9mm Largo

R

Roamin_Wade

Moderator
Does anyone shoot, or have shot, a pistol in 9mm Largo? It looks almost identical to the 38 Super. Anyone have any input? Thanks!
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
.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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Model12Win said:
Hmmm... always wanted a Destroyer...
Click to expand...
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.
 
There seem to be cheap Star pistols chambered in Largo on gunbroker, most of the time?
I consider less than $500 to be cheap. :)
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.

David
 
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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