7/30/2019 9mmLargo

1/3

Star 9 mm Largo with ammo9mm LargoBy Bob Shell

http://writerbobshell.comBrought out about 1910 it is essentially an elongated version of the 9mm Luger. It closely

resembles a 38 auto but not as much rim. It was used in the Astra 400 but many copies of theBrowning pistol design utilizedit also. The Spanish used it for quite a number of years. It is alsoknown as the 9mm Bergman-Bayard long. The Danish used it as a military sidearm for quite a few

years.By the way the Astra 400 is supposed to chamber and shoot a 38 auto but my Largoabsolutely will not. The rimis too prominenton the 38 auto case. There is some military ammoavailable but it is corrosive and I for one will avoid it. The cases would be Berdan primed making ituseless for reloadinganyway. With inexpensive brass available why bother with the military. NoAmerican company makes ammo for it as far as I know. I would not recommend trying 9 mm Lugerammo as it is too short and probably wouldn t be reliable and could be dangerous.

My sample is a StarModelo Super closely resembling a model 1911 Colt.Actually that wasa main reason I purchased it as I am a big fan of the 1911 design.However it has a couple offeatures lacking in most 1911 s. First of all there is a loaded chamber indicator that shows red whenit protrudes, meaning there is a round in the chamber. It also has a 3 position safety with the middle

positionlocking the trigger but allows you to rack out the ammo. That s a good feature but ofcourse the gun should always be pointed in a safe direction as like any other gadget it can fail. Itdoes stay open upon firing the last round which is an excellent feature. Another feature which Iconsider a poor idea is the gun won t fire without the magazine in it. There may be somedisagreement in that but I would prefer a pistol that fires without the magazine in it. For informaltarget shooting it doesn t make a difference though in a bad situation it might. The magazine isdropped out like a 1911 and they are easy to drop and replace. The sights are decent for a military orpolice arm but the trigger is too heavy. Maybe a trip to a gunsmith could cure that ailment though Iam not familiar with the trigger mechanism. It lacks a grip safety which I don t consider a problem.The grips on my gun are sharply checkered wood which would aid in gripping especially with asweaty hand. It is a well made gun that is comfortable in my hand with no problems with recoil. For

the price I consider it a good buy. I bought it at Sarco for about $140 and with 3 magazines plusshipping it totaled less then $200. It gives the appearance of a rugged well made firearm.My onlycomplaint is the heavy trigger.

Shooting it wasn t a problem. Starline makes the brass and standard 9mm bullets work fine.For info on the many cases Starline offers go to www.starlinebrass.com for more info on their fineproducts. I use a lot of their brass for some of the less common rounds and it never gives meproblems.The first batch was115 grain full metal jackets and seemed a bit fussy about feeding untilI sized then again. I then tried some 115 grain hollow points and they fed flawlessly (go figure). Ieven loaded some 125 grain cast truncated bullets and they were about 98 % reliable. The load for

http://www.starlinebrass.com/http://writerbobshell.com/

7/30/2019 9mmLargo

2/3

all three was 5.5 X 231.Since it burns clean and gives good velocity I left it there. Increase theseloads at your own risk. Since there are a verity of guns out there and reloading techniques out thereI am not responsible for use of this data.

I am not a big fan of the 9mm for self defense but realistically if you use a well designedhollow point it should do the job. A 115 grain Hp at 1300 feet per second should do a pretty decentjob getting you out of a scrape. I wouldn t use FMJ s as they don t expend and might overpenetrate. If you choose to use it for self defense try out a verity of bullets to see which one feedsbest and after that then you can check for expansion. There are several good bullets out there thatmight work for you. Sometime when I get some time I might try my X/PLODERbulletsin it. Ishould get close to 2000 feet per second with them.If it was going to be a house or carry gun for methen I would look into getting some trigger work done.When you have to concentrate on the triggerrather then the target accuracy will suffer. Keep in mind that any gun used for defense has to be100% reliable or it s worthless. It is a full size gun which would make it a good house gun with theproper loads.If yours is reliable with good ammo by all means use itfor home defense. It would besimilar to carrying a 45 auto by weight and size. In which case I would opt for the 45as I consider a45 more effective then a 9.

While not suitable for large game under most situations it would suffice for small game andvarmints. Accuracy should be good out to 25 yards or so which would be ok for those pesky critters.

LOAD BULLET VELOCITY COMMENT5.5 X 231 115 grain full metal jacket 1296 very consistent5.5 X 231 115 grain hollow point 1274 consistent5.5 X 231 125 grain truncated (cast) 1318 good load

After shooting it some more it became more familiar but the heavy trigger made it difficultto shoot as accurately as I think that it can. All in all it is a serviceable piece and is well worthobtaining. It can be called a poor man s 38 super as the ballistics are very similar as well as the casesize. The only difference is the rim size with the super having a bit more rim. I could possiblysqueeze a bit more speed out of it but what s the point. I am happy with these loads and there is noupside to a few more feet per second. Max loads will wear out a gun quicker while giving nothingin return. These loads fed and cycled perfectly and that s all I can ask of this gun.

To make things more interesting I picked up a Spanish destroyer carbine in 9 mm largochambering. It was used by the Spanish police during the 1920 s and possible some SouthAmerican countries as well. The bolt action carbine has a 20 barrel and a 6 round clip. I have shotit some and accuracy and functioning are both fine. As can be expected it produces 2 to 300 FPSmore velocity then the pistol due to its longer barrel. The action has a passing resemblance to aMauser with its large extractor and two locking lugs. Itssafety also resembles the Mauser.It seemsto be fairly well finished though age has taken some of the luster from the exterior.There isa verity

of models that were made during that timewith the quality varying. Because of its lightness I havefound that youngsters enjoy shooting it. Since there is very little recoil that also enhances theirshooting pleasure. It would be a fairly decent small game and pest gun at closer ranges but wouldnot be adequate for large game. To load the Largo round I use a 38 super die set with a 9mm shellholder and they work perfectly.

7/30/2019 9mmLargo

3/3

9 mm Largo Spanish Destroyer CarbineHere are a few loads for the Destroyer carbine

LOAD BULLET VELOCITY COMMENT5.5 X 231 115 grain cast 1097 mild7 X Herco 115 grain HP 1614 nice8.5 X 231 75 grain X-Ploder 2078 consistent

Most 9 mm bullets would be suitable including the 147 s which I plan on trying at a laterdate. The X-Ploder is a bullet I designed and would be devastating on varmints both two and fourlegged. Like most out of date guns it is a fascinating part of history and fun to shoot. Isn t that whatit s about?

Copyright 2010 by Bob Shell. All rights reserved.