How many of you own a Star pistol? - Page 3

edw794 · May 22, 2011, 05:35 AM

much carried star pd with hakan grips:

Sleuth · May 24, 2011, 01:50 PM

Nordeste, I was wondering what course of fire you shoot with your handguns to qualify.

For example,
3 yards 6 rounds in 4 seconds

and what the target looks like - humanoid or a bullseye?

Thanks,
Sleuth

Dino. · May 24, 2011, 03:05 PM

Are the BM's C&R eligible?

Just curious.

1832 · May 24, 2011, 05:30 PM

I always liked the Pachmayr wrap arounds for my PD

stevieboy · May 24, 2011, 06:19 PM

Interesting thread. I've just read Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls and in it, the principal character, Robert Jordan, carries/shoots a Star 9mm. That novel was written in the late 1930's so it tells you how long the gun's been in use.

BlueTrain · May 25, 2011, 06:13 AM

No one has ever claimed Spanish made guns have been of the very highest quality but they certainly turned out a lot over the years. Some were of novel design, like the Astras. Stars were of conventional design, with many variations, as generally were the Llamas. Overall, I think they may have been made of steel of lesser quality. Huge numbers of .32 automatics, usually called Rubys, were made beginning in WWI for military use but anyone that had them only used them because they couldn't get anything better. Some were actually quite well made, though, but while they were all similiar, nothing was interchangable. Production of those continued into the 1950s.

Quentin2 · May 25, 2011, 10:39 AM

I don't think there is a problem with the steel used in Star or Llama, at least from the 1950's and forward. And the same goes for Argentine guns.

Sleuth · May 25, 2011, 10:52 AM

Funny you should say that! There was a guy at the last gun show trying to sell an Argentine .45 with Navy markings. He claimed it was made with steel from the Bismark (German cruiser scuttled in Argentine waters in WW II).

The Spanish pistols suffered from a bad rap as a result of the thousands they provided the French in WW I. Many of them, the "Ruby"s, were soft, some to the point of being unsafe to fire very much.
The French saw them as a) better than nothing and b)a badge of office for officers. And most of them were in .32 ACP, not the ""more deadly"" .380.

priler · May 25, 2011, 02:29 PM

the myth of star using inferior steel has been around for a long time,no doubt started by what Sleuth mentions but if you have ANY of the modern stars(relatively,since they've been out of production for a while),it is exactly that,a myth. the term i always heard was "soft steel" and again,just a myth.

the french did give americans what can honestly be considered the worst machine gun of all time(at least from a reliability POV),the chauchat,..and that was no myth. americans quickly replaced it with the BAR.

exact time line aside,maybe the spanish were getting even for americans.(J/K)<---just kidding.(or maybe it was war time supply problems)

Sleuth · May 25, 2011, 03:12 PM

I actually saw a guy fire his Chauchat. (It's a long recoil system in 8mm Lebel or 30-06). He cranked off a 8 round burst (all were amazed it fired that many rounds in a row!), stood up, and asked if we wanted to try it. We saw the blood running down his arms from his elbows, and no one volunteered! He jerked the mag out and said "That's all for me!"

The long recoil system produces a lot of recoil, and he took quite a pounding!

It is the ONLY gun that experts agree was a POS.

Bill DeShivs · May 25, 2011, 03:14 PM

The Bismarck was not scuttled in Argentine waters!
The "German battleship" story is an old one, and its a lie.
The steel in Stars, Astras, and most Llamas is fine for it's intended purpose.

aarondhgraham · May 25, 2011, 03:27 PM

I think you are referring to the Graf Spee,,,
Her Captain scuttled her just outside of a harbor of Uruguay.

The Bismarck was sunk in the North Atlantic.

Aarond

BlueTrain · May 25, 2011, 03:41 PM

I base my opinions of Stars solely on the ones I owned. I must have liked them because I kept buying them.

Nordeste · May 25, 2011, 04:15 PM

@ Sleuth, Ok, now I got it. It differs from one shooting drill to other, and sometimes it's up on the supervisor in the charge of the drill how to carry it out.

We usually shoot at distances from 5 to 25 meters, in different positions (isosceles, weaver, crouch, kneeling, lying on the floor, behind obstacles and so on). There are different drills for different situations and sometimes we shoot at night with blue lights (or without) resembling a situation that would develop in dark hours.

A typical exercise would be drawing from holster and produce two shots at a target at 10 m and another two, to other. Then run to the 5 m line, kneel down, produce another two and two, in a given time. Sometimes, instructors make changes like ordering us to fire not on the "fire" command, but on another one like "cuidado!!" (watch out!). Some others include a magazine change, shooting with the weak hand or changes in the shooting position (from crouch to weaver and opposite, for example).

The minimum to qualify is 3 shots in the target for every 5 fired. The target is a humanoid figure with a sheet of paper in what would be the abdomen, which is the part we are supposed to hit, but if you do hit the legs or arms you're ok. These drills are conducted every three months.

Hope it helps this time

Back to the thread's matter, I've seen that Iparguns are selling brand new 30Ms at 400€+taxes (18%). If it's true that they still have some stock, I think I'm calling them TOMORROW morning and ordering one.

Las Vegan · August 4, 2011, 11:29 PM

I was shopping for my first handgun back in the late 80's, and the hottest pistols then were the Beretta 92F which had just been adopted by the U.S military, and the first generation Glock which was all the rage. I shot them both, and then I found a Star 30M. Although I was unfamiliar with the brand, I could not believe that this great gun could be bought for hundreds of dollars less than the other two.

I bought one new in the box and I've never regretted the purchase. I've put untold numbers of rounds through it in the past 25 years and I still carry it on a regular basis. As others have said, it's built like a tank. I have not had to worry about replacing any parts, and there are enough pistols of similar size and design that holsters are easy to come by even if they weren't made specifically for this model.

hemiram · August 4, 2011, 11:45 PM

I had a couple of coworkers who owned one of the older Star pistols, and to be honest, I wasn't impressed at all, but I really liked the 28's and 30's. I had a 30M, but I had to sell it. Great gun.

Chris_B · August 5, 2011, 05:28 PM

I don't. My Pop has a Model B

I am something of an amateur Star pistolsmith because of it...I have custom fit several replacement Star-made parts into the pistol

It is easy to shoot, accurate, and has the lightest trigger I've ever touched

Jeff OTMG · August 6, 2011, 03:20 AM

I have two Firestars, a .40 and .45.

Dashunde · August 6, 2011, 08:03 AM

I had a 9mm Firestar with a alloy frame that cracked at the slide pin, they were kind enough to swap it out for a Ultrastar, nothing special there and I sold it long ago.

I would like to pick up a BM to fool around with, looks like a cool little 1911.

dahermit · August 6, 2011, 08:13 AM

Had a M43 Star Firestar (9mm). Great little pistol. It was Guns and Ammo's pistol of the year at one time. Beveled mag. well, ambi. safety, squared-off trigger guard, soft rubber grips, all steel. Quite small, albeit a little heavy. A great little gun. I found absolutely no fault with it.

8shot357 · August 7, 2011, 02:43 AM

Are they under warranty?

Walt Sherrill · August 7, 2011, 07:22 AM

I've had several: Model B, Firestars in 9mm and .40, and the lighter Firestar Plus. The Plus remains my favorite. All of them, if they don't already have a great trigger, can be gun-smithed easily.

Never really heard of parts problems, except for extractors in the .40 Firestar models, and there are now sources -- including shops that MAKE new parts, in Spain, if the post-closure inventory runs out...

Heavy? The joke at the range where I shoot was, great gun -- and if you have a malfunction or run out of ammo, drop the gun on the bad guy's foot, and he'll be out of action for a while. Heavy.

lee n. field · August 7, 2011, 12:18 PM

Quote:

ncluding shops that MAKE new parts, in Spain, if the post-closure inventory runs out...

Interesting. Got a link or contact info?

Bill DeShivs · August 7, 2011, 02:44 PM

"I had a 9mm Firestar with a alloy frame that cracked at the slide pin, they were kind enough to swap it out for a Ultrastar, nothing special there and I sold it long ago."
The Firestar was never made with an alloy frame, only steel.

Dashunde · August 7, 2011, 08:05 PM

Hunh... steel, thats even worse, sure did think it was alloy.

May 24, 2011, 01:50 PM	#52
Sleuth Senior Member Join Date: September 27, 2002 Location: Arizona Posts: 445	Nordeste, I was wondering what course of fire you shoot with your handguns to qualify. For example, 3 yards 6 rounds in 4 seconds and what the target looks like - humanoid or a bullseye? Thanks, Sleuth __________________ Sleuth

May 25, 2011, 06:13 AM	#56
BlueTrain Senior Member Join Date: September 26, 2005 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 6,141	No one has ever claimed Spanish made guns have been of the very highest quality but they certainly turned out a lot over the years. Some were of novel design, like the Astras. Stars were of conventional design, with many variations, as generally were the Llamas. Overall, I think they may have been made of steel of lesser quality. Huge numbers of .32 automatics, usually called Rubys, were made beginning in WWI for military use but anyone that had them only used them because they couldn't get anything better. Some were actually quite well made, though, but while they were all similiar, nothing was interchangable. Production of those continued into the 1950s. __________________ Shoot low, sheriff. They're riding Shetlands! Underneath the starry flag, civilize 'em with a Krag, and return us to our own beloved homes! Buy War Bonds.

May 25, 2011, 10:52 AM	#58
Sleuth Senior Member Join Date: September 27, 2002 Location: Arizona Posts: 445	Funny you should say that! There was a guy at the last gun show trying to sell an Argentine .45 with Navy markings. He claimed it was made with steel from the Bismark (German cruiser scuttled in Argentine waters in WW II). The Spanish pistols suffered from a bad rap as a result of the thousands they provided the French in WW I. Many of them, the "Ruby"s, were soft, some to the point of being unsafe to fire very much. The French saw them as a) better than nothing and b)a badge of office for officers. And most of them were in .32 ACP, not the ""more deadly"" .380. __________________ Sleuth

May 25, 2011, 03:12 PM	#60
Sleuth Senior Member Join Date: September 27, 2002 Location: Arizona Posts: 445	I actually saw a guy fire his Chauchat. (It's a long recoil system in 8mm Lebel or 30-06). He cranked off a 8 round burst (all were amazed it fired that many rounds in a row!), stood up, and asked if we wanted to try it. We saw the blood running down his arms from his elbows, and no one volunteered! He jerked the mag out and said "That's all for me!" The long recoil system produces a lot of recoil, and he took quite a pounding! It is the ONLY gun that experts agree was a POS. __________________ Sleuth

May 25, 2011, 03:14 PM	#61
Bill DeShivs Senior Member Join Date: April 7, 2006 Posts: 10,981	The Bismarck was not scuttled in Argentine waters! The "German battleship" story is an old one, and its a lie. The steel in Stars, Astras, and most Llamas is fine for it's intended purpose. __________________ Bill DeShivs, Master Cutler www.billdeshivs.com

May 22, 2011, 05:35 AM	#51
edw794 Member Join Date: January 22, 2001 Location: subduction zone Posts: 33	much carried star pd with hakan grips:

May 24, 2011, 03:05 PM	#53
Dino. Junior member Join Date: November 2, 2006 Posts: 908	Are the BM's C&R eligible? Just curious.

May 24, 2011, 06:19 PM	#55
stevieboy Senior Member Join Date: March 14, 2008 Posts: 1,695	Interesting thread. I've just read Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls and in it, the principal character, Robert Jordan, carries/shoots a Star 9mm. That novel was written in the late 1930's so it tells you how long the gun's been in use.

May 25, 2011, 10:39 AM	#57
Quentin2 Senior Member Join Date: June 18, 2009 Location: NorthWest USA Posts: 1,996	I don't think there is a problem with the steel used in Star or Llama, at least from the 1950's and forward. And the same goes for Argentine guns.

May 25, 2011, 02:29 PM	#59
priler Senior Member Join Date: October 27, 2008 Posts: 177	the myth of star using inferior steel has been around for a long time,no doubt started by what Sleuth mentions but if you have ANY of the modern stars(relatively,since they've been out of production for a while),it is exactly that,a myth. the term i always heard was "soft steel" and again,just a myth. the french did give americans what can honestly be considered the worst machine gun of all time(at least from a reliability POV),the chauchat,..and that was no myth. americans quickly replaced it with the BAR. exact time line aside,maybe the spanish were getting even for americans.(J/K)<---just kidding.(or maybe it was war time supply problems)

May 25, 2011, 03:27 PM	#62
aarondhgraham Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2009 Location: Stillwater, OKlahoma Posts: 8,638	Hello Sleuth,,, I think you are referring to the Graf Spee,,, Her Captain scuttled her just outside of a harbor of Uruguay. The Bismarck was sunk in the North Atlantic. Aarond __________________ Never ever give an enemy the advantage of a verbal threat. Caje: The coward dies a thousand times, the brave only once. Kirby: That's about all it takes, ain't it? Aarond is good,,, Aarond is wise,,, Always trust Aarond! (most of the time)

May 25, 2011, 03:41 PM	#63
BlueTrain Senior Member Join Date: September 26, 2005 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 6,141	I base my opinions of Stars solely on the ones I owned. I must have liked them because I kept buying them. __________________ Shoot low, sheriff. They're riding Shetlands! Underneath the starry flag, civilize 'em with a Krag, and return us to our own beloved homes! Buy War Bonds.

May 25, 2011, 04:15 PM	#64
Nordeste Senior Member Join Date: May 8, 2011 Location: Asturias, Spain Posts: 328	@ Sleuth, Ok, now I got it. It differs from one shooting drill to other, and sometimes it's up on the supervisor in the charge of the drill how to carry it out. We usually shoot at distances from 5 to 25 meters, in different positions (isosceles, weaver, crouch, kneeling, lying on the floor, behind obstacles and so on). There are different drills for different situations and sometimes we shoot at night with blue lights (or without) resembling a situation that would develop in dark hours. A typical exercise would be drawing from holster and produce two shots at a target at 10 m and another two, to other. Then run to the 5 m line, kneel down, produce another two and two, in a given time. Sometimes, instructors make changes like ordering us to fire not on the "fire" command, but on another one like "cuidado!!" (watch out!). Some others include a magazine change, shooting with the weak hand or changes in the shooting position (from crouch to weaver and opposite, for example). The minimum to qualify is 3 shots in the target for every 5 fired. The target is a humanoid figure with a sheet of paper in what would be the abdomen, which is the part we are supposed to hit, but if you do hit the legs or arms you're ok. These drills are conducted every three months. Hope it helps this time Back to the thread's matter, I've seen that Iparguns are selling brand new 30Ms at 400€+taxes (18%). If it's true that they still have some stock, I think I'm calling them TOMORROW morning and ordering one.

August 4, 2011, 11:29 PM	#65
Las Vegan Junior Member Join Date: July 19, 2011 Posts: 7	I was shopping for my first handgun back in the late 80's, and the hottest pistols then were the Beretta 92F which had just been adopted by the U.S military, and the first generation Glock which was all the rage. I shot them both, and then I found a Star 30M. Although I was unfamiliar with the brand, I could not believe that this great gun could be bought for hundreds of dollars less than the other two. I bought one new in the box and I've never regretted the purchase. I've put untold numbers of rounds through it in the past 25 years and I still carry it on a regular basis. As others have said, it's built like a tank. I have not had to worry about replacing any parts, and there are enough pistols of similar size and design that holsters are easy to come by even if they weren't made specifically for this model.

August 4, 2011, 11:45 PM	#66
hemiram Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2005 Location: Toledo, ohio Posts: 762	I had a couple of coworkers who owned one of the older Star pistols, and to be honest, I wasn't impressed at all, but I really liked the 28's and 30's. I had a 30M, but I had to sell it. Great gun.

August 5, 2011, 05:28 PM	#67
Chris_B Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2007 Posts: 3,101	I don't. My Pop has a Model B I am something of an amateur Star pistolsmith because of it...I have custom fit several replacement Star-made parts into the pistol It is easy to shoot, accurate, and has the lightest trigger I've ever touched

August 6, 2011, 03:20 AM	#68
Jeff OTMG Senior Member Join Date: October 15, 1998 Location: OKC, OK & Austin, Tx Posts: 3,707	I have two Firestars, a .40 and .45.

August 6, 2011, 08:03 AM	#69
Dashunde Senior Member Join Date: December 22, 2004 Posts: 2,018	I had a 9mm Firestar with a alloy frame that cracked at the slide pin, they were kind enough to swap it out for a Ultrastar, nothing special there and I sold it long ago. I would like to pick up a BM to fool around with, looks like a cool little 1911.

August 6, 2011, 08:13 AM	#70
dahermit Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2006 Location: South Central Michigan...near Posts: 6,501	Had a M43 Star Firestar (9mm). Great little pistol. It was Guns and Ammo's pistol of the year at one time. Beveled mag. well, ambi. safety, squared-off trigger guard, soft rubber grips, all steel. Quite small, albeit a little heavy. A great little gun. I found absolutely no fault with it.

August 7, 2011, 02:43 AM	#71
8shot357 Junior member Join Date: September 7, 2010 Posts: 1,740	Are they under warranty?

August 7, 2011, 07:22 AM	#72
Walt Sherrill Senior Member Join Date: February 15, 1999 Location: Winston-Salem, NC USA Posts: 6,348	I've had several: Model B, Firestars in 9mm and .40, and the lighter Firestar Plus. The Plus remains my favorite. All of them, if they don't already have a great trigger, can be gun-smithed easily. Never really heard of parts problems, except for extractors in the .40 Firestar models, and there are now sources -- including shops that MAKE new parts, in Spain, if the post-closure inventory runs out... Heavy? The joke at the range where I shoot was, great gun -- and if you have a malfunction or run out of ammo, drop the gun on the bad guy's foot, and he'll be out of action for a while. Heavy.

August 7, 2011, 02:44 PM	#74
Bill DeShivs Senior Member Join Date: April 7, 2006 Posts: 10,981	"I had a 9mm Firestar with a alloy frame that cracked at the slide pin, they were kind enough to swap it out for a Ultrastar, nothing special there and I sold it long ago." The Firestar was never made with an alloy frame, only steel. __________________ Bill DeShivs, Master Cutler www.billdeshivs.com

August 7, 2011, 08:05 PM	#75
Dashunde Senior Member Join Date: December 22, 2004 Posts: 2,018	Hunh... steel, thats even worse, sure did think it was alloy.