Star BM 9mm slide/frame "play"

[POBVA]

Hello all, "newbie" here. I just purchased a Star BM 9mm. Overall pretty good cosmetic shape for a surplus gun, but it's the first I've ever seen of this model; bought it based on very positive posts on many forums and YouTube videos. So my question - I noticed that there's a little "free play" of the slide on the frame (if I push/pull the muzzle end of the slide side-to-side, it moves very slightly). As a "service" pistol, I can understand a little laxity in the fit, but does anyone else's do this, or should I be concerned that there could be a problem? Many thanks to anyone who can provide some guidance.

 

[1KPerDay]

Welcome. Not uncommon in surplus pistols.

 

[Fuego]

How does it shoot?

If you can live with that level of accuracy, you have a sweet gun if it is 100% reliable.

 

[bannockburn]

I had a Star Model B that was a little loose with the slide to frame fit. Didn't affect functioning one bit and the gun was still fairly accurate for a service grade pistol.

 

[POBVA]

Hello all - thank you so much for your input. Interestingly, after I field stripped it and cleaned it thoroughly, it doesn't seem to have near as much "play." So I actually took it to the range for the first time just tonight and put about 60 rounds through it at 25 feet. Unfortunately, I had repeated FTE's, using American Eagle 115gr FMJ rounds. Every round fed just fine, but interestingly, often on the 2nd round of the mag (not always, but the majority of times) it left the case sitting about 1/4 out of the chamber and jammed. Happened whether I had 5 or the full 8 rounds loaded. One mag full jammed twice. No stovepipes, just left the cases sitting in the chamber. Had to pull the mag, then upend the pistol and the case fell right out.

As to accuracy, well, first time I had it out, and I'm usually more a rifle guy, so most of any accuracy issues would likely be the shooter (me) than the gun! I was able to keep 90% of the rounds in the black on an NRA 25 ft slow fire pistol target. Not necessarily the best target for this gun's sights (all black (blued), too, so not much contrast w/o dots). Overall wasn't unhappy with its (or I guess my) accuracy for the first time out for either of us! The FTE's were a bummer, though. Anyone else with a Star BM have a "picky eater?" The ejector doesn't grossly look damaged.

I really thank everyone for their experience and insight!

 

[Speedo66]

Some guns like certain brands of ammo better. I’d try a few different brands of ammo before I made any physical changes to the gun.

European brands are sometimes loaded hotter, I’d try Geco or Fiocci and see how it goes.

 

[bannockburn]

POBVA

Like Speedo66 suggested, maybe try some different brands (and bullet weights), of ammo to see if this a recurring problem or not. Possibly a problem with the extractor not getting enough of a bite on the cartridge rim. Numrich Arms (gunpartscorp.com), lists a new reproduction extractor (currently out of stock though), for $28.60.

 

[entropy]

Hello all, "newbie" here. I just purchased a Star BM 9mm. Overall pretty good cosmetic shape for a surplus gun, but it's the first I've ever seen of this model; bought it based on very positive posts on many forums and YouTube videos. So my question - I noticed that there's a little "free play" of the slide on the frame (if I push/pull the muzzle end of the slide side-to-side, it moves very slightly). As a "service" pistol, I can understand a little laxity in the fit, but does anyone else's do this, or should I be concerned that there could be a problem? Many thanks to anyone who can provide some guidance.

You've apparently never seen an issued 1911A1. And yes, the BM I owned had some play. If they fit together like a Les Baer worked-over 1911 Gold Cup, they wouldn't work in combat. As for the FTF issues, I'd polish the chamber first, (or have a gunsmith do it if you aren't comfortable with doing it), and if that doesn't cure it, replace the extratcor and extractor spring.

 

[12Bravo20]

A loose slide won’t hurt accuracy as long as the barrel to slide fit is good. Many issue 1911 pistols that I shot had very loose fitting slides but barrel fit was good and I had no problems qualifying with them.

As others have said, check the chamber and the extractor.

 

[jstert]

i also got a star bm 9mm with two mags recently from gb.com and two extra mags from classic. im more of a revolver guy but i really like the bm. first time out shooting 150 rounds of georgia arms 115gr and magtech 147gr ammo had only one fte, forgot which. pretty much 2” groups at 15” consistently 3” off center at 8-9:00. a great piece!

 

[Vern Humphrey]

The question has already been asked, "How does it shoot?" If it shoots okay, don't worry about it.

Slide to frame fit is over-rated. The key to accuracy is how well the sights align to the barrel from shot to shot. A gun that locks up tight can shoot very well, even if it rattles when you shake it.

 

[POBVA]

Again, thanks to all - an awful lot of knowledge hereabouts! Yes, I've fired an issue 1911 - qualified w/one when I was in the Navy back in '83. It was just this particular gun that I was wondering about, particularly since I'd bought it surplus, sight unseen, etc. Just wanted to make sure I hadn't gotten a lemon - if I'd had lots of replies that people HADN'T seen this, then I'd have been worried. But with all of this experience on hand, I feel a WHOLE lot better about it! I appreciate everyone's thoughts about the FTE. I'm going to start with some different ammo over the next week or so to see if something else works well. Then, if I'm still having the issue, those other ideas that folks had will be the next steps. I picked up a couple different boxes of ammo tonight, including one Italian brand (which advertised a higher muzzle velocity than a couple other brands, suggesting, as Speedo66 noted, that it may be slightly "hotter" than others). They were still the 115gr (surprised that the shop didn't have other bullet weights in stock, but I just wanted a couple different brands to run through it). What I ran through it that first night may just have a slightly different manufacturing tolerance around the rim; maybe another brand will be smooth as silk. As soon as I can get to a different shop I'll definitely get some different bullet weights, too.

Jstert - interestingly I noted that mine was shooting a little to the left, too! I'm waiting on 2 extra mags from Classic right now.

Thanks, everyone, for all the help!

 

[Confederate]

The Star BM is a superb .45, but alas, it's still a 1911 design which means it will always jam once in a blue moon even in the best of times. I got rid of mine when parts became scarce and I was able to land a S&W 645. But I miss the old BM and wish I could find one brand new. I think they were much better guns than the Colt Commander, which jammed far more than it should for a gun costing as much as it did. (John Browning was never really satisfied with the 1911 design, but didn't live long enough to really perfect it.)

The Hi-Power is still a far better gun and was the first uber-reliable auto ever developed. I used to like the Luger, but that thing jammed so often I'm surprised the Germans didn't just copy the Hi-Power.

The Beretta 92 for its day was an astounding piece. No real need for an extractor; straight feeding into the chamber. In the first trials they used a standard issue .45 as a control, then had a Beretta Italian model, a Smith 459 and some others. The Beretta jammed on Adventists average of one every 2,000 rounds and came in first. The 459 came in second with a one jam in every 952 average. Don't recall the others, but these two were by far the best. The Colt averaged something like one in eight, which was horrible, but no armorer was allowed to fiddle with any of them, so they were right out of the box--so this was before the slides stated failing on the Berettas and hitting testers in the face. (No Italian guns and no Taurus comes to date have ever had such failures.)

While I had my Star BM, I'd have maybe one in an average of maybe 220 that would jam, and none happened with a clean gun. Operation was flawless as long as I could clean it every 75 rounds or so. The gun hid very well and the only thing I didn't much care for was the hammer wasn't rounded. Still, once parts begin failing, you're pretty much screwed. That's why buying them used is a bit of a risk. But mine worked with hollow points, so I was pretty happy.

If you need parts (like extractors, which may be what you need for your current problem), try Numrich Gun Parts. In fact, buy extra parts if you plan to shoot your gun a lot. And if you like shooting handguns a lot, try picking up a Ruger Mark II or IV model .22lr and let your grandkids worry about parts!

 

[POBVA]

Hi Confederate - I've got a Ruger Mark II that I bought new in the '80's. Just shot it last night, after the Star jammed enough that I decided to give it a rest until I could get some advice!

 

[chucker]

I got one of these a couple of months ago and I really like it. Shoots well, runs well, looks great! A dab of paint on the front will help, too. If you're having consistent failure to extract maybe have a look at the extractor spring and channel. Maybe it's gunked up with old lube in the spring area? Maybe it needs a new spring? Assuming the claw isn't chipped or broken. I assume you've inspected chamber and it doesn't have roughness or corrosion that may stick to the case a bit.
After that you might consider the recoil spring. If the current one is weak the slide may be running just too fast. I understand that there are suitable springs available from Wolfe but I haven't researched it personally. Good luck!
Chucker

 

[FROGO207]

I have one that was nickel plated before I got it. It is a great shooter and is much tighter than I expected I would end up with. Mine shoots most ammo without a hiccup at all. Now all it gets are reloads though.

 

[Tallball]

I like mine a lot and have had zero malfunctions. It's a nice accurate little pistol that points well. I never noticed that it felt loose, but I'm also not very observant .

Star BM 9mm

• Tallball
• Dec 28, 2017

 

[POBVA]

Just got back from the range - tried 2 other types of ammo - Winchester and Field & Stream (made in Italy, shoots a little faster). Boy, for a moment I thought I had something with the F&S brand - 20 rounds, then . . . FTE! Winchester - lot of them Everything I've tried so far is 115gr FMJ. Hey, it's the "basic" stuff, but I was sure hoping that for practice it would work, b/c it's cheapest. I scrubbed the daylights out of the extractor claw area, it had looked a little not much, but yes a bit) dirty, before this session, so I don't think it's dirt/gunk.

So back to square 1 on the FTE's. My original post issue, the slight slide looseness, is nothing! BTW, WHEN it's shooting, I was getting about 2-3" groups at 15 ft (shooting to around 9 o'clock consistently, so I've got to play with the rear sight, no biggie there), so I seem to be getting what others have been saying about it. For a service pistol, it's absolutely fine.

One thing I've noticed on mine, that I was wondering if any other owners could compare and help me out on this - the back of the extractor bar sticks out very slightly from the slide - it's not flush, as the front end is. From a design perspective, it would seem that this should be flush/set into the slide serrations. This is part of my problem - it's the first time I've held one of these, and it wasn't like I could look at a couple examples of a NIB pistol at the LGS. I've tried looking on line at posted photos, but you really have to look at it from certain angles, and those aren't really posted. I've attached a couple pix of mine. Does anyone else's look like this (AND it's extracting w/o any problems)? If not, I really think I'm looking at an extractor/extractor spring issue. EJECTION is fine - if it pulls out of the chamber, it's tossed out nicely! BTW, wanted to post these sooner, so you'll see the chamber's a little "dusty" - hadn't cleaned it yet after the range trip! When it is clean, it's nice and shiny (the chamber/barrel of this little guy were/are clean as whistles) - I don't think that's where it's hanging up (thanks, chucker, for suggesting that as a possibility).

Thanks again to everyone!

 

[entropy]

The extractor sits out like that because it pivots on it's retaining pin, and there is not a round's rim pushing it out. when a round is chambered, you'll note it is closer to 'level' It won't be flush, it sits out too far for that. My advice in post #8 still stands.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

You say "FTE" -- is that "Failure to Eject" or "Failure to Extract?" Load and fire one round at a time. If the round is not being left in the chamber, or partway out when the slide locks back, it's not Failure to Eject, it's Failure to Extract.

But if the round is coming out of the chamber, and not being thrown clear, it's Failure to Eject -- look to the Ejector first.

 

[entropy]

We've already established it is Failure to Extract.

 

[POBVA]

Yes, failure to EXTRACT. EJECTION is fine. Empty case left sitting partway in the chamber. Appreciate the thoughts. Thank you for the explanation on the extractor appearance. Makes sense; you can indeed see the small hole on top of the slide where the pin sits, and that does indeed look to be right about where the extractor bar starts to move away from the side of the slide, so a hinge point. Luck of the draw with a surplus gun. Hate to have to spend more $ on it, but options are to have a paperweight or spend a few more bucks to get a fully functional pistol. Everyone's help here has allowed me to explore some options, and I appreciate that.

 

[12Bravo20]

POBVA,

How comfortable are you with taking the extractor out? I would remove it and check the condition of the extractor and also the spring along with cleaning everything out really good. I would say that at worse you need a new extractor and/or spring. It could also be that the spring, hole where spring sits, and area where the extractor sits just needs a good cleaning.

I know that Star pistols can be finicky about ammo too. I have two Star Firestar pistols (9mm and .40) that do not like certain brands of ammo. I bought the 9mm Firestar from someone that was complaining of extraction/ejection problems. I did a detailed cleaning of the slide around the extractor and used good ammo and the pistol works fine.

 

[POBVA]

Hi 12Bravo20 - thanks very much for your helpful thoughts. I'm thinking along the same lines and my strategy is as follows - on a friend's suggestion I'm going to try soaking the slide in some Hoppe's 9 for a while, then in Kroil penetrating oil. On another forum, I found someone who said he's actually used brake cleaning spray on his Star and that helped clean it out; I'm going to try the 9 and Kroil first. I really appreciate your sharing your experience with your 9mm Firestar. Gives me some hope that it's just some gunk gumming up the works! If that doesn't loosen things up, I like the way you put it - "how comfortable am I with taking the extractor out." Excellent point! I think I'm OK with it - I found some instructions elsewhere, I just need to borrow a punch to get the pin out. If I "chicken out" then I'll just go to a gunsmith. I'm going to go "simple to more complex!" One way or another I think I'll end up with a working Star, which (when it's extracting!) I really like! Thanks very much again. I really appreciate your support and that from everyone else!

 

[flightsimmer]

I have several Star firearms, model B, several PD's, BM, BKM alloy and they are all fine firearms.

The extractors are all very similar and easy to check and fix if necessary. Just look down on the slide from above with a magnifier with the slide locked back. If it has a sharp hook and looks undamaged then it is probably OK. Next, check the spring tension with a small screwdriver or something similar, if it travels freely both ways and has good tension, then the extractor and spring are most likely OK.

If you are in doubt about the spring tension, then it is easy to remove the pivot pin and check and clean the parts and even carefully stretch the spring a tad bit, careful, don't loose the spring or you will have to find one at the hardware store. Parts are non existent. But don't worry, they very well built and don't break under normal use.

Now, as to slide wobble, don't give it another thought.
Now if you're still concerned, remove the slide and check for severe rail wear just to ease your mind, bluing worn off badly.

As for accuracy, put it on a sandbag and carefully fire a magazine full of ammo at a paper target to see where they hit in relation to point of aim. Lube it up and go have fun.

Like I said, they are great firearms.