38 Largo

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joeybolz

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Hi Folks,
I bought this item http://www.auctionarms.com/Closed/DisplayItem.cfm?ItemNum=9308255.0 on Gunbroker the other day. According to the Q and A's at the bottom of the auction I thought I was getting some oddly named Santa Barbara 9mm Largo ammo to shoot through my Stars.

When I got it today I discovered it is physically identical to 38 Special. The Bullet mics at .355 while the case mouth mics at .375. It chambers just fine in a Colt Daimondback. Don't think I'll run this stuff through the Colt though as I have a 686 that I think will work fine.

What do you folks know of this cartridge? Not much info on a quick google search.
 
ID?

A picture of one of the cartridges would be really helpful.
It's hard to know what was meant, translated to English, by the "largo" designation. Yes, it means Long but which one? .38 Long Colt? .38 Long CF? or something else?
The trouble that I ran into, looking at the two cartridges that I listed, is that the dimensions don't match what you have given. Those cartridges are at 0.378" (Colt) and 0.380" (CF) across the mouth with a bullet at 0.358". The .38 Special is listed at 0.379"/0.357-358" bullet. The 0.377"/0.355" is an odd one but may just be the result of different manufacture.
I have looked, so far, in CotW, Fred Datig, Donnelly, Nonte, and Howell.
Pete
 
There were a lot of Spanish revolvers, copies of S&W or sometimes Colt, built for a .38 cartridge very much the equivalent of .38 Long Colt. I think you have some fairly recent noncorrosive ammunition meant for those old guns. I can't see how it would overload a .357 magnum or even .38 special.

I guess the vendor had not opened a box to see what he was selling. Or to show it to the bidders.
 
.38 Largo revolver was, IIRC, a blackpowder/low pressure round for old revolvers.

I believe it is SPECIFIC to Spain and some South American nations.

Nominally it's the same dimensions as the .38 Special.

Some years ago Southern Ohio Gun was selling Spanish S&W copies chambered in .38 Largo.

If you search .38 Largo Revolver in Google you'll see some information and discussions about the round.
 
In the latest Shotgun News is an article about handguns used by Chile. It lists the ".38 Largo" as being .38 Long Colt.
 
The 9mm Largo is a 9x23 case designed for Largo gun systems such as the Star, Astra, Destroyer Carbine, and also works in many Steyrs. It's made for an autoloader, not any revolvers.

It's milder than the more typical 9X19 Parabellum round, and far milder than 38 Super. I suspect the 9MM Largo will not have enough power to cause a Colt chambered for 38 Super to function.

As a rimless cartridge it is entirely different than any of the 38 Colt rounds, and it is not a 38 caliber in any case either. It exists to circumvent European rules against owning Military caliber weapons.

Starline used to make brass for it - link: https://www.starlinebrass.com/9mm-largo-brass
 
joeybolz said:
Hi Folks,
I bought this item http://www.auctionarms.com/Closed/DisplayItem.cfm?ItemNum=9308255.0 on Gunbroker the other day. According to the Q and A's at the bottom of the auction I thought I was getting some oddly named Santa Barbara 9mm Largo ammo to shoot through my Stars.

When I got it today I discovered it is physically identical to 38 Special. The Bullet mics at .355 while the case mouth mics at .375. It chambers just fine in a Colt Daimondback. Don't think I'll run this stuff through the Colt though as I have a 686 that I think will work fine.

What do you folks know of this cartridge? Not much info on a quick google search.
Click to expand...
The OP said he bought Santa Barbara brand 9MM Largo. It's a common Spanish brand. Perhaps you missed it? There is a bunch of it on GB right now for cheap.
 
From the Op's post "According to the Q and A's at the bottom of the auction I thought I was getting some oddly named Santa Barbara 9mm Largo ammo to shoot through my Stars."
 
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