Star Model Super B and some Some misconceptions.

[Sharpie443]

Did a video on the Star model super B and some misconceptions about them. I own two of them now and I love the pistols. However I've seen a lot of misinformation about the star pistols. The misunderstandings seems to come from the fact that there were three different models of this pistol. People seem to attribute the quirks and history of the older models to the Super B.

Some misconceptions.

-They were originally in 9mm largo and this causes reliability issues. This is incorrect. Only the star model A was in 9mm largo. The Model B and super B were both designed for the 9mm Luger cartridge.

-They are unreliable because they were captured by the Russians who dissembled them and reassembled them from random parts. This is true about Russian captured Model B pistols. Assembling them from unfitted parts created reliability problems normally resulting in the safety not working. However this is not true about the Star Model Super Bs which were never in Russian hands.

The star model Super B was produced post war from 1946-1983 and are perfectly reliable. I have yet to have any problems with my Star model Super B and I'm a huge fan. For $250 it's hard to beat it which is why i bought two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3pJR_nIMN0

 

[Ibmikey]

Sharpie, You are mostly correct in your comments, the Bulgarian/ Russian rebuilds are very problematic, the B series pistols used the A (Largo) magazines and when feed problems were encountered they used an insert in the mag to place the 9mm cartridge further forward. Then the mags were redesigned with longer feed lips however a lot of the B's sold surplus have A magazines with them. Star did not mark their mags as to caliber thus anything that fit was stuffed into the pistols. Many pistols today have extraction, feed problems because of extractors and/or springs that are tired after about sixty years of soldiering. A worn extractor or too strong or weak spring can cause many words that are best said while alone. Being the latest model the Super series pistols seem to be the least trouble prone of the large frames in my experiences. I have over eighty Star pistols and shoot all....well most all my Bulgarian has devoted many parts to other pistols as i could never undo the Russian screw up's and make it shoot reliably. One of my favorite B's is a built up mess: Bulg 9mm barrel, Air Force A slide and B German LPN frame..best shooter around.

 

[HisSoldier]

Star pistols are highly underrated guns. Superb quality in my humble opinion.

 

[Ibmikey]

HisSoldier, Having eighty odd Star pistols I must come to the same conclusion.

 

[Tallball]

I got a Super B within the past year or so. It looked like it had barely been fired. It feels great in my large hands. It is accurate and completely reliable. My FiL is my shooting buddy. He liked mine so much that he got one for himself. His appeared to be NIB. It did not appear to have ever been fired and even had a Spanish instruction manual. Like mine, his has been perfectly reliable. He shoots it better than his Beretta or his SiG.

We are very pleased with these excellent pistols. It is amazing to get such good quality for such a reasonable price (less than $250 apiece OTD).

Here is mine:

 

[Gun Master]

I have a Star Model P (.45 ACP) which I really like.
At present my next gun will be a Star Super B .

 

[jerkface11]

Converting a model A over to 9x19 doesn't cause any issues. Just need a barrel and a magazine.

 

[bannockburn]

For a number of years I used an old Star Model B as my all-arounder; doing duty as my range gun, car gun, home defense gun, and my Introduction to Centerfire Pistols gun to first time shooters. Fed any and every FMJ load I ran through it and never had any problems with it.

 

[Lone Star]

The South African army used some, as they were then often having trouble getting other brands through the UN embargo during the apartheid years.

I think they were replaced by the locally made Z-88, a clone of the Beretta M-92F. Those are still used by the national police.

The Star Model B and B Super had a good rep there.

I had one (Model B) on loan from the importer back when I was a gun writer. It worked fine and was pretty accurate at 25 yards. But when disassembled, I saw crude X marks that looked to have been scratched into the steel, maybe by some Third World country armorer. It looked like he'd used a nail. Maybe this was a hardness test?

Do you Star owners see this in your guns, scratched into the underside of the slide? I didn't get a good answer from Interarms and returned the gun without even asking the price.

 

[Monac]

I think the XX scratches were standard Star procedure, at least during one period. I don't remember what they're for, but I'm pretty sure they were discussed here before. I have a Star Model B too, and I'll try to remember to check it for those marks.

I was planning to get a new recoil spring from Wolff for mine before firing it, because it seemed kind of weak when I cycle the action by hand. Has anyone else found that?

 

[Gun Master]

Star Super B

I got my Super B this week (see post # 6).
I'm having problems with :
1. 2nd mag has to be forcibly withdrawn from the mag well.
2. Slide removal is tight and difficult to remove from frame.
3. Hammer doesn't always fall when trigger is pulled.

Some of this may be solved by cleaning, although the gun doesn't appear to be dirty. I've emailed the online retailer about the problems. Perhaps Wolff Springs replacement might help.

 

[joem1945]

I have a few of those and they shoot well. I reload for 9mm Largo anyway.

 

[tark]

I've got a super A in 9mm Largo. After opening up the breech face to accept a Super's .405 semi-rim; I shoot factory loaded supers in it. I put in a set of Wolff extra strength springs in the gun and it loves the stuff. I probably didn't need the extra strength springs, the gun just dribbles the Super empties out the side where they land about three feet away. The gun is very accurate and has many custom touches, like a loaded chamber indicator, white dot sights, a beveled magwell and matched back of the slide and frame. And, of course, that superb tale down feature!

Before anybody gets started: Here are the SAAMI pressures for the 9X19 and the Factory loaded Supers. I stay away from some of the specialty loaders and any hot I.P.S.I.C. loads.

9X19....................35,500 PSI
38 SUPER+P..........36,500 PSI
9X19+P.................38,500 PSI

Supers won't hurt the gun one bit if it is in good condition.

 

[Gun Master]

Astra Modelo 400 (Model 1921)

Not to get off the subject of Star Super B, but getting off that subject a wee little bit, I have an Astra 400 (9mm Largo). Do you think I can safely shoot .38 ACP Super in my 400 ? I'm having difficulty getting 9mm Largo ammo.

 

[tark]

Gun Master, the answer is maybe. It depends on a number of things. I shoot a limited amount of super ammo in my 400 Which is a later gun, in great condition and has new Springs installed.

Look at the crest on the top front of your slide Above the "T" in Astra and below it. Partially hidden will either be the two letters "E" "U" or "U" "C". If it is EU the gun was made before 1926 and it is not a good idea to shoot supers in it. Those early 400s would sometimes fail and the slides would crack. The guns marked UC had better metallurgy and are better shooters.

Will a Super's rim fit in the breech face on the slide? 38 super's rim is .405" A largo's about .395". If the barrel is marked 9mm & 38 you should be good to go. Get new springs and install them. Factory supers these days are loaded to approximately 5% higher pressure than a 9X19, not enough to worry about.

My Super A Star eats supers all day long. If I mix supers and Largos in the mag, no one yet has been able to tell the difference. My 400 actually throws the largo brass further than the supers.

good shooting

 

[Deaf Smith]

Will the B supers feed JHPs? Take +p?

Deaf

 

[Ibmikey]

You should be ok with most hollow point ammo just try each type to find out if your pistol is going to have issues with it. Also polish the beans out of the feed ramp and chamber but do not remove metal, put new springs in if you intend to use any hot ammo...often the Spanish shot 9mm intended for SMG use in their mod Super B's.
Lone Star...the scratch marks are normal assembly procedure to indicate parts drawers and have been used since the twenties.

 

[Bo]

My one and only Star.

 

[Jim Watson]

If the Super B was made from 1946, where did the Russians capture them?

I understand the B, because the Germans got them from their Spanish friends.

 

[Gun Master]

Gun Master, the answer is maybe. It depends on a number of things. I shoot a limited amount of super ammo in my 400 Which is a later gun, in great condition and has new Springs installed.

Look at the crest on the top front of your slide Above the "T" in Astra and below it. Partially hidden will either be the two letters "E" "U" or "U" "C". If it is EU the gun was made before 1926 and it is not a good idea to shoot supers in it. Those early 400s would sometimes fail and the slides would crack. The guns marked UC had better metallurgy and are better shooters.

Will a Super's rim fit in the breech face on the slide? 38 super's rim is .405" A largo's about .395". If the barrel is marked 9mm & 38 you should be good to go. Get new springs and install them. Factory supers these days are loaded to approximately 5% higher pressure than a 9X19, not enough to worry about.

My Super A Star eats supers all day long. If I mix supers and Largos in the mag, no one yet has been able to tell the difference. My 400 actually throws the largo brass further than the supers.

good shooting

tark, thanks for the info. Mine has the later "UC" and "9mm&38", so I'm good to go.
Another reference said the "38" was for .38 ACP not .38 Super.

 

[TRX]

My Super B was in 9mm Largo. I owned it back in the early 1980s, when Largo was unobtainium. I made a form tool and turned off the rims and cut extractor grooves in .38 Special brass, then cut the cases down to Largo length.

 

[tark]

You are probably right about that 38 meaning 38 AUTO, GunMaster. Super ammo used to be loaded somewhat hotter in years past. It used to be a 130 gr bullet at 1300. Now it's the same bullet at 1200. 124s are loaded to 1240 these days. I've chronographed Largo ammo that was 1220 with the same bullet. If your gun is in good shape, shooting a moderate amount of supers now and then shouldn't be a problem. Just make darn sure you put new springs in it. If your current spring is as long as the bottom of the slide it needs to be replaced, If it is the same length as the top....it's wasted.

Which means it is perfect for shooting light loads! My favorite is 2.5 grains of bullseye and a 158 grain semi-wadcutter sized to .356. The gun cycles with about half the violence as shooting full power loads, and the empties just dribble out the side.

good shooting

 

[Monac]

I bought a Super B and thought it looked, felt, and handled beautifully. I did think the recoil spring seemed a bit weak, because the slide was noticeably easier to work than any other full-size 9mm pistol I have, like a Browning High Power, a MAB PA-15, and a Benelli B-76.

So I bought a recoil spring from Wolff, which turned out to be the wrong diameter. I think it was for a B and not a Super B. I would not have minded that very much, except during my efforts to get the spring to fit on the recoil spring plug (the thing that fits into the front end of the spring and engages in the muzzle bushing), the plug flew out of my hands and turned out to be "concrete soluble". It's been six months now, and it's still missing.

So, anybody got an extra Star Super B recoil spring plug? I'll pass on the recoil spring this time.

 

[Gun Master]

Star Model Super B

Well......., getting back to the Super B subject (I am responsible for some deviation), see post # 11. I'm still having trouble separating the slide from the frame. I've removed the barrel, spring, etc. and there still is some tight resistance. Since the slide stop and slide removal lever are attached, I suspect the problem may be there. After getting the slide and frame back together, there doesn't appear to be any functioning problem. I haven't shot it yet.

Have any of you guys had this tight slide removal problem, and if so, did you discover the solution?

BTW, I found that my Star Model Super B fits in a CZ-52 holster, including the extra mag in the mag holder. Just be careful to not push the mag in too deeply. I did, and the bottom of the pouch seems to want to separate from the holster.