Colt and some other 1911 style autos do come in the .38super from the factorie. I have a .38super Colt gov that I purchased some years ago but I dont not shot offton as you say due to the excessive pressures.

It is a much more popular load in places were a restriction on military loads is put on the public rather then in the US were the .38 super is not as well known. In Mexico for instance it is hard to not find a .38 super in a auto loader as they can not have the .45, 9mm etc... due to the military use.

As stated its much longer then a 9mm looks like a 10mm length with the diamiter of a 9mm.

James F. Nixon III