Slide wear on old pistol

[doom]

Was at the gun store a few weeks ago, and found an old Star Pistol for $325, in 9x23 Largo, took a look it and picked it up. Broke it down, cleaned it up real nice, and it looks like there are some scratches on the inside of the slide (in the rectangular area of the pistol, don't know if that is markings or really bad wear). I was able to shoot eight shots at the range until the firing pin stopped working (which I was going to replace anyways). Anyways, the rest of the gun looks really nice, is this something to worry about, or is it just normal wear and tear?

 

[Jim Watson]

There is nothing in the gun to cause "wear marks" in that direction.
It looks like scribe marks XXIIII and XXV. 24 and 25 WHAT?
Fire up the Wayback Machine, Sherman, and go ask a Spaniard what he meant.

Stars are subject to breaking the firing pin when dryfired.

 

[nettlle]

The slide wear is nothing to be concerned about. I'm not sure what those scratches are or where they came from.

 

[doom]

Everything else looks nice on the gun, this was the only thing that had me really wondering, if the Spanish did some sort of crude numbering for the parts, or just general wear. I'm currently shopping around for a gunsmith to fab a new firing pin for it.

 

[Monac]

Doom is right about factory numbering that way. I remember seeing marks like that in L. Antaris's "Star Pistols". I don't remember exactly what they are for, and I don't have the book here, unfortunately.

 

[doom]

Took some pictures of it last night, wish I knew why my camera is being weird, but I got some pics of the side, it seems to have pre and post 31 proof marks.

 

[Partizanai]

Nice 9 x 23/Largo

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...istol+parts&qpvt=Largo+pistol+parts&FORM=IGRE

I thought that you might enjoy these photos of some of their related
firearms. I don't believe that a firing pin will prove to be much of a problem.
While I have never owned one of these weapons, I know several people who
do and they all really enjoy them.
Good Luck and enjoy!!!
P

 

[Partizanai]

Found some firing pins online...

http://www.gun-parts.com/firingpins/

I hope that you find the one that you need here.
Enjoy!!!
P

 

[Mike J]

I have no idea about the scratches but I had one of those Star pistols chambered for 9mm Largo back in the 90's. It was a nice pistol. Sadly I got really strung out on deer hunting & wound up trading it for a compound bow with arrows & quiver, etc.

I hope you find your firing pin & enjoy your pistol.

 

[doom]

I managed to get eight shots off at the range, the last time I shot it, before it started malfunctioning (I was using the older, 1977 ammunition), I'm thinking either the firing pin broke, from being too worn down, or it's the corrosive primers in the the pin well jammed it up. Either way, I checked on the sites, everything is out of stock, I was going to have a gunsmith work on my gun though.

 

[WestKentucky]

I know nothing of the internals, but firing pins are typically really simple ordeals to put out on a lathe. If you can get your firing pin out, worn, broken or whatever, you can get dims and get a few made pretty cheap.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

The wear on the underside of the slide most likely comes from the slide dragging across the top of the round/mag, as the top-most round is stripped and the next round comes up. It may be caused by slightly-out-of-spec mags that still function properly but allow the top-most round to sit higher than spec. (Check your mags, if you have more than one, and you might find that the feed lips are slightly higher on at least one.)

If it bothers you, just hit that area lightly with fine sandpaper, and then polish it up to a high gloss with the metal polish of your choice. The gun will look better and probably run better afterwards. (The objective is to make it SMOOTH -- to polish -- not to remove much metal at all.)

 

[tark]

Doom, is your gun a "Super" model? If it has what looks like a slide stop on the Right side of the gun, it is a Super. That slide stop looking thing is actually a take down lever. The supers were the last and best of the Star pistols based on a 1911.

Those numbers on the frame and the slide are actually assembly numbers, not the serial number of the gun. That number is stamped on the bottom of the frame, where the mainspring housing would be, if the gun had one.

The marks on the slide are harmless, mine has the same ugly scratches. Before firing the gun, GET NEW SPRINGS! They are cheap insurance and Wolff and others sell them for a few bucks.

Ammo is easy. A hand drill and a file will remove the semi-rim on a super case and turn it into a perfectly serviceable Largo case. I used to pull the bullets on the supers and drop the charge by 20%, until I discovered that the factory Largo ammo is loaded to the same pressures and velocity as the weak loaded stuff that passes for 38 Super ammo these days. Some years back all of the ammo companies started loading the Supers to the same pressures as the 9X19. Around 35,000 PSI.

I shoot Supers in mine and quite honestly, the CCI Largo ammo feels hotter to me. I feel quite safe doing this with a "Super" Model. If your gun is an earlier model I would feel a little safer dropping the powder charge a bit.

Good shooting!

 

[doom]

Was putting some finishing touches to cleaning the gun last night, when I noticed this small crack Looks like this gun is toast. It's a small crack in the frame, I did not notice, until I really started to clean the gun up, and remove all the fouling from all that Santa Barbara Largo ammo. This really bites. Paid $356 all said, for the gun, and aside from the firing pin not working, it REALLY looks and handles nice, is that a "high" stress area, or could it work with a weld?

 

[Taroman]

That's not a crack. all 1911s have the same.
Its where the ejector is attached to the frame:

 

[Walt Sherrill]

I've got an old "The Gun Digest Book of Exploded Gun Drawing." It shows drawings and diagrams for the Model P, A, and B. It took me a while to figure out what angle that photo was taken from... and that the gun was still in the holster!

That may not be a crack but simply where the EJECTOR is mounted in the frame. A photo with the grips off may be helpful.

Here's a link to a diagram from the NUMRICH site (just like the one in my Gun Digest Book, above, which makes me to think it's NOT a crack... http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Manufacturers/Star-33508/A-42118.htm

What looks like a crack to you may simply be the back of the ejector where it rest on top of the frame (done differently in the photo above, but sill on top of the frame). That would explain the line you marked with red. That red mark aligns with the top of the frame on the other side -- and those two areas should be even. I'm pretty sure it's not a crack, but taking the slide off ought to convince you.

;

 

[doom]

Here are some more pictures, it looks like either a press fit, or some idiot welded in the assembly.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

From your first photo, above, it looks as though what you thought was a crack was simply the ejector as it rests on the frame.

The ejector is held in place by a pin, visible if you take the grips off.

I can't tell much about the other photos... or why they were shown. If you're concerned about any imperfections in the steel there, have a local gunsmith look it over.

 

[Jim K]

The "crack" is just the gap between the frame and the ejector. The longitudinal wear mark in the slide looks like the wear caused by the disconnector rubbing on the slide, a normal condition. The markings that look like Roman numbers probably are, batch numbers to keep the fitted frame and slide together during final polish and finishing.

Jim

 

[gwpercle]

The "crack" is not a crack, just a small gap and the wear marks are perfectly normal...I have a Star model PS in 45 acp and those things have always been there.
The model PS is more accurate than a Colt government model. I love the pivoting trigger , exterior extractor and lack of a grip safety. Wish I had another to replace the one stolen years ago....I liked it, magazine disconnect and all. You don't see too many model PS Stars around.
Gary

 

[Walt Sherrill]

The "crack" is just the gap between the frame and the ejector. The longitudinal wear mark in the slide looks like the wear caused by the disconnector rubbing on the slide,

I agree about the "crack," but I don't think the disconnector is what's rubbing on the slide. The wear shown in the OP's photos is centered on the underside of the slide. (I can't remember what that area is called, but the front edge of it is the bottom of the breech face, and that is what catches the top round and pushes it forward.)

That top round always sticks up a bit above the mag's feedlips. The top-most part of the round is just high enough that the bottom of the breechface area of the slide can catch it and push if forward. For the gun to function, the top round in the mag will always be pressing against the underside when the slide is OVER the mag, but will raise up a bit more when the slide moves to the rear. The area of contact between the top-most round and the underside of the slide, however, is always quite narrow.

If the back of the top-most round is sticking up far enough to be caught by the front of the slide when the slide is moving forward (but is no longer on top of tht round to press it down), the next round below it will also be forced up by spring pressure against the underside of the slide as the slide moves forward and back, again.

I think the wear we see on the underside of the slide is caused by the slide rubbing across the next round in the mag as the top-most round is being chambered as the slide moves forward. Then as the chambered round is fired and the extractor and pressure guides it back to bump against the ejector, the slide again rubs across the top round in the mag as it moves back and then comes forward to catch and chamber THAT round! That's a lot of spring-loaded metal on metal contact! After the first round is chambered, that's two passes of the slide against the top-most round for each round fired.

With many guns, if you start with an empty gun, close the slid and insert a full mag, it is difficult to rack the slide when chambering the first round. With a full mag and the slide closed, the mag spring and full rounds is putting maximum pressure against the underside of the slide. Many owners manuals say to start with an open slide!

If you start with an empty gun and insert an empty mag, racking the slide is much, much easier -- because there's nothing to rub against the underside of the slide.

 

[joem1945]

I have several star and astra's that I shoot. I reload 9X23 ammo so I have no problems with ammo.