, I have one and love it mine is a rock island sometimes hard to find ammo. Your discussions, feedback and comments are welcome here as long as they are relevant and insightful. And Colt got the finest product placement/celebrity endorsement in marketing history: his guns were the official guns of Texas Rangers. The March, 1992 issue of Guns and Ammo's " HANDGUNS FOR SPORT AND DEFENSE " magazine contains an interview with Frank Hamer Jr. who confirmed that his father's Colt was a .38 Super. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. I usually carry the handgun with Wilson Combat magazines. Ironically, they may be a better choice again given the advancements in bullet design. Of course the .38 Super Auto is still in use. . The Shooter's Log, is to provide informationnot opinionsto our customers and the shooting community. Very Fast. SIG Sauer offers the V-Crown hollow point at about 1,210 fps. The .45 SAA Colt was a mainstay until John Browning completed his 1911 project. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Likewise when ordering 124gr 9mm bullets to reload for target shooting I noticed the 9mm labeling also said they were not the typical .355 but .356 that I had previously been buying seperatelyfor the 38 super, now I just buy the one size 356 124gr for both. As an Old School (Since early 90s) competitive shooter / reloader, and ER/ICU MD, Ive been a fan of ol .38 Super. Colt designed the .38 Super with its Government 1911 platform in mind. Their deaths ended a legendary Depression-era crime spree that spanned the central U.S. and included holdups of more than a dozen banks and scores of small shops and gas stations. Hamer stood in the doorway of the bank and a long confrontation ensued until finally Parrs gunmen walked away. It only made sense to chamber the 1911 Government Model in a .38 caliber cartridge. Description: Belgium Texas Ranger 38 COLT SPL. The Commander Model 38 Super pistol on the left includes the standard blued finish and checkered wood grips. Clean burning Ted Kennedy be damned. Love the gun and caliber. A gun of that type will shoot a hole right through any bulletproof vest ever made.. In the 1911, there is no penalty for using the .38 Super over the 9mm. BELGIAN TEXAS RANGER .38 SPECIAL 1920S REVOLVER. The ammo is not as hard to find as stated in the article. From what I have read, 1911s in .38 Super were the most popular contraband in Obamas Fast and Furious debacle. Complementing the overall design are the handsome rosewood grips checkered in the classic "double diamond" pattern on this Colt .45 Pistol. . Back in 71, my Dad had a Colt super .38 he called Max. Stainless hex head grip screws secure the grips he chose: Black/grey G-10 with a Starburst Pattern. A tribute to the revered Commercial Government Model pistols of the past, the 1911 Classic features the Series 70 firing system and rollmarks, national match barrel, staked on front sights, and spurred hammer. Five days later Barrow and Methvin killed Constable Cal Campbell and kidnapped Commerce, Oklahoma Chief of Police Percy Boyd.