Destroyer carbine what Ammo is safe to shoot

AlexG

AlexG

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Good morning.
Yesterday I made a split second decision to purchase a Spanish destroyer carbine that I seen listed for sale locally without doing too much research on it. The Gentleman I purchased it from said they used 38 super in it although it is chambered in 9x23 Largo / Bergmann. Before I get too far into it I am aware the most ideal is shooting exactly what it is chambered for. But after doing some digging though old forum articles here and on google it seems to be very up in the air what you are actually able to use in this rifle. Seem many people saying normal 9mm Luger will work fine and others saying it won’t. Many people are saying 38 super is fine (the guy I purchased the rifle from also thought so) and other articles I read online say the pressures are way to high. I am looking for some real life responses from people that have experience in shooting 9x19/9mm Luger or 38 super in a Spanish destroyer carbine and what the results were. I have not fired it yet and I’m just looking for a safe alternative to the 9x23 Largo being I don’t currently have that available to me.

Thanks in advance.
 
If the person said he used .38 super, i assume he meant he used .38 super cases and downloaded to 9x23 specs. I would not shoot pissing hot or even normal .38 super through it. Some destroyers were reworked into 9mm luger but it would have been done after they were surplused. If you cant find 9x23 you'll have to reload, and .38 super is a lot easier to find brass for.
 
My Destroyer's bolt will not hold 38 Super or 9x23 Winchester brass without opening the extractor too much.

Google "Spanish Destroyer Carbine extractor"

I wound up just buying the correct Starline 9mm Largo brass & use 38ACP NOT 38 SUPER, much less 9x23 Winchester loads in it!

The older Lyman manuals have loads for it.
 
I already asked this a while back, lol. I used 9mm Steyr til I got my 9mm Bergmann / Largo.
Mine likes rifle primers...I get about 1 in 4 factory rounds that has a black spot in the bottom of the primer indent...let's face it...we are running the pressures a bit higher due to the fact it's a rifle.
An Esteemed member here tipped me to using 9 x 19 in the Bergmann chamber...and the bolt will close on a loaded round. No pressing need so why?
5.5 gr of 231 IIRC. Good load, kids love it
 
The new modern pcc's are so much more practical but I still comeing back to wanting one of these. They are just a neat little carbine.
Marstar did, still do? , sell mags for these. Iirc correctly they are under $10

Just checked. 17.95. Still not bad
 
Light Infantry said:
The new modern pcc's are so much more practical but I still comeing back to wanting one of these. They are just a neat little carbine.
Marstar did, still do? , sell mags for these. Iirc correctly they are under $10

Just checked. 17.95. Still not bad
Click to expand...

They take 1911 mags too. I've not found the need for extra firepower out on the creek here...38 super mags would need someone to file a hole for the mag catch.
I lucked into about 200+ rounds of actual milsurp on the weekend... it gets nice out...I'll chrono some... the factory stuff I had was 'Veritas'. But it was showing signs of either overpressure or just too soft of primers...'The Black spot!'
The 200+ loose rounds are stamped by year '1947' seems to be most prevalent...I'll do a little range report on these one's...see 'what is what' and get back to you.
Chrono doesn't like snowy days though.
 
^^^yes, it would be interesting to see your results!!

Amazingly, original ammo pops up on a regular basis. I have been tempted to buy as it comes up. If I did I would have about 3-4k of ammo by now!
 
My Destroyer Carbine digests 9x23, 9x21, 38 Super and 9x19 without any hiccups

If you are really concerned, take it to a smith and get your barrel set back enough to get proper headspacing on a 9x19 now better known as 9mm Luger

The only real issue you might have is to find a smith with a 9mm Luger reamer. However, Ebay has several ads for chamber reamers, both new and used.

Some of the best come out of Czechoslovakia at a very reasonable price.
 
The offending rounds ( Black spot, pierced primer) were Tetrinox brand in the little square 25 round box...they were 20/box 10-12 years back. Too much money for cartridges that are not reloadable ( Berdan primers ) and are not able to handle the pressure developed by the longer barrel.
In my humble opinion of course.
 
As of April 6 Rusty Wood shows 9mm Largo brass in stock ($44/100, $192.50/500). Rather than trying to improvise why not just buy the correct brass and go from there? No muss, no fuss.
 
bearhunter said:
My Destroyer Carbine digests 9x23, 9x21, 38 Super and 9x19 without any hiccups

If you are really concerned, take it to a smith and get your barrel set back enough to get proper headspacing on a 9x19 now better known as 9mm Luger

The only real issue you might have is to find a smith with a 9mm Luger reamer. However, Ebay has several ads for chamber reamers, both new and used.

Some of the best come out of Czechoslovakia at a very reasonable price.
Click to expand...

:) your showing your age :)

I made the same mistake on my last deployment talking with one of my Czech officers. He was not amused :)


I've seen the firearm in question and its in really good shape.
 
I have done the conversion to 9mm Para. You machine the breech end of barrel to set it back, IIRC it was 2 turns, then you have to ream slightly with 9mm Para reamer as the chamber ends up a bit short. I have even re-barreled one to 45 ACP. A fare bit more work, and they don't shoot as well as the 9's.
Modding the extractor for the slightly larger 38 super/acp rim shouldn't take much, so I would go that route instead of the barrel work. The actions are strong enough to take the factory 38 super rounds. However, if you are of the nervous type when it comes to firearm strengths, then load down to your happy place.
 
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