Ron,
My .38 super was just over $500 with tax. (RIA)
It's a GI model and I did upgrade some of the parts and sights but it was a shooter out of the box. I absolutely love it and I find ammo locally available if I choose but I do reload.
I also had a TCM, loved the TCM, hated the double stack so sold it as a 9mm doublestack and built a TCM single stack.
However, the super is a load of fun to shoot and if you reload, the ammo is cheap as 9 mm
I have 4 RIA's mad a Gold Cup. I prefer any of the RIA pistolas over the cup mainly because the cup has too many sharp edges for this old geezer to handle.
I also swapped the 9mm barrel in the super and it performed quite well. Don't forget to change the spring.
Maybe you could just get a spring and barrel...
/slim
