Gold Cup .45 in .38 special

Irod · November 30, 2002, 02:01 PM

Can I convert a Gold Cup NM in .45 in a .38 special paper puncher?

saands · November 30, 2002, 02:17 PM

My experience is that with enough money, you can make almost anything

... but I think that this one might have a good chance of being an absolute original. You might be confusing the .38 special with the .38 Super, which is entirely different. The Special is a rimmed cartridge in plentiful supply while the Super looks a lot like a 9mm Largo ... maybe even longer ... used by competitive shooters. The Super is a rimless round for easier use in a semi-auto. Even going to a rimless round in .38, 9mm, or .40/10mm from the original .45 requires a new slide, though, as the breech face of the 45 is too wide and the extractor hook is at the wrong radius to reliably extract.

Saands

Old Fuff · November 30, 2002, 02:39 PM

Not easily. All the major components. including the frame, slide assembly and barrel are different. Pistolsmiths, such as the late Jimmy Clark used to convert .38 Super Colts to .38 Special WC.

If you are determined to go this way, and didn't want the .45, I would sell it and use the money to buy a good, used .38 Super. Then have it converted to .38 Special using Gold Cup magazines.

Another way would be to go to someone like Caspian Arms and buy a matched .38 Super frame and slide. Then have this basis built into a .38 Special. Most bullseye shooters have given up on the .38 and shoot their .45 in the Center Fire Match. If you are thinking of gallery shooting indoors consider one of the European match guns chambered for .32 S&W Long wadcutters.

BigG · November 30, 2002, 08:33 PM

Colt actually did make some Gold Cups in 38 Special after James Clark proved there was a market for one. I have a Clark conversion of a 38 AMU Colt. Beautiful job and scary accurate.

Old Fuff · November 30, 2002, 10:10 PM

Yes, Colt did make a .38 Special Gold Cup. However the system was entirely different then the .45 in that it didn't employ a locked-breech system. It was a straight blow-back that used a threaded chamber to help keep the slide from moving too soon. I had two of them and liked neither. They were very fussy feeders and not particularly accurate. Very well made though.

Colt also made kits in .38 AMU (a rimless .38 Special) that used the same lock-up as the .45, and for that matter the guns that Jimmy Clark made. Clark's were a far cry from the Gold Cup, and very accurate.

The one thing Colt did do right was the magazine. Clark always had trouble with good magazines and this solved the problem.

I think if I wanted a .38 Special Colt I'd have Jimmy's boys build me one. They know how and are still in the business.

November 30, 2002, 02:01 PM	#1
Irod Junior Member Join Date: December 29, 2001 Location: America Posts: 11	Gold Cup .45 in .38 special Can I convert a Gold Cup NM in .45 in a .38 special paper puncher?

November 30, 2002, 08:33 PM	#4
BigG Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 1999 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 4,334	Colt actually did make some Gold Cups in 38 Special after James Clark proved there was a market for one. I have a Clark conversion of a 38 AMU Colt. Beautiful job and scary accurate. __________________ o "The Earth is degenerating today. Bribery and corruption abound. Children no longer obey their parents, every man wants to write a book, and it is evident that the end of the world is fast approaching." Assyrian tablet, c. 2800 BC o "In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man brave, hated, and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." Mark Twain o "They have gun control in Cuba. They have universal health care in Cuba. So why do they want to come here?" Paul Harvey o TODAY WE CARVE OUT OUR OWN OMENS! Leonidas, Thermopylae, 480 BC

November 30, 2002, 02:17 PM	#2
saands Senior Member Join Date: November 14, 1999 Posts: 1,573	My experience is that with enough money, you can make almost anything ... but I think that this one might have a good chance of being an absolute original. You might be confusing the .38 special with the .38 Super, which is entirely different. The Special is a rimmed cartridge in plentiful supply while the Super looks a lot like a 9mm Largo ... maybe even longer ... used by competitive shooters. The Super is a rimless round for easier use in a semi-auto. Even going to a rimless round in .38, 9mm, or .40/10mm from the original .45 requires a new slide, though, as the breech face of the 45 is too wide and the extractor hook is at the wrong radius to reliably extract. Saands

November 30, 2002, 02:39 PM	#3
Old Fuff Senior Member Join Date: October 17, 2002 Location: Arizona Posts: 237	Not easily. All the major components. including the frame, slide assembly and barrel are different. Pistolsmiths, such as the late Jimmy Clark used to convert .38 Super Colts to .38 Special WC. If you are determined to go this way, and didn't want the .45, I would sell it and use the money to buy a good, used .38 Super. Then have it converted to .38 Special using Gold Cup magazines. Another way would be to go to someone like Caspian Arms and buy a matched .38 Super frame and slide. Then have this basis built into a .38 Special. Most bullseye shooters have given up on the .38 and shoot their .45 in the Center Fire Match. If you are thinking of gallery shooting indoors consider one of the European match guns chambered for .32 S&W Long wadcutters.

November 30, 2002, 10:10 PM	#5
Old Fuff Senior Member Join Date: October 17, 2002 Location: Arizona Posts: 237	Yes, Colt did make a .38 Special Gold Cup. However the system was entirely different then the .45 in that it didn't employ a locked-breech system. It was a straight blow-back that used a threaded chamber to help keep the slide from moving too soon. I had two of them and liked neither. They were very fussy feeders and not particularly accurate. Very well made though. Colt also made kits in .38 AMU (a rimless .38 Special) that used the same lock-up as the .45, and for that matter the guns that Jimmy Clark made. Clark's were a far cry from the Gold Cup, and very accurate. The one thing Colt did do right was the magazine. Clark always had trouble with good magazines and this solved the problem. I think if I wanted a .38 Special Colt I'd have Jimmy's boys build me one. They know how and are still in the business.