9mm Star BM
 

I have a short list of handguns I want; Colt 1903, Nambu Type 14, Remington Model 51, a few others...One of the others is/was a 9mm Star. My local shop had one in this week, at a very competitive price...So I treated myself...

All steel; 8+1 single stack mag; lockwork and general lines like a 7/8 scale M1911A1. FN style extractor, mag safety (which I dislike and will remove as soon as I figure it out), plastic grips. CAI import markings; and a slide cartouche which I don't recognize. "This pistol was officially adopted in 1976 by the Spanish Navy, the Guardia Civil, and the Cuerpo General de Policia" (from the NRA Assembly book). I don't know exactly what year this one is, but the finish is about 85%, bore excellent, and barrel bushing wear negligible.

I attached a pic of the cartouche and the letters; they don't match anything I could find on GB...Does anyone recognize them???

Interesting marking, if you don't get any answers here post over in the "Spanish handgun" forum on gunboards.

Low serial also according to this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Model_BM

"BM serial numbers ranged from 1,226,501 to somewhere around 1,942,445"

Very well built and shoot nice. If you really like it your list is gonna get longer like mine did with other Star's :o)

Gary -

Thanks for the info! I didn't know Gunboards had a Spanish subforum... :rolleyes:

It's not a low serial...The full serial is on the left side, behind the trigger, vertically...(You can just see it)...It's 1567840...The right side shows 0840 on both slide & frame...Right above the CAI Georgia VT mark...No idea why... :confused:

Edit: Thread posted "over there"... ;)

Maybe it is the CAI import number

Just a guess, but since Spanish tends to initial the opposite from English. This may stand for "Nitro Proof" or "Prueba Nitro"

Another wild guess would be "Policia Nacional" or "National Police"

Thanks for the replies! :thumbup:

Could very well be (the 4-digit number); the 7-digit number may not have been convenient for CAI to fill in their forms... :rolleyes:

Policia Nationale was my first guess, and also the guess of a member on Gunboards/Spanish Pistols...

But no one has identified the cartouche...I don't really buy the "proof" guess for the cartouche (not yet, anyway), as why put a proof on a part of the pistol that is not stressed??? (And is easily separable from the barrel/frame). And the barrel/chamber already has a proof (looks like a flaming bomb)...

Interesting gun. Planned to buy a book on Star. I have been searching a couple of guns that I am interested in for years and could not find an appropriate one. Now gun $$ is putting into something else, hopefully nothing will come up until a year later. If Star is competitive, I can play Star a little bit in 2010.

How it compare with Astra in quality? I mean, in general.

I don't know...I've never owned an Astra. :confused: Quality of machining is much better than WW II Lugers/P38's; not quite as good as Colt Series 70 [commercial]. But close...Tolerances are very good. Finish is very good (still a lot left).

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Montelongo at Gunboards tells me the cartouche is the "Águila de San Juan" and is part of the "Shield of Spain"...I'm not sure where that Shield is found, but there are a lot of Eagles on Spanish flags, Police cars, gov't buildings, etc...

I don't know what these pistols are worth, but a guy in Olive Branch, Ms is advertising one on AR15.com for $275 .

$275 is on the high side unless it is is in hi end condition with 2 mags then I would consider it.

Nice pistol.
You date this pistol using this chart:
http://www.star-firearms.com/firearms/proof.shtml

From your pictures I can't read the letter code stamped on it.

Nice purchase.

Douglas

That's because on the BM/BKM it is under the left grip. ;)

I had found a site with the BM/BKM letter codes, but that page you referenced is much better. Lots more Star stuff. Thanks! :thumbup:

Here's a pic of my letter code, with proof marks. 1981.

Interestingly, my plumed helmet proof has the "X" in the shield, but my Flaming Bomb proof does not have the "P"...

Btw: In the pic above, that gaping black hole is where the magazine safety (only shoots if magazine is inserted) was...I took it out.

I just shot 50 rounds out of it an hour ago. My reloads; 125 gr FMJ RN with 5.2 grs Win 231 powder. Felt like a hot load, although in my S&W 659 it feels average. My Speer reloading manual from 1981 shows this combination giving ~1100 fps...

At a WAG, I would say this was sighted in for a left handed shooter. All my shots shooting right handed were off to the left; shooting left handed, I was right on the black. I can't shoot rifles right handed any more, so I try to do all my shooting left handed. This can stay as it is. ;)

When I got this, I wanted some more 9mm brass for reloading, so I bought the only box of 9mm brass-cased FMJ cartridges the shop had (the rest were aluminum cases or hollow point/segmented bullets).

They're "American Eagle" brand, made by Federal, the box says "Made in USA"...and they're 147 gr FMJ FP...

I know some here have commented on there not being any truncated 9mm rounds anymore...Well, here are some...but look at that bullet!!! A whopping 147 grs!!! :eek:

The box lists the muzzle velocity as 1000 fps...and muzzle energy as 325 ft-lbs...That is one honking round!!! :thumbup:

Definitely not for Lugers!!! :D But might make a nice display round...

Here's a pic of one on the left, along with a couple of my 124 gr FMJ-FP reloads...

Postino

You should try a ASTRA 400 which is chambered for the 9mm Largo. A buddy just got a pristine Interarms imported one for cheap. Better made then expected.
Got some surplus non-corrosive ammo from SARCO.
Fun to shoot. Similar ballistics to a 38 Super. Hard on the palm after a few magazines,as the back strap has a thin profile. The gun is straight blow back and it has "the mother of all recoil springs"!

Bob

saab-bob -

Is that Astra a large frame pistol??? I wanted this Star because it was a medium frame auto in 9mm...I have enough scars on my stomach from Colt autos... :rolleyes:

BTW: I neglected to say if the Star had any problems...With five rounds loaded in the mag (my usual string of fire) I had none...but with eight rounds loaded, I had three stovepipes...

My handloads were set up to ~1.169" OAL, which is what SAAMI recommends for 9mm auto-loading pistols...but looking in my Speer handloading book, they recommend 1.100" OAL for 125 gr bullets, and 1.080" for 100 gr bullets...

I'll try another 50 with the shorter rounds; or if I can find a box here that are shorter than 1.169"...

Gotta get another pound of 231...I'm out... :D

Ya the astra 400 is big they didnt call it the "pipe wrench" for nothing, makes an effective club when you run ottta ammo

I should be able to give an opinion in about a week...Niagara County changed it's pistol registration regs; I won't be able to pick it up for another week...but I picked up an Astra 4000 in 7.65mm...Serial 842493; no idea what year it is, but my local shop has had it for many years, the owner says...and he let it go for very little...(note tag is blank)...

Red/brown plastic grips, what looks like a chromed magazine (but stamped "Astra")...excellent bore, about maybe 80% blue...

This was the 2nd of the two I've been eyeballing; I may still go after the S&W .35 auto as well...

(Pardon the pics; taken with my phone)

To Postino

Interesting post-war version of the ASTRA 300. Has a exposed hammer.
Nice gun and fairly rare.
Bob

A very nice Astra 4000. Does the magazine have a cutout at the top left front corrner? Mine does and the few replacement grips that I have seen do not.

A very good book on Astra is Astra Automatic Pistols by Leonardo Antaris. He will have a new edition out in a couple of months but the current one is well worth the price.

He also has a book on Star pistols. I do not collect Star so cannot vouch for the book except to say that if it is comparable to his Astra book, it should be excellent.

Steve

A note on the Astra 400. Despite what some people will tell you, it is chambered for 9mm Largo and is unsafe with other 9mm cartriges. 9mm Parabellum is too short and is held in the chamber only by the extractor. Definately unsafe to fire. both .38 ACP and .38 Super have a semi-rim that prevents the slide from closing completely. Besides, the .38 Super is much stronger that the pistol is designed to handle.

9mm Steyr and 9mm Bergman might be safe. I have not seen the pressure charts for them but why take the chance?

These other cartridges will chamber and fire but are not safe.

Steve

I got 100 rounds of 9m/m Largo, made in Spain in 1960s, but have no guns to consume them. Maybe after some years, those ammo and ammo boxes will become collectible.

Astra made some good stuff. For example, this so called "Made in Japan" model :) If they wanted, they could do super good job.

I noticed this yesterday while looking at 4000 parts...I can't find it online, but if anyone with a 400/600 is really interested, give them a call...there may be one or two left...(or they may have changed the part number)...

Steve -

You reminded me of an article I read years ago...Luckily, I still have the book...

"Converting Spanish Pistols to 9mm P" is the name of the article; in George C. Nonte's 1974 book, "Pistolsmithing"...

Here's a brief excerpt -

http://www.wzrd.com/u/rbrennan/misc3/nonte.jpg

I've never tried anything like this, but I understand from my Garand friends that there is a "kit" of sorts for converting the M1 Garand to 7.62 x 51mm (.308 Win), consisting of a bushing similar to the one in the above article in principle, and two 20% overloaded cartridges to seat it...Nonte doesn't mention explosive seating, so I would imagine that his bushings are pressed in/interference fits...

Returning to STAR. Saw Antaris' STAR book on gun shows. Around $100 per copy. Have not got a chance to acquire one yet. Back a while ago, he's selling signed copies on gunbroker.com. Similar price, probably buying one from GB is better.

I picked up that Astra 4000 "Falcon" today; looks in good shape, but I do need to clean it...

Edit: OK, got it field stripped & cleaned. I found a takedown procedure for the Astra 300; it was close enough to get 'er done... :D

The oddity that had me stumped - the Astra's use a 2-piece barrel bushing... :rolleyes:

"P N ----> State police .. nicknamed in the epoch " the gray ones " by the color of his uniform.

The shield of the águla, it belongs to the epoch of the dictatorship of Franco.
Certainly, the pistol Astra 400 ... "it shoots everything"






Regards

Antonio

Would like to use this oppertunity to ask a question on STAR.

Is the gun in the following link a legitimate animal in the STAR family?

Link: STAR with Shoulder Stock

I had a lot of respect for retired Army Major George C. Nonte growing up in the 50's and 60's, but I am a lot older now, and know some things about about metalworking and metallurgy.

I would not be very comfortable, nor would I recommend, putting a chamber sleeve in front of a 9mm Luger cartridge that was only 0.022 (twenty-two thousandths) of an inch in thickness for the cartridge to headspace on and then consistently firing that pistol... tool steel or not, this does not seem a safe practice to me...

[B]I would like to hear the opinions of the other gunsmiths on the forum about this practice... whether you are a pro or an amateur.[/B]

I also never remember seeing these sleeves for sale during the period mentioned by Nonte in the article that was posted at the link above...

displayed again here for those who wish to read it:

http://www.wzrd.com/u/rbrennan/misc3/nonte.jpg

I am not familiar with either, but it looks to me to be a Browning/Inglis HP stock...which the Star MMS should fit...I wonder if the "7.63mm" stated in the ad is actually 7.65mm Luger?...

STAR did have 7,63m/m version. If we consider Mauser created C96 targeting on winning a major western power's military contract, then, Spanish gunmakers created their 7,63m/m pistols on target of gaining Oriental market in 1920s. STAR was one of them but they missed the point. According to Gun Report, STAR's 7,63 was initially driven by that.

Simpson has another STAR with extended barrel listed(Link: STAR with extended barrel). I saw that gun a few years back selling for the same price at the same site. It was sold. Current one is probably the same one, back to market again, and asking the same price.

First time seeing a STAR with stock though.