Star model B 9mm are these guns good?

[megatronrules]

I was wondering how these guns are as far as quality goes? I've heard star's guns were pretty decent guns and made with good strong metals. I was thinking of picking one up to have another 9mm to play with and for $150 can I go wrong? I like the fact its a 1911 type gun to. Thanks for any help.

 

[Steelharp]

Just check to see if it's 9mm Largo or 9mm Luger. I'm very far from any kind of firearms expert, but from my understanding, the 9mm Largo is a bit more difficult to find food for...

Mikey D...

 

[BHP9]

I have owned and shot many models of Star automatics and here is my thoughts on the Model B and Super B.

The good points:

The Star B and Super B were made of forged materiels and had very good workmanship until you get up into the last batch that was imported in the late 1980's. These guns had a very crude outside finish but did have an inertia firing pin unlike most of the earlier models.

Accuracy was very good for a combat gun.

Outside finish was good to very good.



The bad points:

Most but not all of the surplus military and police models had non-inertia firing pins which means that you must never carry this gun with a round in the chamber if you have one with a non-inertia firing pin. Shortening it may cause mis-fires with some lots of hard primed ammo.

Parts are extremely scarce for Stars so modifying anything like the firing pin is not a good idea.

Trigger pulls were very heavy but broke cleanly on the guns that I have shot.

Functioning: And here is the fly in the ointment. The original Model B and Super B was not designed for the 9mm Luger but the 9mm Largo which is a longer cartridge. Although these guns function fine with the original Largo shell (which can be bought from Midway shooters supply (empties not loaded ammo), the guns that were chambered for the 9mm Luger can give you a real headache in the reliablity department. Many of the guns that I fired will nose down the first 3 cartridges comming out of the magazine. I even tried an original factory modified magazine that had a spacer welded into it and it did not do much better than the magazines that came with the gun. The gun had two magazines serial numbered to the gun so they were originals but the very large magazines were desgined for the longer Largo cartridge not the Luger cartridge. I tweaked the magazine lips and got the gun to barely feed full metal jacketed ammo but the nose down feeding of the first 3 rounds would have eventually led to a bullet set back problem, especially if reloads were used.. I fired several other Star B and Super B's that some of my associates had bought and they all had the same problem of having the rounds nose dive and crash into the lower portion of the feed ramp.

If you buy one I would suggest a trigger job, a check to see if the firing pin is of the inertia type and in the Luger caliber a check for nose diving of the ammo when feeding rounds into the chamber.

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. I've owned two Model B 9mm Stars over the years. In fact, this model was the first centerfire pistol I bought as an adult way back in the early '70s. The first one was problematic in feeding JHPs, but was reliable with about any 9mm ball. I bought one of the last batch made new by Star in the '80s when the overrun or canceled military orders allowed for their sale in the U.S. Sights were finished in a dark grey and slide serrations were a bit different. Otherwise, the gun looked about the same as the old one with the exception that it had a lanyard loop.

This pistol shot just fine and fed JHPs so long as they were of the more rounded ogive type round. The fixed sights were regulated just fine IF you were shooting at about 200 yards! My gun hit extremely high. The earlier Star with the smaller fixed sights was pretty well on.

I wound up having a set of adjustable Millett sights added and some other changes, but no accuracy work. I removed the magazine disconnect so that magazines would drop free.

This is my Star Model B after some changes were made. The gunsmith made the stocks.

Since the "refinements" done on this pistol did NOT include any kind of accurizing, comments on accuracy and groups are likely relevant.

These 5-shot groups were fired with the Star @ 15 yards:

...at 25 yards...

..and 50-yards...

I like the pistol, but don't suggest using +P ammunition in it. As has been noted elsewhere, the steel does seem "soft" relative to other pistols, but the guns do seem to work fine over the long-term with standard pressure ammunition. Were I using the gun for protection, I'd likely use Federal's std pressure 115 gr JHP. I've had good luck with it in the field on varmints and it feeds fine in the pistol, at least in my experience.

The Federal "9BP" groups and feeds well in my Model B.

the bbl shows adequate case support.

Spare parts can be extremely hard to find right now though I believe spare magazines can be found at www.cdnninvestments.com and some parts are listed occassionally via "Shotgun News." I use CZ75 recoil springs (18lb conventional) in my Model B. Works fine in my experience.

These guns do NOT lend themselves to dry-firing w/o a snapcap. The firing pin's notched such that a vertical pin under the rear sight holds it in place.

Should you buy one of these neat-handling, "graceful" pistols, I'd pick up a couple or three spare magazines and then be watching for spare parts and picking up such things as firing pins, extractors, or other small parts as I could.

Best.

 

[Handy]

It is okay to carry a chambered round with a non-inertial firing pin provided that the hammer is not resting against it. Cocked and locked carry is perfectly fine, hammer down would be bad.

Inertial firing pins were created to allow the hammer to rest against the firing pin. If it doesn't, it's not an issue. The Makarov lacks an inertial firing pin, but hammer down is resting on a hammer block. The AR15 also has a floating pin, not an issue.

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. Forgot to mention that the firing pin in the later pistol (one shown) is inertial. The earlier one was not. Be sure to check this should you buy the Star.

Best.

 

[Oleg Volk]

Is the extractor a 1911 type or a BHP spring-loaded type? IS the gun reliable?

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. The extractor is a pivoting, external, although it is flush with the outside of the slide. You can see it in the first picture shown in my initial response. Yes, it is reliable with most JHPs and all FMJ. Rounds that have caused problems are very short 90 gr rounds as well as more blunt Corbon 115 gr +P JHPs. Again, I kind of think that std pressure's the way to go with these pistols and I'd use something like Federal's 115 gr JHP were I using it for protection.

Best.

 

[BHP9]

To Oleg

Is the extractor a 1911 type or a BHP spring-loaded type? IS the gun reliable?

In answer to your question about the extractor. The answer is both Yes and No. One of the Stars that I tested, I cannot remember now if it was the Model B or Super B , the pin that holds in the extractor worked its way up out of the slide and the extractor and spring flew out of the gun. The pin is only staked in so if the stake becomes weak the pin can depart from the gun. Be sure to check the staking over the top of the pin before shooting the weapon.


.

I like the pistol, but don't suggest using +P ammunition in it. As has been noted elsewhere, the steel does seem "soft" relative to other pistols, but the guns do seem to work fine over the long-term with standard pressure ammunition.

I would agree on this because a properly staked extractor pin would not have worked its way out past the stake if the slides metal was hard. And the stake mark on this pistol seemed as though it was correctly applied originally when the gun was new.


By the way one of the Stars that I bought was a police model that was near unfired and even had a matching numbered military holster. Every part on the gun was serial numbered including the safety. It had an outstanding outside finish but unfortunately it gave me fits on feeding if the magazine was loaded up with more than 5 rounds. I did get it to function with full metal jacketed ammo but I never felt safe shooting the gun if I loaded the magazine up to full capacity because of the nose diving of the first three rounds.

 

[duncan]

From all accounts from folks who own them, they are nice 1911-style 9mm guns.

Inexpensive

But for the $, Springfield makes them NIB. If you want a true 1911 in 9mm.

 

[Morgan]

Here's an excellent reveiw of the Super B:

http://www.cruffler.com/review-May-01.html