Star BM?

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For those who've owned and shot them, what are the pros and cons of the Star BM's? Southern Ohio guns has them surplus for $219 and that's awfully tempting.
 
I have 4 Star BMs ... unfortunate model code, that. I really like them.

I have found them to be small, heavy (steel), acceptably-accurate, comfortable in my hands and reliable.

Good luck finding parts.

Nov'02 bought my first ($175). After it was delivered and I had time to detail-strip, clean, inspect and shoot the little guy, a month later I bought my second ($180). IIRC, it wasn't too long after that when they disappeared from the online vendors' websites.

For years these 2 were my "glovebox" guns.

In Oct'04 some showed up again at SOG so I bought a pair. Their condition was Rode Hard & Put Away Wet (as advertised), so to speak. $130, I cleaned/stripped/repaired (as I recall, I had to craft at least one small replacement part) ... and then reblued (magnetite) them out back one day.
 
Had one and really liked the thing. It was maltreated, though, and accuracy was not acceptable (not the fault of the gun itself, but a former user). Haven't yet been able to find another one in the shape I want.
 
They are very nice little pistols. The perfect size for a 9mm 1911-style gun. Unfortunately mine was stolen a few years ago and I haven't found another for sale since.

Just don't dry fire them, without a live round the firing pin travels too far forward and breaks the retaining pin and parts are not available anywhere for Star pistols. A snap cap would help though.
 
Don't let it discourage you, just know that the Star BM will be fine if you shoot it once in a while and even carry it, but it's not the gun that you want to pound 1000 rounds through every weekend or take to a high-volume shooting class.
 
berettaprofessor

Pretty much what GBExpat said. Good, solid, dependable performers that you'll enjoy shooting but may be a bit of a struggle finding spare parts and magazines for.
 
My Dad had one for years and swore by it. As he got older, he did not want to have the .45 ACP guns I had. It was a dresser-drawer HD gun for him. Two
months before he died of cancer, I visited him for the last time and he could not even remove the mag nor rack the slide to clear the chamber.

Compared to my 1911 .45 guns, one could perform this task with a finger and a thumb on the slide with the Star BM.

Jim
 
They are one of those kinds of guns that are fun to shoot until it doesn't work anymore. As others have said, you cannot get parts for them unless you get real lucky on Gunbroker or Ebay. Also, due to the price, it's a good gun to experiment with. Mine was a good shooter but the finish and grips were in bad shape. I redid the finish myself and it came out decent.

In my case I started to collect them. Firestars, Starfires, Star Bs, etc' are all great firearms that are short money and fun to shoot.
 
I own a Star Model P .45 ACP (1911 clone), and a Star Model Super B 9mm.
The Model P shoots and operates very well. It did have a broken firing pin when I bought it (I assume from dry firing).
The Model Super B, which I recently purchased, has some current jamming and take down problems which I'm working on.

As I remember it, I examined a Star BM in a pawn shop, and found the slide EXTREMELY difficult to operate.
Also I found SOG had the BM listed as (PRE-ORDER) at $229. I assume this means it is not in stock at present.
 
The Star model B sure is neat looking, like a slender 1911 in 9mm.

That lack of parts availability always kept me away.

Makarov PMs don't seem to have this problem. Parts are everywhere for them, not that you should need any anytime soon...
 
I have one, though I ordered from Sarcoinc. Its in good condition, though the blueing is worn in places. I have replaced the grips with some nice wood ones from Numrich, and a second mag was found by my LGS, but those are fairly rare. ...* puts one out, havn't heard much good out of them, but what do I know. I like it, as I have a Star 9mm Largo Super Star, now that's my favorite. :) Best of luck man, they are sweet guns.

(*edit: I should have put down Triple K magazines. I wasn't thinking. I apologize to anyone who might have been offended.)
 
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I own a Star Model P .45 ACP (1911 clone), and a Star Model Super B 9mm.
The Model P shoots and operates very well. It did have a broken firing pin when I bought it (I assume from dry firing).
The Model Super B, which I recently purchased, has some current jamming and take down problems which I'm working on.

As I remember it, I examined a Star BM in a pawn shop, and found the slide EXTREMELY difficult to operate.
Also I found SOG had the BM listed as (PRE-ORDER) at $229. I assume this means it is not in stock at present.

Its the same at J&G Sales, pre-orders are going on there too.
 
I have 4 Star BMs ... unfortunate model code, that. I really like them.

I guess you don't have the Star BS model :)

I got three back when they were ~$130-170. I put the best in the safe to "collect", the worst I sat aside for parts, the in-between I shot quite a lot to scratch the itch for a 9mm 1911 until the RIA 9mm Tactical became available.
 
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I had a very nice BKS (I think it was); anyway, it was standard slim Star 9mm with an alloy frame. When I didn't purse carry (which wasn't often) I sometimes wore it in an IWB on the right hip. I remember that on a first date with a gentleman, he was very surprised to put his arm around my waist and find that pistol. I should have warned him, but didn't think he would get so friendly so soon. That was our first and only date, for good or ill I'll never know.
BTW, I didn't carry the Star in a purse, ever. SA pistols, even in a holster or sleeve, scare the bejeebers out of me in a purse.
These days I'd like the gun except for the issue of parts.
 
"Star BS", wasn't that the model Fienstien has on her Cali CCW permit?
Sorry, I know....:)
The little BM is a very nifty pistol, wish I'd snagged one when they were plentiful and cheap.
 
Sarco also has some parts:
Wow, I haven't seen a BM extractor in forever. Mine had extraction issues a long time ago. I was lucky enough to get an extractor from IPAR, before that company went under. Fixed it right up. They claimed to have had all the spare parts inventory from the original Star company. I'm guessing those parts ended up at Sarco. Welcome to surplus musical chairs.

I bought my Star BM at the tail end of the glory days. Looks like the price hasn't risen at all since then. Doesn't matter; I didn't buy it as an investment.

It's a great shooting little 1911-oid. A little heavy, but solid feeling in the hand and a great fit with the compact dimensions. It's got a military trigger that's not bad, crisp but heavy. I'm fine without having a grip safety. It's one of my youngest son's favorite guns.
If there's a pipeline for parts, I would jump on a nice condition Star BM at that price.
 
I just got a Super B yesterday. Ran across it when I stopped by to shoot a bag-o-guns I had in the truck. It's pretty clean and slick, made in 1972. I tend to acquire guns faster than I get them shot, so I don't know when I'll get to try this one out (waiting for the NICS check took up most of my available time, so I didn't make it next door to the range.) To me, these are more collectibles than shooters, and I won't stage this one for defense.
 
For $210 how can you go wrong? If it breaks part it out and sell the parts in ebay and get 2 times that back. :)
 
I have a Firestar that is "Starvel" (electroless Nickel - better than hard Chrome) and it is a great all steel single stack 9mm. I believe Guns & Ammo had this firearm as 'Gun of the Year' 1991. It is super easy to take down. I will not sell mine

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