Magnamized 9mm

[Gaseous Maximus]

I didn't know where to post these pictures, but hopefully someone will find them interesting. Short story, I now know that if, with a certain amount of ipp powder & 124 gr. cb, this pistol would deliver 1210 fps, with two 124 grainers it delivered 1368 fps. according to my crony alpha model. Unfortunately the slide, and particularly the barrel are only good for one shot. Also as pointed out in one of the photos, this barrel I had lined with a liner I had made from a sterling stub, and locktited in place. Oh, by the way, the pistol in the photo is an old star model super.

[quilbilly]

Some years back I tried to "magnumize" my 9mm for my Thompson Center carbine. Results were excellent accuracy on the first shot but there was extreme vertical stringing if I didn't wait 3 minutes between shot and lots of cracked cases. Being a slow learner, it took me a while to realize that the 9mm carbine was much happier with moderate loads and vertical stringing disappeared.

[bhn22]

Well, there's a gun for the scrap pile now. The frame is probably damaged too. There have been 9mm magnums in different flavors developed over the years, but few ever actually got produced, and even fewer were successful. You can look at NATO spec ammo, which is plenty hot, and stay away from the cheap guns for your experimenting. That poor old Star Model B was never designed for such abuse, and was not shy about telling you all about it. My suggestion would be to simply go to a larger caliber if you need more power.

[Springfield]

Why did you line the 9mm barrel to 9mm? Why not just ream out the chamber?

[Gaseous Maximus]

Well, there's a gun for the scrap pile now. The frame is probably damaged too. There have been 9mm magnums in different flavors developed over the years, but few ever actually got produced, and even fewer were successful. You can look at NATO spec ammo, which is plenty hot, and stay away from the cheap guns for your experimenting. That poor old Star Model B was never designed for such abuse, and was not shy about telling you all about it. My suggestion would be to simply go to a larger caliber if you need more power. My apologizes, I really thought that readers would take this the way it was intended. Such is ,evidently, not the case. What happened to this pistol was a complete screw up on my part, I was chronographing some loads, which I had loaded on my lee pro 1000. I really don't want to go into that, But I had a squib load, primer, no powder, it drove the 124 gr. bullet into the barrel, not realizing this, I chambered another round. and this is what occurred. I posted these pictures because I thought some might find them interesting. Actually, I feel really blessed that the thing didn't blow up, and cause serious injury to myself or my wife who was directly behind me. Yes, it was extremely careless on my part. Especially since it had happened with my 5906 a couple times, which I caught, in the not to distant pass. I have had trouble with this gun misfiring, ever since I bought it back in 95. This probably contributed to my inattention. Actually, though if it had to happen, I'm glad it was this gun, and not one of my better ones. I doubt if there is a 9mm semi auto made that would take this kind of abuse, with out suffering extensive damage.

[Gaseous Maximus]

Why did you line the 9mm barrel to 9mm? Why not just ream out the chamber? The reason, is that the original bore was really eroded, I suppose from firing corrosive ammo. Actually, the barrel was chambered for a largo, and to long already for a 9mm para. I only mentioned the fact that it was sleeved, as it might relate to a further lack of strength.

[Eddie2002]

Guess you know how lucky you are, could of been a lot worse. Head back to the reloading room and figure out what went wrong with the squib load and change your routine to advoid whatever caused it. One squib is one too many. Too bad about the gun but you still have all your fingers. Yikes hate to see a damaged firearm.

[mold maker]

Certainly glad you and yours are unhurt. Parts and pieces of a gun, or the whole thing, can easily be replaced. Those five grippers, and your other parts, are much less repairable, and the parts house is empty.
Thanks for posting. That takes guts to admit.

[captain-03]

.... Yes, it was extremely careless on my part. Especially since it had happened with my 5906 a couple times, which I caught, in the not to distant pass.

If you are having squibs that often, I would suggest looking over your technique and procedures .... Something is causing the "no powder" situation. Luck will only last for so long. BE SAFE!!

[Gaseous Maximus]

Guess you know how lucky you are, could of been a lot worse. Head back to the reloading room and figure out what went wrong with the squib load and change your routine to advoid whatever caused it. One squib is one too many. Too bad about the gun but you still have all your fingers. Yikes hate to see a damaged firearm. I think I figured out what was happening with the lee. I also hate to see a damaged firearm, especially when it mine. Yeah. 250 grains of lead, at 1368 fps out of a 9mm case. I wouldn't want to even guess what the chamber pressure was. I did not find the empty brass, would sure have liked to.

[Gaseous Maximus]

Certainly glad you and yours are unhurt. Parts and pieces of a gun, or the whole thing, can easily be replaced. Those five grippers, and your other parts, are much less repairable, and the parts house is empty.
Thanks for posting. That takes guts to admit. Thanks much, Yes the parts house is out of stock, and the old parts take longer to repair on a 42 model. I don't heal, think, or do anything as fast or well as I used to.

[RKJ]

We've all screwed up and hopefully we learn from them. I've lost count of all of mine. It's a shame that the gun got damaged so bad, but a lesson learned and to give credit to the gun, it held together enough to protect you. If it were mine I'd get a shadow box and hang it in a prominent place where I would see it often enough to keep me humble. Too bad again about the gun but (other than pride) no one was hurt.

[leftiye]

From the looks of things, that Star Modelo Super is one stout pistol. This judging from the sleeved barrel not completely letting go with an occluded barrel that is! The crack on the frame was probly from the slide slamming back so hard and not actually a pressure issue with the lockup. I've got one that fits 9X23 brass perfectly. I won't tell how much blue Dot I put in it.

[country gent]

ith cracks showing up like yours you were very very close to a scattering of parts. Im glad no one was hurt or injured. Keep in mind 9mm is a smaller case and builds pressure faster due to reduced volumn or air space for gases to fill. You are a very lucky individual. ( maybe buy a lottery ticket). +p and +p+ have both shown much heavier wear and other issues in 9mm pistols. No the thing to do is prevent it from happening again. Start by weighing every charge thrown from the proggressive to see what the measure is actually throwing. Look for powder hanging up ( bridging, sticking, or just varying) then fix the problem. Also look at bullet tension, crimp and seating. Evaluate every step for several hundred rounds to be sure everything is doing what it should. Yes it slower for awhile but fingers hands eyes and guns are more expensive.

[Artful]

Glad no one was hurt and sad you lost a Star Super - thanks for relating your experience

[Gaseous Maximus]

Oddly, I believe the frame and related parts are reusable, if I can find a slide. I already have a couple extra barrels. I tried the slide assy., from my other super, on this frame. it will go into battery fine. however it doesn't want to rack. frames are some what malleable, and its probably bent slightly. Actually, I have fired the thing with a different barrel, before I discovered the slide crack. I did this back in feb. and had I known that about the crack, Sarco had new ones for $63.00.

[Petrol & Powder]

One, I'm glad you're OK; that could have ended badly.
Two, Why not stop while you're ahead?

I have some experience with hotter than normal 9mm ammunition. No spectacular failures but I did see the damage that can be inflicted by that deceptively small cartridge. Pistols that tolerated tens of thousands of rounds of standard pressure 9mm loads began to fail when 124gr NATO rounds were used for practice.

Be careful with the 9mm, it is a high pressure cartridge to start with and there isn't much buffer between ok and really dangerous.

[Gaseous Maximus]

One, I'm glad you're OK; that could have ended badly.
Two, Why not stop while you're ahead?

I have some experience with hotter than normal 9mm ammunition. No spectacular failures but I did see the damage that can be inflicted by that deceptively small cartridge. Pistols that tolerated tens of thousands of rounds of standard pressure 9mm loads began to fail when 124gr NATO rounds were used for practice.

Be careful with the 9mm, it is a high pressure cartridge to start with and there isn't much buffer between ok and really dangerous.
Thanks for the good wishes. But uh, stop what? I probably haven't been clear, but my goal wasn't a hot round, I was looking for, an accurate load, preferably on the mild side. I had loaded several different bullets with different charges and Oal's. This load was about a +p, I reckon. A little hotter than I wanted, but what really made things interesting, was the plugged bore. You are of course, correct about the pressure of a 9mm. Given the obstructed bore though, I doubt that 50 - 100 fps less would have made much difference.

[Petrol & Powder]

My comments starting in the third line of my post concerning experience with the 9mm should have been in a separate post because they really aren't related to the first two lines. Sorry, I wasn't clear either.

I wasn't referring to hot rodding the cartridge, I caught the fact that you had an obstructed bore that resulted in the damage. I was talking about your plans to reuse the frame. If you have spare barrels and can actually get a slide for $63.00 it might be worth a try. I think there's a good chance that even with a new upper end you'll have a lot of fitting to do which may or may not result in a decent pistol. Trying to save that frame may have diminishing returns in terms of labor.

[Gaseous Maximus]

My comments starting in the third line of my post concerning experience with the 9mm should have been in a separate post because they really aren't related to the first two lines. Sorry, I wasn't clear either.

I wasn't referring to hot rodding the cartridge, I caught the fact that you had an obstructed bore that resulted in the damage. I was talking about your plans to reuse the frame. If you have spare barrels and can actually get a slide for $63.00 it might be worth a try. I think there's a good chance that even with a new upper end you'll have a lot of fitting to do which may or may not result in a decent pistol. Trying to save that frame may have diminishing returns in terms of labor. Thanks much for clarification. Actually you are soooo soooo RIGHT. Also the slides have been gone for some time. I would have been way ahead to have stuck a hundred dollar bill in the barrel, and thrown it away, when I first got it about 20 years ago. I could actually write a book about my misadventures with this sucker. Everything I do anymore has diminishing returns, Conclusions drawn; I am an official blithering idiot, and also at least half illiterate!

[Wayne Smith]

Soo - get down on your knees and thank God that the Spanish made a pistol strong enough to hold together! I feel the same way about the Colt Military pistol - it held together when it shouldn't have.

[Catshooter]

Yep, mistakes do happen.

I made a mistake with the 9 in a Glock 19 one time. Way too much Universal Clays powder. The Chrony said over 1700 feet with a 115 grain JHP. I thought the Chrony had malfunctioned, so I fired another round. Same reading! The empty case was near my feet and it's primer was laying on the concrete next to it. :( That was enough to tip even someone as bright as me that something was bad.

The Glock showed no ill effects. Tough pistol, lucky boy.


Cat

[Misskimo]

Wow, cat. I thought I was the only one that did that. Did that with a 22-250 when just started out 5 year in reloading.
Learn From them.