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In some pistols chambered for the 9mm Luger (the official SAAMI name in the US for the 9mm Parabellum), the .380 ACP will fire without being held by the extractor because the firing pin reaches out well beyond the breech face. The case backs up and may expand or split, but there is seldom any damage to the gun or the shooter.
One problem which is rarely addressed is the situation where an entire "wrong" cartrige can move into the barrel far enough for a "right" cartridge to be chambered behind it and fired. That usually happens when the "wrong" cartridge is the top round in the magazine, and when the slide is manually cycled, moves far enough in that the gun misfires. Thinking a round failed to chamber, the shooter again racks the slide, chambering a "right" round, and fires. Depending on where the "wrong" cartridge is in the barrel, the result can be nothing more than high pressure, or the barrel can be bulged or split and the gun destroyed.
This can happen in the case of a 9mm Luger in a .40 S&W barrel or a .40 S&W in a .45 ACP or .45 GAP barrel.
Jim
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