Who'd buy a P90 if Ruger chambered it for the 38 Super Auto?

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wolfee

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I would. I need another P89 but would pay a premium to get the 38 Super in the '90 instead. This frame would easily accomodate it, wouldn't it? Maybe offer an adjustible sight option.
 

Al James

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I think a P89, 90, 91 would handle anything. I have never seen a failure of those guns. Anyone else? I heard rumor that Bill Ruger was originally planning to make the P90 a 10mm. I also read that was BS and he intended it a .45 ACP from the beginning. COFFEE POT will hopefully chime in with his wisdom on these sort of things. What makes a P89 unable to house the 38 Super? Or are you just saying because it is out of production?
 

wolfee

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Both. Technically, the Super is a little higher max psi than a 9mm. But, some of the exotic full house +P+ 9's are probably loaded as hot as the Super. Maybe hotter. At any rate, I am sure Ruger considers the P89 obsolete. Everybody wants midget plastic guns these days. I believe there were also some technical improvements in the 90 over the 89, especially double action trigger pull smoothness. Good scoop on the Super here: www.38super.net
 

aaronrb204

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Al James":36ebs450 said:
I think a P89, 90, 91 would handle anything. I have never seen a failure of those guns. Anyone else? I heard rumor that Bill Ruger was originally planning to make the P90 a 10mm. I also read that was BS and he intended it a .45 ACP from the beginning. COFFEE POT will hopefully chime in with his wisdom on these sort of things. What makes a P89 unable to house the 38 Super? Or are you just saying because it is out of production?

The 10mm thing is complete BS. The pressure and impulse are both too high for the P90. It was looked into but considered not worth the cost.

The .38super will not fit in a 9x19 platform so the pressures there don't matter. 9x23 is a similar load in both pressure and performance. But 9x25 leaves them all in the dust. But these are all niche rounds at this point and mainly used just for competition. I think someone should resurrect the .38-45 (.45acp case necked down to .38). The only load data I could find for it shows a 130gr bullet doing a bit less than standard .357mag loads. And all anyone would have to do is ream out a .38sup barrel and slap it in a 1911.
 

sargents1

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wolfee":1a76algg said:
I would. I need another P89 but would pay a premium to get the 38 Super in the '90 instead. This frame would easily accomodate it, wouldn't it? Maybe offer an adjustible sight option.

I would buy a P90 type gun tomorrow if they were available in 10mm Auto. I am less enthusiastic about .38 Super but I still think it would be a good addition. I am picturing a P90 updated with an accessory rail and slightly slimmer profile. Keep the replaceable grip panels (but use something nicer than the typical ruger hard-plastic throw-aways) and add some checkering or texture to the front and backstraps of the grip. Lift the adjustable sights off the SR9 and price it around 500$ for a street price of ~450$ brand new. A single stack magazine would be just fine so long as it held about 9 rounds.

An alternate vision would be a polymer P310 (10mm) with the slim lines of the P345 but either way I really doubt Ruger will make anything of the sort.

10mm is a niche caliber. Think 41 magnum. Most folks that are casual shooters havent even heard of it. Its a shame since it offers better performance than 9mm, .40cal, and .45ACP. Basically, to get 10mm levels of performance you have to step up to a large frame revolver in .41mag or .44mag.

Oh well, Glock still makes a gun for me (too bad they are Block-head ugly) as does Dan Wesson and Kimber. Also Vltor is rumored to be making a new Bren Ten.
 

aaronrb204

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sargents1":3e4wgm8i said:
wolfee":3e4wgm8i said:
Basically, to get 10mm levels of performance you have to step up to a large frame revolver in .41mag or .44mag.

Oh well, Glock still makes a gun for me (too bad they are Block-head ugly) as does Dan Wesson and Kimber. Also Vltor is rumored to be making a new Bren Ten.

There are also used S&W autos and revolvers available.

I do not understand how people equate 10mm auto with .41mag other than similar bullet diameters. It is much closer to .357mag in all regards and current loads from Federal mirror this. The only place where I found it to match .41mag is the Silver-Tip JHP load from Winchester.
 

toysoldier

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Without personal experience with the .38 Super, I have to resort to my copy of Modern Reloading. It shows no clear advantage for the Super until you get to the heaviest bullets. For weights up to 145 grains, there is a lot of overlap in velocity and pressure with the 9mm. In this weight range, the .357SIG offers higher velocity, but at increased pressure. I believe the .357SIG has the better reputation for reliable feeding. The Super sold well in Mexico, which banned military calibers for civilian sales.

If the .38/45 offers .357 Magnum velocities at lower pressures than the .357SIG, and/or handles heavier bullet weights, there might be some justification for it, even with reduced magazine capacity. I can't see a good reason to acquire a .38 Super, unless you are partial to chrome plating and pearl grips with gold and silver inlay. :wink:
 

BeagleDog

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Me! If you have seen any of my recent posts you know I'm a Super "nut". Chamber a gun for .38 Super and I WILL have it :lol: 8) :lol: :D
 

wolfee

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Well, ok, less than 10 of us read the post and 3 of us will buy 4 guns. Ruger, GET BUSY! Seems like a great candidate for some distributor to take on as an exclusive. btw, BeagleDog, the Fiocchi specs look like their load is pretty mild, more like an ACP load instead of a SuperAuto. Was that your experience with it?
 

jmfc606

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I would buy a Ruger semi auto in 10mm. I would prefer 1911 style but that is another story. If it was offered in the p-90 type platform I would still buy it. I could get rid of my Glock 29 that hasn't fit my small hand since the day I bought it. I should have never sold that Delta Elite way back in the late 80's. Just another case of sellers regret!
 

jmfc606

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So call the "new" pistol a different name other than p-90 so it doesn't offend anybody who thinks Ruger would defoul the P-90 name by chambering it in a different caliber. Let's lighten up a little bit it's just a bunch of guys who like Rugers BS'ing on a forum about what calibers they like.
 

P90

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jmfc606":1mshes5z said:
So call the "new" pistol a different name other than p-90 so it doesn't offend anybody who thinks Ruger would defoul the P-90 name by chambering it in a different caliber. Let's lighten up a little bit it's just a bunch of guys who like Rugers BS'ing on a forum about what calibers they like.
You don't find any of the P-Series pistols chambered in any other Caliber, than what it was designed and named for. If Ruger made any other Calibers they should be designed and named for that Caliber. JMHO :)
 

piratedude

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10mm would make a better first choice for a new offering. Its a more versatile caliber. That said, I'd like to see the P series offered in a few new calibers including 10mm and .38 Super.
 

wolfee

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Actually, the 38 Super has more appeal to me as a plinker. There is a lot of (mostly European) ammo marked 38 Super but loaded to more like 38ACP velocities. In a normal barrel the PMC rounds don't even make original published ACP velocity--low 1000's with a 130gr bullet. My shooting is all plinking and casual target shooting and the trend towards mega power in fly weight guns leaves me a little cold. A big, fat P90 loaded light would be just the ticket for a weekend at the range burning up a few hundred rounds. I realize my ideal gun is hardly what "the market" wants though.
 

sargents1

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aaronrb204":2mqdfpdw said:
sargents1":2mqdfpdw said:
wolfee":2mqdfpdw said:
Basically, to get 10mm levels of performance you have to step up to a large frame revolver in .41mag or .44mag.

Oh well, Glock still makes a gun for me (too bad they are Block-head ugly) as does Dan Wesson and Kimber. Also Vltor is rumored to be making a new Bren Ten.

There are also used S&W autos and revolvers available.

I do not understand how people equate 10mm auto with .41mag other than similar bullet diameters. It is much closer to .357mag in all regards and current loads from Federal mirror this. The only place where I found it to match .41mag is the Silver-Tip JHP load from Winchester.

About the used S&W revolvers/Autos, its quite true. I have seen a few S&W 1006's and it is pretty tempting. I am less interested in a 10mm revolver for the simple fact that if I want a revolver I can get something that outperforms a 10mm.

As far as how people equate 10mm with 41mag...you are right that it is usually closer to .357mag in common loadings. But there are some real barn-burners available for 10mm Auto that are up there with .41mag. Buffalo Bore lists a 180gr JHP that is whistling along at 1350fps / 780ft-lbs at the muzzle. That is some serious horsepower out of an automatic.

Federal lists their 180gr swift a-frame out of a .357mag as 1130fps/510ft-lbs at the muzzle.
Federal also lists the 41mag with a 180gr Barnes expander as 1340fps/718ft-lbs at the muzzle.

There is a lot of overlap between these three cartridges in terms of power. Depending on what you want you can have your 10mm Auto in vanilla (400ft-lbs, 40S&W power level) or jalapeno (700ft-lbs+ 41mag power) flavor. That is what I see in it as being so attractive. Mild loads for target practice, medium power for home defense, and mini-magnum loads for hunting/and or SHTF, alien/monster/zombie/Rosie O'Donnell invasions.

I would love to see a Beretta Storm style carbine in 10mm. You could make that do double duty as a short range deer rifle.
 

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