Spanish Destroyer 9x23 Largo carbine

[jamesharrison]

For those of you who shoot one, do your rifles prefer a certain weight of bullet, especially above or below the factory 127 grain bullet? What about cast bullets?

What powders have you tried and been successful with?

What powders sucked?

Thanks,

Jim

 

[Beater]

i loaded for and shot one for a long long time. mine really likes montana gold bullets 115gr trunicated HP bullets. dont quote me but i think 5.5 gr 231 was plenty accurate enough for gophers out the truck window

 

[Raton57]

This is weird I just read about a fellow named Erskine Childers that was executed in Ireland for having a Spanish destroyer pistol in his possession. Small world.

 

[mbogo3]

Totally different gun the OP is talking about a carbine in 9mm Largo. Destroyer pistols were junk for the most part.
https://www.forgottenweapons.com/other-handguns/eibar-ruby/

 

[tokguy]

For those of you who shoot one, do your rifles prefer a certain weight of bullet, especially above or below the factory 127 grain bullet? What about cast bullets?

What powders have you tried and been successful with?

What powders sucked?

Thanks,

Jim

Howdy Jim,
Just started this journey myself, Rusty Wood hooked me up with brass and powder coated 123 grain pills. Weather has sucked here so I don't have crazy detailed accurate range reports... but I can step out on the deck and chase thumb sized sticks across the ground at about 60 paces... That is 5.5 grains of 231 lit by a CCI small rifle primer. Small pistol primer lighting the same charge in Steyr-Hahn brass shows crazy primer flow
5.5 gr 231 with small pistol primer ( The brass was already primed ) under a 123 FMJ below

5.0gr 231 with small pistol primer under a 123 FMJ

5.5 grains of 231 with small rifle primer under a 123 cast ( Rusty Wood supplied)

Stay in touch, I already have all the components...I'll shoot you the straight skinny, LOL

Don't pay too much attention to the Nay say'ers...the Steyr brass is really close dimension wise to Bergmann / Largo Starline brass

 

[tokguy]

Double tap

 

[jamesharrison]

Tokguy:

Thank you very much; this is exactly the type of information I'm looking for. I see what you mean about the small pistol primers. Nicht Gut!!!

I was doing some playing around with QL & GRT & have come to the conclusion that 3N38 & Nobel Magnum 6 will not do it for me.

While I do not have any W231 on hand, I do have a copious amount of 452AA & some 700x. In my previous tests with cast bullets in .30-30 & .38 Spl., I have found that equal weights of those got pretty well the same results as W231.

I snagged 200 Starline 38 Largo cases, so am good to go for brass, after finding that the .38 Super brass' rims that I bought were too big to fit my bolt face. I've got .38 Auto dies coming, which should hopefully work.

Now to just find a sporter stock so I don't mangle the original. Then again, I intend to have it drilled & tapped & a new Oberndorf low scope bolt handle fitted, so probably shouldn't worry too much about that.

 

[tokguy]

Tokguy:

Thank you very much; this is exactly the type of information I'm looking for. I see what you mean about the small pistol primers. Nicht Gut!!!

I was doing some playing around with QL & GRT & have come to the conclusion that 3N38 & Nobel Magnum 6 will not do it for me.

While I do not have any W231 on hand, I do have a copious amount of 452AA & some 700x. In my previous tests with cast bullets in .30-30 & .38 Spl., I have found that equal weights of those got pretty well the same results as W231.

I snagged 200 Starline 38 Largo cases, so am good to go for brass, after finding that the .38 Super brass' rims that I bought were too big to fit my bolt face. I've got .38 Auto dies coming, which should hopefully work.

Now to just find a sporter stock so I don't mangle the original. Then again, I intend to have it drilled & tapped & a new Oberndorf low scope bolt handle fitted, so probably shouldn't worry too much about that.

I just use 9 x 19 dies...they work for 9 x 23 as well

 

[jamesharrison]

I know, but all my 9mm stuff got sold ~30 years ago, so figured I might just as well buy the right kind from the start.

 

[Andy]

Boy does this ever bring me back - 16+ years ago, before half the members of CGN were out of diapers.....

Coolest name ever for a firearm.

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...515-Anybody-Else-Shoot-the-Spanish-Destroyer?

I used Starline 9mm Largo brass and a 125 gr cast bullet:


9mm Largo, 9mm Luger

4.5 grs Unique - 1050 fps
6.0 grs Longshot - 1475 fps
8.0 grs HS-6 - 1700 fps

 

[jamesharrison]

Andy:

Thank you VERY much!