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James K · October 25, 2000, 11:26 PM

Hi, Fubsy,

The .36 Starr Navy revolver is pretty uncommon, as they only made 3000 of them, of which 2250 were bought by the U.S. They were made c. 1858-60. While they bring upwards of $2200 in fine condition, that one sounds pretty much like a relic and probably would be around $400 if that. If I wanted to loosen it up, I would try to remove the grips and then soak it in a solvent. G96 Gun Treatment is a good penetrant and should help.

Starr also made a DA .44 and a SA .44. The Starr's were fairly popular, though the DA is pretty hard and not really conducive to accuracy. They were not liked until the user became familiar with them, then they were considered good, rugged guns.

As you know, the SA is really awkward, requiring first that the gun be cocked with the cocking lever (aka the "trigger"), then the index finger removed from the "trigger" and placed behind the "trigger" to pull the sear or true trigger and fire the pistol. The hammer cannot be cocked with the thumb for SA firing.

All that being said, they were very rugged and reliable pistols. Starr finally gave up on the DA model and went to a straight SA whose hammer could be cocked in the conventional manner. About 23,000 of the .44 DA pistols were made in the same period and about 32,000 of the SA from 1863-65. Most were bought by the U.S. Army, although there were some civilian sales of all models.

All models were marked the same:
STARR ARMS CO. NEW YORK and STARR'S PATENT JAN. 15, 1856. Most Navy revolvers were not inspector marked, but those that were had JT on them. The .44's which were used by the Army were martially marked with the usual grip cartouche.

HTH

Jim

[This message has been edited by Jim Keenan (edited October 26, 2000).]

October 25, 2000, 11:26 PM	#2
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	Hi, Fubsy, The .36 Starr Navy revolver is pretty uncommon, as they only made 3000 of them, of which 2250 were bought by the U.S. They were made c. 1858-60. While they bring upwards of $2200 in fine condition, that one sounds pretty much like a relic and probably would be around $400 if that. If I wanted to loosen it up, I would try to remove the grips and then soak it in a solvent. G96 Gun Treatment is a good penetrant and should help. Starr also made a DA .44 and a SA .44. The Starr's were fairly popular, though the DA is pretty hard and not really conducive to accuracy. They were not liked until the user became familiar with them, then they were considered good, rugged guns. As you know, the SA is really awkward, requiring first that the gun be cocked with the cocking lever (aka the "trigger"), then the index finger removed from the "trigger" and placed behind the "trigger" to pull the sear or true trigger and fire the pistol. The hammer cannot be cocked with the thumb for SA firing. All that being said, they were very rugged and reliable pistols. Starr finally gave up on the DA model and went to a straight SA whose hammer could be cocked in the conventional manner. About 23,000 of the .44 DA pistols were made in the same period and about 32,000 of the SA from 1863-65. Most were bought by the U.S. Army, although there were some civilian sales of all models. All models were marked the same: STARR ARMS CO. NEW YORK and STARR'S PATENT JAN. 15, 1856. Most Navy revolvers were not inspector marked, but those that were had JT on them. The .44's which were used by the Army were martially marked with the usual grip cartouche. HTH Jim [This message has been edited by Jim Keenan (edited October 26, 2000).]