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Old August 28, 2018, 06:26 AM   #1
Roamin_Wade
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9mm Largo

Does anyone shoot, or have shot, a pistol in 9mm Largo? It looks almost identical to the 38 Super. Anyone have any input? Thanks!
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Old August 28, 2018, 10:33 AM   #2
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Depending on how sloppy your chamber is, you might be able to fit all of the above in your Largo: 9mm Bergmann-Bayard, 9mm Steyr, .38 Super, 9x23 WIN, 9 Super Comp, .38 Super Comp.

.38 Super is a straight-wall case, while 9mm Largo is a tapered one like 9mm Luger.
Super is usually associated with boosting velocities relative to 9mm, while Largo is more along the lines of matching 9mm ballistics at lower pressure, if you are staying within SAAMI specs.
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Old August 28, 2018, 12:52 PM   #3
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I was part of an experiment one day where a guy taped his 9mm Largo pistol to a stake and drove it in the ground and then tied a piece of string to the trigger all in an effort to see if it could shoot 38 Super rounds. It did it. It even cycled rounds up into the action and kept shooting. Its way too much pressure to do it all the time but it was a fun exercise.
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Old August 28, 2018, 01:15 PM   #4
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Largo's case length is .910". The Super's is 10 thou shorter.
"...you might be able to fit all of the above..." Absolutely not if you think you'll shoot it. Fitting the chamber and there being safe headspace are not the same thing. You put a Super in a Largo and you'll have 10 thou of excessive headspace. A 9 x 23 Win will likely just blow the pistol up. Too much pressure.
Don't think there are any currently available pistols chambered in 9mm Largo. You might find a Danish or Spanish milsurp though. Llama made some too. Starline makes the brass for oddly reasonable money. 500 BNIB cases runs $96.50. $157 for 1,000.
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Old August 28, 2018, 03:41 PM   #5
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.38 Super/Auto will simply headspace on the semi rim. Llama marked their largo pistols ".38 Super" for sale in the US.
Simply opening the breech face very slightly will allow most largo pistols to shoot .38 auto safely, and .38 Super maybe not so safely. I have done this and shot Super with no problems.
Of course, 9 X 23 is too powerful to shoot in these guns.
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Old August 28, 2018, 04:58 PM   #6
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Hmmm... always wanted a Destroyer...
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Old August 28, 2018, 06:06 PM   #7
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I used my 9mm dies to load for my Astra 400. Neat little pistol but was pretty worn out when I got it and although it would shoot, it was minute of barn door.
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Old August 28, 2018, 09:12 PM   #8
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BTW- do not shoot .38 Super in an Astra 400! It's dangerous.
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Old August 29, 2018, 05:04 AM   #9
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I think the 9mm Largo pistol was a Llama. It looked like a Browning High Power if I remember correctly. It might have been a 1911 if not the High Power. For such a hot little 9mm I wonder why it has fallen out of popularity. I sure do like the older modern guns from around 1880 and on until about 1980. That hundred years are the ones that will go down as the finest Firearms ever made.
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Old September 5, 2018, 04:44 PM   #10
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Double post.....
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Old September 5, 2018, 04:45 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Model12Win View Post
Hmmm... always wanted a Destroyer...
I bought a destroyer from a good friend that won't be with us much longer. It is a fun little pistol caliber carbine. I would like to find a pistol in 9mm Largo to go with it one day but they aren't out there often and when I do find them you would think they were made of platinum. I heard some were imported recently but if you do get one just remember that parts are a nightmare to find and extractors are a weak part in them, if it breaks you may never be able to find a replacement. If mine does it will just become a single shot due to the sentimental value it will stay with me till I am no longer with us. My sons like it too so they will keep shooting it too. Starline makes great brass and there is a 9mm Largo website with good load data.
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Old September 5, 2018, 04:56 PM   #12
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There seem to be cheap Star pistols chambered in Largo on gunbroker, most of the time?
I consider less than $500 to be cheap.
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Old September 5, 2018, 05:39 PM   #13
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Spanish pistols marked "9mm/.38" were meant for 9mm Largo and .38 Auto.
Full power .38 Super is an overload. Current production Super is a bit attenuated - they don't even claim a 130@1300 any more - but is still pretty hot for Spanish steel.

Speer made Blazer aluminum Largo for a while.
A guy here stocked up when distributors closed it out cheap. It shot reliably in his SVI Super but the flash and blast were impressive. Cheap powder in cheap ammo.
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Old September 5, 2018, 05:50 PM   #14
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I had an Astra 400 back in the mid 80's. Largo ammo was very difficult to find, what with the internet not yet invented and all.

I shot 38 Auto in it as a matter of course, until the pistol was stolen. I miss that funny looking pistol.
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Old September 5, 2018, 05:57 PM   #15
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I wish someone would make Destroyer repros in 9 Para.
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Old September 5, 2018, 06:45 PM   #16
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Some Destroyer carbines were made in 9mmP.
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Old September 6, 2018, 12:12 PM   #17
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Those Astra 400 (9mm Largo) and 600 (9x19mm) were kinda nifty. I like the way they field stripped.
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Old September 6, 2018, 01:17 PM   #18
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I have a Star in 9mm Largo. bought the Starline brass, use a combination of 9mm Luger and 38 super dies to load it. it is a fun caliber to shoot, but I am careful about shooting it so as to be sure to recover the brass.

I also have a .38 Super in a 1911 platform. Love shooting it. Will not ever mix the two. As for what can be done, yep, it can be done. maybe multiple times. But the question is should it be done. That answer is no. If you have respect for SAMMI numbers and basic physics then you would not shoot a .38 Super in a largo.

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Old September 6, 2018, 04:33 PM   #19
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The exact same Llama pistols were made in Largo and .38 Super.
The Star pistols were also made in Largo/.38 auto, 9mm, .763 Mauser, and .45 auto.
I see no reason not to use today's downloaded .38 Super in any of them.
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Old September 7, 2018, 05:55 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RickB View Post
There seem to be cheap Star pistols chambered in Largo on gunbroker, most of the time?
I consider less than $500 to be cheap.
I am thinking more like $350 or less cheap. I guess that is what I get for being cheap!
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Old September 8, 2018, 11:00 AM   #21
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I had several Stars & Astras in Largo and also the Destroyer carbine. They would
fire 38Super. The thickness of the rims on 38Super concerned me. I was afraid
extended use of 38Super cases would case extractor breakage. I turned the rims
to thin on Rem 38super cases to put my mind at ease. It's a PIA to do when you
always loose a few cases with the pistols. All the Largo ammo ( factory) that I
have bought was Berdan primed. I have also used these cases in several other
1st generation auto pistols with good results. It may have not been necessary
but it's better than breakage on 100yr old + pistols. The Star & Astra can handle
a few 38Super or 38acp but the older pistols should not be shot with either. When I load, its mild and with cast bullets.
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Old October 1, 2018, 02:17 AM   #22
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The use of 38 super in Spanish pistols chambered for 9mm Largo or for that matter any pistol not chambered for the cartridge is just plain stupidity. Use the caliber for which the firearm was designed or risk severe injury to yourself and others.
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Old October 1, 2018, 07:43 PM   #23
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Quote:
extractors are a weak part in them, if it breaks you may never be able to find a replacement. If mine does it will just become a single shot due to the sentimental value it will stay with me till I am no longer with us.
External extractors for Star pistols are not very complex or difficult to make. Any real gunsmith should be able to make one without making you take out a mortgage on the place.
I lost a Budischowsky extractor once when it flew out into the unknown. I spent an hour on my hands and knees looking in the shop for it and finally realized that even I myself could make one easier than than examining every chip on the floor. I went to a local gas station and bought a stainless Chinese knife, the thickness of the 440 blade was the same as the slot in the slide.

Within 45 minutes I had a working extractor that still works years later, all without having a sample to get dimensions from. So, it's not worth retiring a gun over or calling it a single shot.
I mean, if I can do it. And mine even looks original. I think most guys with a few tools and determination could make one.
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Old October 4, 2018, 07:29 PM   #24
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Since writing my post I realized that the broken extractor was possibly on a Mauser type bolt. Such an extractor would be very much more difficult to make.
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