Hello All,

I just picked up a .38Super and am happy about that. It is a german produced one, with the double pin to hold the breech block in place.

Probably all .38supers made in Germany were like this, but I don't like to assume.


SO, a couple of question have come up as I prepare some backup supplies.

I see that Wolf lists a recoil spring weight of 14lbs for the .38Super and the BDA in .45acp. They say that the old models used a 15lb recoil spring for .45acp, but new models use a 20lb recoil spring.


Is the change based on slide changes? [stamped slide = 14 or 15lbs, solid modern slide = 20lbs?]

Or is there some other difference between the old and new ones?

I am just wondering if I should source a 14lb spring for my .38Super or if I should go with an 18lb spring [about the same percentage below 20 as 14 is below 15- that is my thinking]?



Ok- what about extractors? Any suggestions for a backup?

Any tips/concerns with hammer strut/hammer spring weight?



Anything else you can think of that I should know about the .38Super in the P220 frame?

Thanks!

The green 20# P220 recoil spring was introduced in conjunction with the reinforced P220 receiver - not because of a change in the slide design. This was to address concerns resulting from shooters experience premature failures when firing a steady diet of +P ammo. Your Super 38 P220 should perform well with a 14# spring and factory loads. For peace of mind, you may consider picking up an 18# spring as well to compare ejection patterns. As for hammer springs, I've always used standard weight springs per Wolff's guidelines. Congratulations on your purchase.

quote:

Originally posted by hjs157:
The green 20# P220 recoil spring was introduced in conjunction with the reinforced P220 receiver - not because of a change in the slide design. This was to address concerns resulting from shooters experience premature failures when firing a steady diet of +P ammo. Your Super 38 P220 should perform well with a 14# spring and factory loads. For peace of mind, you may consider picking up an 18# spring as well to compare ejection patterns. As for hammer springs, I've always used standard weight springs per Wolff's guidelines. Congratulations on your purchase.

Thank you!

Hello,

with 18lb hammer/main spring, the following were the ejection patterns I noticed.

with 15lb recoil spring, .38 super seemed to eject to around 12-14feet away, and to about 3-4 o'clock on dial.

With 16lb recoil spring, .38 super didn't seem to have any change in where shells dropped. Maybe 1-2 feet closer: MAYBE.

However, I also shot 9mm [out of P226 9mm barrel: no issues] with those two recoil springs.

With 15lb [factory for P226], the 9mm dropped shells about 7-9 feet away.

With 16lb recoil spring, the 9mm dropped shells about 3-4 feet away at most. No ejection failures, but almost dropped on my hands/feet.

The next step up is an 18lb spring.

I fear going to 18lb will mean 9mm is no longer reliable, but at least the .38 super should be closer to 7 feet away.

Where SHOULD the brass land?