Star model Super…. 9mm Largo VS 9mm Luger, can it shoot it?

Try Long Mtn Outfitters out of Nevada - phone 702-564-0948. - They have plenty of 9mm Largo ammunition. My father has a Star Super Largo and loves it. He just purchased 250 rounds from them for the equalivant of $13 per 50 round box including shipping. They only sell it in 25 round boxes though. It is true that it only shoots a 9 X 23 9mm shell, you have to be very specific about that when shopping for ammo.
 
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When I was down in Yuma a bit ago the gun store there said they had .38 ACP, I didn't see any on the shelves. I also have two .38 Colt Rimless double linked autos chambered for the same cartridge.
 
9mm Luger in a Largo pistol

Hi all. I know this is an older thread but i recently lived this situation. My Dad was a gun dealer , enthusiast and collector since before I was born Im 52. A few monnths ago he gave me a Star Modelo Super as a gift, my first spanish firearm. He had it maintainenced and parkerized. He also said it would chamber 9mm Largo AND 9mm Luger.....simultaneously.....WHAT!!!!! The gun came with 500 rounds of Luger. We went to the range and i loaded the clips with Luger and pulled the trigger. Fired fine. extracted fine and cycled the next round...sorta. The slide never went fully forward , so i pushed it with my thumb. Fired, extracted, didnt fully chamber the round. Did this with a whole clip. Then Dad wandered to the loading room and came back with a clip full of Largo, "here, try these". Flawless operation. Then Dad says, " Maybe the Luger wasnt such a bright idea". The lesson here is dont change your ammo. I went home with the Star and 3500 rounds of Largo ammo. Thanks Dad !
 
The only difference in the Star Super and the Model B Super is the chambering.
The B is chambered in 9mm parabellum.
The feed lips are longer on the parabellum magazine, but most largo magazines feed 9mm just fine.
 
There's "can't," and there's "shouldn't." I hope we can all agree that the best advice is to only shoot through any firearm the ammunition it was designed for. Yet, with that said, one of the attractions of the .327 Federal Magnum is that guns chambered for that can also safely shoot two or three other .32 caliber rounds of less potency. We also know that guns chambered for some of the VERY hot .45 caliber wildcats can also shoot .45 ACP, even though the chamber is too long, simply by headspacing on the extractor. It's not recommended for a lot of use, and probably doesn't achieve best accuracy, but it can be done.

But as for the 9mm Largo and some of the alternates, it ain't that simple. The .38 Super (and the .38 ACP, which used the exact same case) is a straight-walled cartridge. All the 9mm cartridges that might be considered here are tapered. The 9mm Largo has a base diameter of .389", tapers to .377", and has a body length of .905". The 9mm Luger is also a tapered cartridge, measuring .391" at the base, .380" at the mouth, and a body length of .754".

Although the 9mm Luger is shorter, it's also fatter. If a gun chambered for 9mm Largo has a tight chamber, 9mm Luger may not chamber at all. I know for a fact that 9mm Luger won't chamber in a .38 Super barrel -- but that has a tighter chamber than 9mm Largo. The .38 Super cartridge is .384" in diameter x .900" long.

This suggests that .38 Super (or .38 ACP) could probably be fired through a 9mm largo pistol, if the extractor will hold the rim in firing position and if the chamber throat will accept the larger rim.

One last alternative that hasn't been mentioned is the 9x23 Winchester. This case is also tapered, .392" at the base, .381" at the mouth, and .900" long. This one should chamber in a 9mm Largo unless the chamber is unusually tight, and I have read reports of people who use the two cartridges more or less interchangeably. But ... as always, be VERY aware of pressure, and don't shoot high-pressure loads through older guns that may not be built to handle such pressures.

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[Diagrams from Steve's Pages http://stevespages.com/page8d.htm ]
 
Strangely enough, it is more commonly recommended to make 9mm Steyr, a straight case, out of tapered Starline 9mm Comp instead of .38 Super Comp which is straight rimless.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
In my younger, stupider days I shot quite a bit of 9mm Luger in a Colt Super.38 Commander.
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Interesting. I tried 9mm in a .38 Super barrel (not Colt), and it wouldn't go in beyond about 2/3 of the way. I was able to shoot .380 ACP out of it, though.
 
OK, so necro thread bump but searching the internet's answer to this, good ol' Firing Line appeared with this post. There is so few other search results, I thought it fair enough to bump the thread. (Mod's feel free to over-rule, of course.)

The OP was asking if it was possible to fire 9mm Luger in a 9mm Largo pistol. It is (surely) not advisable but it IS possible. The other way round will not work of course but as both are the same diameter and headspace on the same area, it can work.
 
Because “it can work” does not suggest anyone should shoot any cartridge in any firearm that was not designed for it and so marked. The Largo/9mm/super issue comes up all to often, only complete idiots will shoot incorrect ammo in a weapon.
 
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