Adrift in a Sea of Seemingly Contradictory Facts

I learned a few things about hard chroming and the .38 Super today.

I was planning to have a ramped, supported barrel put in my bright stainless Colt. And I wanted to get it chromed, to reduce the inevitable scratching of the finish. But I called Tripp Research–incidentally, they are shutting down their chroming business in June–and someone there patiently explained that while hard chrome is wonderful, the gun would not have the shine that it now has. So screw that, I guess. He also informed me that the gun is almost certainly very safe in its current configuration. He said Colt’s chambers are probably deeper than they need to be, and that you don’t see problems until you get up around 1400 fps. A guy from Briley told me .38 Super cases are stronger than they used to be, so I suppose I should not be terrified of shooting reloads that are not too hopped up.

I am still wondering if I should get Briley to put a new ramped barrel in it. I don’t know how accurate a 1911 is supposed to be. Using Aguila FMJ +P at 7 yards, I put 25 rounds in an area the size of a golf ball. I don’t know how much of the error is me, how much is the gun, and how much is the ammunition. For all I know, the gun is perfect. But if there is no down side to a ramped barrel, and it’s safer, why wouldn’t I want to get one? The guy who runs .38super.net claims he fired Cor-Bons in a gun like mine, and that the cases bulged.

I was also considering getting it set up with a second barrel that would accept 9 x 23mm cartridges. I’m totally confused about that. I don’t know if the magazines will work with 9mm, and I’m sure they would cost a lot to duplicate, if I wanted the gun to keep its stock look.

One thing is certain. It needs to go back to Colt to get the rollmark and the asymmetrical dehorning fixed.

The guy from Tripp said Colt and Smith & Wesson have very highly trained individuals who dedicate their existence to polishing guns, and that Tripp could not do it as well or restore the gun to its original appearance after chroming. I thought that was damned honest of him.