Lots of Star 9mm BM models floating around

[Jack B]

I recalled a Gun Test magazine article a year or so ago on the Star 9mm Model BM semi-auto. Surprisingly to me, it got good marks from Todd, because that monthly publication (no advertisements) is fairly critical of most of the brands/models it tests and reviews.

In the last few gun shows I've attended, there have been many, many of these guns for sale - all for prices a little less than $200, including two 8 round magazines. The story I got was that Spainish state police agencies had recently turned in thousands of them for replacement of other, newer models.

So, even though I've got a nice collection of Colt 1911A1s and S&W J, K, L, and N frame revolvers, I broke down and bought a Star Model BM at the Pasadena, Texas gunshow this afternoon. It was in fairly good shape, as everything functioned smoothly when I did the normal pre-buy tests, though the blued finish was probably only 85%, and it was a little dirty. Did it on a lark! And will clean it up in the next day or so, then take it to the range to see how it performs.

I wonder if any of you folks on this forum have any experience or thoughts regarding the Star Model BM?

Best regards, Jack B.

 

[Mulliga]

I shot my friend's Star just this past weekend. Fairly accurate, reliable, and fun to shoot. If you get a good one, there aren't any real downsides IMHO, especially considering the price.

 

[Majic]

Don't believe all the stories you hear. I know the Stars have been on the surplus market since before 1980. I once started a young lady off shooting a Star SA (a mini 1911 style .380acp) and she then moved up to a nice Star BM back in the early 1980's. Interarms was importing them then .
It is nice commander sized 9mm. The steel frame makes it easy to soak up recoil and it shot right accurately. I remember back then they were under $200 in the box with 2 mags I think. The one the young lady I was helping looked to be almost new. I imagine she may still have it as she shot it very good.

 

[bpisler]

J&G sales in prescott az has these for $139.00.

 

[armoredman]

Handled - never fired, but I would love to have one!

 

[JohnBT]

A buddy has had a few over the years and they've been good guns.

He says to buy 2 so you'll have spare parts.

John

 

[Dave Sample]

I have two of them. They make nice carry guns for people who can't handle a 45 ACP. I keep one under the armrest in my car just for a back up loaded with 9mm hydra-ahock. They are totally reliable and very well made. Extra Magazines are available for $14.95 and the guns are the best bargain in the Market Place for that caliber and that price.

 

[Jack B]

Posts have been positive on Star BM

Well, all the several posts so far have been positive on this mid-size semi-auto. So, I confess, I went back to the Pasadena gun show this afternoon and bought another one - this time for only $160. And it has a slightly better finish than the one I bought yesterday for $30 more.

Looks like both of them will be good part time shooters and/or car back-up (Thanks Dave S!), so think I'll invest an additional $100 each for re-blue jobs to make them look decent.

I very rarely buy a hand gun without first carefully considered if it'll fit well in my collection. But this time, I just hauled off and did it -- two times in two days! Never mind the collection. ...........Kinda felt good doing it, too.

Thanks all, Jack B.

 

[Dave Sample]

It is your money and you can blue them if you wish. Be careful whaere you take them because they have a different set up than 1911's. I am leaving mine as is because I like the salty look that they came with. I am a very big Star fan and have gone through a dozen or so in 9mm and 38 Largo (38 Super)

 

[Jack B]

Dave,

From your photo (and thanks for showing it), I see what appears to be some holster wear on the edges around and behind the muzzle area, plus a few small dings scattered around on the slide. In my case, both the BMs have extensive wear, plus a large number of dings, scratches, and abrasions -- and a few very small rust dots. So, I feel almost compelled to have them sanded down as little as possible, and then re-blued, particularly since they'll only be shooters and never collector pieces.

The only other gun I've had reblued was a since sold Walther P-38 (P-1) which functioned well, but was very, very beat up from a looks standpoint. Thankfully, the blued Colts and S&W pistols/revolvers in my current collection are all 98%-100%. The stainless finish remainder are the same, although a few of them had been improved through the careful use of 3-M and Flitz.

Dave, could you say a little more about the BM action? Like how it differs from the 1911? Sure would appreciate it.

Some of my old pro acquaintences and dealers at the gunshow were very high on Star products: good steel, good designs, good actions, unlike some other foreign manufacturers of relatively inexpensive handguns. Llama comes instantly to mind. That's kinda why I've tended to stay with the Colts and S&W. Some of those are shooters, but most are mainly safe queens that I take out, clean/oil, and admire from time to time. One of these days, I'll rent a table at a gunshow and sell all but my personal favorites. Wait a minute --- they're all my personal favorites! Dawgone.

Thanks again -- and I'd appreciate any other comments you have on the Star BM, including the above-mentioned BM action.

Best regards, Jack B.

 

[shoobe01]

Still working on the site relaunch, so I apologize for bugs or ugly stuff, but here is mot everything I know about the B-series.

http://www.donttouchme.com/star/firearms/guns/b/index.shtml


Scroll down for the BM/BKM specific info. Includes a mag safety removal notice, /from the factory/.

 

[Jack B]

Thanks Shoobe01 !

Shoobe01,

Thanks for the info and links.

When I tested the BM for first few rounds ammo feed, and subsequent de-cocking, I thought something was wrong with the gun. But it was only the "mag safety" at work locking up the mechanism after removal of the mag.

Did you remove the mag safety feature from any of your B models? I'm a little uncertain of the real benefits of this. And am considering removing mine, as the Star notice describes.

Incidently, my favorite gunsmith - a 1911A1 custom builder, currently has the first BM I bought last Saturday, to do a complete checkout and clean it up. When I got the data from the link you provided, I sent it over to him via e:mail, including the parts/layout diagram. Most of it looks like a 1911, but there's some differances, as Dave Sample pointed out a few posts ago.

Guys, thank you all very much. This forum seems to have some helpful folks. I normally hang out and contribute on the 1911 Colt commercial Forum and the S&W Forum, which also has good guys. I go by Jack M over there. Recently, I exchanged e:mails with Roy Jinks, S&W historian, about a concern several of us had regarding 3" M624s and whether or not all 3" versions were Lew Horton Specials.

Think I need to spend some more time here, though, as I've certainly enjoyed and appreciated the help received on this thread.

Best regards, Jack B.

 

[Dave Sample]

That is a wonderful view of the Star Pistols and great information. There are some very different engineering approaches to the Star Pistols that are way ahead of the Colt pattern 1911. The slide stop has a self contained plunger and spring captured so it won't get away. The thumb safety has a spring and plunger that rides in a hollow hammer pin, and it will fly, so you have to be very careful when taking it out. The slide has a second slot for the thumb safety that locks it back in the exact right place to pull the slide stop, then pull the slide back slightly and pull the whole top end off. The recoil system is self contained with a small guide rod and plug that has a nice end in the barrel bushing amd is captured in place. The mainspring housing is fixed and you have to make a little wire tool to put the hammer and srtut back in. It has a magazine safety that I leave in because in a scuffle you can drop the magazine and disable the chambered round. I admit I have used them both ways. That mag safety comes out really easy and can be re-installed later if need be. The trigger does not have a strut, but rather a lever pinned throuigh the frame and the disconnector is in the left side of the gun under the grip. It is a totally different system, not to mention the external extractor, which has been around since Moby Dick was a minnow. They work great until they get dirty, and then watch out for flying parts when you drift out that little pin. The firing pin is held in with a pin under the rear sight and it is fun to replace ,also. I do not recommend dry firing them as they do not have an inertia piring pin and you dare not drop the hammer with a round in the chamber because you may have a Kaboom. The firing pin protudes through the breechface with the hammer down. The external extractor acts as a loaded chamber indicator and you can feel it in the dark. Lots of thought went into these little Spanish Dancers and I really like them. I have been using them for social work for well over 50 years. Those were the Super Modelo's in 38 Largo (38 Super) pictured in an earlier post. I have one now that I converted from 9mm to 38 Super by using a chamber reamer and a new Wolff recoil spring. It's a honey!

 

[Dave Sample]

One other thing I forgot is that the thumb safety can be lowered with the hammer down. Nice feature.

 

[Jack B]

Dave,

Thanks much for your detailed post on the Star B systems. I droped a copy off to my gunsmith a few hours ago, along with my second BM.

Best regards, Jack

 

[Dave Sample]

You are more than welcome Jack. It is very refreshing for me to see a gentleman on this forum. Let me know if I can very help you in any small way. I am a Gemini and what you give me is what you get back! Thanks again!

 

[albanian]

Thanks Dave, it is good to see there are other Star fans out there. Sometimes it is lonely being a fan of Spanish steel.

If I would have listened to my dad and serveral others who told me that Spanish guns were junk, I would never have bought one. I didn't listen and I got some good deals on Stars as a result. Come to find out, after I showed my dad my Stars and told him how well they preformed, he had never owned or fired a Star or any Spanish pistol that he could name. He was just biased without and experience. I think many who bash Stars are lacking in the experience dept because I have owned half a dozen differnet models and they are in no way sub par. They may not be the equel of modern guns in some respects but in other respects, they are at least equel. The MOST accurate 9mm I have ever fired is a Star BM. I will never sell it because it is a sleeper and I plan on impressing some people who shoot $1000-2000 guns.

 

[albanian]

BTW, I took out my mag safety as soon as I got them. Here is the text of the mag safety link for those of you that are too lazy to click Dave's link.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Magazine Safety
On a Star 9mm model BKS Starlight Imported by Garcia Sporting Arms Corp. A notice was included for removing the magazine safety. It was as follows:

Notice
As an additional safety precaution, this Star Pistol is equipped with a device which blocks the firing mechanism when the magazine is removed. This device ("magazine safety") bears on the magazine and requires it to be withdrawn manually after depression of the magazine catch. If a magazine safety is not wanted, and if it is desired that (after catch depression) the magazine fall from the grip by its own weight, the magazine safety can easily be removed by:

Removing both grips
Driving out magazine safety shaft located near the bottom of the left side of the frame
Replacing the grips

 

[blackdragon]

Mag Safety

My BM will arrive tomorrow.

But I have a (slightly general) question about the mag safety; I have never had a gun with one, but recently looked at a friend's Star SS...

If I'm dry firing, or even dropping the hammer (bad on stars, i know), my thoughts are to make sure the chamber is empty, and that the mag is out, because with an empty chamber, and no mag, no kaboom.

But this *safety* makes me stick a mag in to drop the hammer. In my mind, this is an UN-safety feature, and in no way can be compensated by knowing if I drop the mag and someone grabs my gun they wont be able to shoot it.

So -- should I pop out the mag safety as soon as I get it, or is there some advantage that I am not seeing??

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. The target shown in the link was fired at 15 yards. The Model BM shown in shoobe01's post has had its magazine safety removed as has the customized Model B shown in the article his link takes you to. Interestingly, that Model BM doesn't care to feed Remington 124-gr. Golden Sabers while the Model B gobbles them up w/o problem. Just a thought in case anyone is considering that ammunition for serious purposes; it is ALWAYS good to test any ammo being considered for protection for function in the gun(s) and/or magazine(s) in which it is to be used. Both the Model B and BM shown in shoobe's post/link have proven reliable and pretty darned accurate, considering that they're intended as
service grade pistols.

Best.

 

[albanian]

But this *safety* makes me stick a mag in to drop the hammer. In my mind, this is an UN-safety feature, and in no way can be compensated by knowing if I drop the mag and someone grabs my gun they wont be able to shoot it.

So -- should I pop out the mag safety as soon as I get it, or is there some advantage that I am not seeing??

I agree. I don't really see the point in mag safeties at all, that is why I take them out of any gun that has one. The great "advantage" to having a mag safety is that the pistol can be rendered "safe" by simply removing the mag. It is also supposed to somehow protect police officers if they can manage to engage to mag release while fighting for their gun. If the mag drops free, the attacker will be left with a gun that will not fire the round in the chamber.

As far as I can see, it is BS feature that really serves no purpose other than teach people to rely on a mechanical safety. We all know that one of the rules of safe gun handleing is to never rely on such things.