Star surplus 9mm
- Thread starter madmike
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cool arrow
Member
not from them, but I have 2 of the same model.
great guns: all steel, accurate, and with a good mag, reliable.
what do you want to know?
great guns: all steel, accurate, and with a good mag, reliable.
what do you want to know?
Suck My Glock
Member
I had one of the surplus Argentine Air Force Model Bs in the original 9mm Largo. The 9mm Largo is dimensionally exactly the same as the 9x23Win. and will chamber that ammo BUT DO NOT EVER DO SO!!!! 9x23Win is too hot for 9mmLargo guns.
While the Star Model As, Bs and BMs in 9mmPara are reliable with FMJ ammo, you may experience difficulty with reliable feeding when using anything else. That's because when Star retrofitted these pistols from the longer Largo cartridge the frame was originally designed around to the shorter Parabellum, only FMJ types were in use and nothing other than that was ever foreseen to be used. All that was done was to change barrels and magazines, while never doing anything to remedy the extra 4mm of free space the shorter 9mmPara has to jump across in the feed cycle. As it turned out, that was inconsequential with rounded FMJ profile ammo. But many people have reported JHPs tend to nose-dive in the feed cycle and produce jams. Not everyone, mind you,...and results can vary depending on the particular ammo being used.
And while factory 9mm Largo ammo is hard to find and expensive when you do, handloading for them is very easy. New production Starline brass in 9x23Win can be used (just make sure it is properly marked so you NEVER get real 9x23Win mixed up and in the gun). Most 9mmPara dies made in the last 20 years are adjustable enough to be used for making 9x23Win. Use standard load data for 9mmPara and all is well. 9mmLargo also was loaded a little hotter than standard 9mmPara, so you have a little safety buffer there. But many 9mm Largo guns are old and not made to modern tolerances, so don't get the idea you can get away with +P loads. Just stick to the plain vanilla.
While the Star Model As, Bs and BMs in 9mmPara are reliable with FMJ ammo, you may experience difficulty with reliable feeding when using anything else. That's because when Star retrofitted these pistols from the longer Largo cartridge the frame was originally designed around to the shorter Parabellum, only FMJ types were in use and nothing other than that was ever foreseen to be used. All that was done was to change barrels and magazines, while never doing anything to remedy the extra 4mm of free space the shorter 9mmPara has to jump across in the feed cycle. As it turned out, that was inconsequential with rounded FMJ profile ammo. But many people have reported JHPs tend to nose-dive in the feed cycle and produce jams. Not everyone, mind you,...and results can vary depending on the particular ammo being used.
And while factory 9mm Largo ammo is hard to find and expensive when you do, handloading for them is very easy. New production Starline brass in 9x23Win can be used (just make sure it is properly marked so you NEVER get real 9x23Win mixed up and in the gun). Most 9mmPara dies made in the last 20 years are adjustable enough to be used for making 9x23Win. Use standard load data for 9mmPara and all is well. 9mmLargo also was loaded a little hotter than standard 9mmPara, so you have a little safety buffer there. But many 9mm Largo guns are old and not made to modern tolerances, so don't get the idea you can get away with +P loads. Just stick to the plain vanilla.
cool arrow
Member
Mine eats aluminum cased Federal and brass Federal like candy
Edge
Member
I've owned two, got them in trades. Put a few mags thru each before sending them on their way in other trades. Not my bag
cool arrow
Member
Inevitably, it is your personal preference that will guide you.
They are sturdy, and well made. For a glove box gun, or in my case my quad riding gun, you really can't go wrong at $200.
Mine have never given me any problems and I could hit bowling pins at 50ft. If you buy one and don't like it, PM me and I will buy it from you for what you paid.
They are sturdy, and well made. For a glove box gun, or in my case my quad riding gun, you really can't go wrong at $200.
Mine have never given me any problems and I could hit bowling pins at 50ft. If you buy one and don't like it, PM me and I will buy it from you for what you paid.
Star made some good quality weapons, for a while. My dad had a BM model I got to spend a lot of time with. Handled nicely and flawless operation, with FMJ's. It did not like any of the older HP's, but with some of the fmj profiled hp's, they might work fine
r0ttie1
Member
cool arrow said:
I have two as well. Can't go wrong at that price.
I bought one and my best friend bought one as well. Both preform well with ball ammo, mine feeds JHP's fine (brother has not tried jhp's through his). Mine is dead balls accurate and for $200 you can't go wrong. As previously stated earlier, Makes a great truck gun.
rjscolonel
Member
I got 2 of them a couple years ago when they hit the market. Both have been good with no issues. The magazines are hard to find and getting expensive.
Just watch out for the firing pins. They're kinda fragile. I've had 2 break on me. And they're kinda expensive to replace.
The 2 Star BM pistols that I've had through my hands were fun. And fed most hollow points with a bit of polishing and dremel work.
The 2 Star BM pistols that I've had through my hands were fun. And fed most hollow points with a bit of polishing and dremel work.
