I had a 9mm for awhile a few years ago. Great shooting gun. A few FTFs and FTEs here and there, but fairly reliable.. I never carried it, mainly because of the weight. It would have made a nice club, if you did happen to run out of ammo in a SD situation.

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

I have an M40 in Starvel finish.

Its a good shooter but heavy.
I still carry it when its cooler, the Starvel finish really does not hold up very well.

I have an early .40 S&W Firestar. Pretty decent little gun although mine being an early .40 model and I believe it had a 9mm recoil spring that was just a little too light for the cartridge and the slide was coming back hard enough to peen the head of the guide rod. Also my slide stop exhibited considerable wear on the back edge that caught the slide. After I complained to Interarms, they sent me a new recoil spring which was obviously stronger and they sent a Starvel plated slide stop as that is all they had for a spare. I carried mine as one of my qualified backup guns on duty right after we transitioned over to the .40 S&W Beretta 96. I carried the pistol in an ankle holster so it was exposed to lousy conditions and I started to see minor issues with rust. I eventually sent mine out and had it hard chromed which solved my rusting issues. Mine was extremely reliable and very comfortable to shoot for such a small gun in the .40 caliber.

I have a Starvel 9mm. The recoil spring was done when I got it as the empties went into another zip code. A Wolff spring fixed that issue. It does have a classic Star problem that the safety can be hard to engage without pulling back the hammer a tad.

It shoots great, but I cannot carry it as I never could get it to point the same way in the draw. My thin hands and the gun's grip shape don't gel well at speed. The robust build certainly tamed the recoil.

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Release the Kraken

I have one of the 9MMs in Starvel that was bought in 94.

This was the Firestar Plus model which had the double stack magazine

Every Firestar I ever shot was a superbly accurate pistol.

Back when I had to carry a 9MM, this is what I had on my ankle as a back up gun

Back about the same time, I also had one in 45ACP that I bought from a pawnshop. Unfortunately it broke it's extractor a few weeks after I got it and the pawnshop gave me my money back

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"Acta non verba"

I have a .40 Firestar, I think it’s a decent pistol. It’s pleasant to shoot, probably because of it’s weight. Although I haven’t shot it a lot, I can say I’ve never had a jam with an assortment of ball and JHP cartridges. The Firestar is the only .40 I own.

I’ve also had a 9mm Firestar, it was also a good gun. Someone offered me twice what I paid for it a couple of years ago and I sold it. When I run across another I’ll probably buy it. I’ve never had the .45 model, but I’ll run across one eventually.

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Wheel guns are real guns.

Had a 40 in starvel finish. It looked cool, shot well, but was heavy. It was also rare enough that parts were rare. It probably shot well to me because it was kind of like a small 1911, but heavier.

I don't have one but I never anything bad about them. I have a Star Model S Government Model and it's deadly accurate in .380 ACP.

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Come and take it!!

I had a 40 that I bought new in '92 or '93, and a 9 in Starvel that I picked up a few years ago. Great shooters, reliable and the shortest trigger reset I ever experienced.
I gave both of them to my oldest son and his wife, along with all the spare parts that I bought over the years.

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When Interarms quite importing Star and wholesale distributors were blowing them out, I order a 9, 40, 45 and a Firestar Plus just because the price was so cheap. They were good guns, but heavy being all steel.

I recall having a blue Firestar 9mm that the blue finish was weak so I parted ways with it. When I started shooting IPSC I decided a 1911 pattern pistol for concealed carry was a good idea so I brought another Firestar 9mm only in Starvel finish. I have kept this gun and over the years I have carried it off and on for self-defense in a Sparks Executive Companion holster. I have started carrying it again recently due to back problems. While it is heavy it’s smaller size along with the Sparks holster it is more comfortable to carry than my full size Beretta. It is a great little gun especially for 1911 fans.

I have a Firestar in .45, it is a heavy beast!

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Old paratrooper in NC

Had one years ago. Fine gun but watch the safety. I’ve seen several that would fire while the safety was on.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

I had a blued 9mm.
Great little gun with the classic 1911 SA functionality.
A very soft shooter for its size due to the weight of all that steel.
Accurate too. I never carried mine or even got a holster for it because I prefer DA/SA or DAO for carry - and because it is so heavy compared to a poly or alloy frame.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

I wanted one badly in the 90s but couldn't afford due to being a broke college student. I haven't held one in my hands since then.

I'd like to check one out again to see if I still like them.

Well, IIRC in 1991 Guns & Ammo named the 9mm Firestar their Handgun of the Year, so I think a lot of people felt the same way about them that you did back in the the day.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

I have a single blued 9mm. I had 2 others that I sold in the early 2000s. I bought them when they were cheep in the 90s along with a bunch of mags.
I run a heavy hammer spring to mitigate any frame battering.
Cute little HEAVY pistol. I thought that my wife might want it for a purse gun, but as of 2003 there are better options.

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I'm with her

Yes I have one, great little handgun for what I spent. Need to have suspenders for your pants in order to carry it,,,,way to heavy!
But I never had any problems with it and it still resides with some others

I have a Firestar in .40 S&W I bought new back when they had the little blue "Handgun of the Year" sticker on their box. Came with one magazine. I fired a grand total of one box of CCI Blazer through it at an indoor range in Wichita. No failures, good accuracy. Cleaned it up and it's been in that box ever since, never fired it again. Nice little gun, like everyone says, it's heavy compared to most similar sized guns today. Only problem really is finding good quality magazines for them. I still have just the one.

My father in law was a gunsmith before he passed, and made this competition Firestar for my wife.

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I've had my M-43 Firestar 9mm nearly 20 years.
I consider the Firestars to be the single most "shootable" sub-compacts ever made and mine is still a favorite after all these years.
The physical size of a PPK, but an ounce heavier than a Ruger P-95.

A gent in Texas made a set of Bloodwood grips for mine.

Yes I did, brings back good memories I had a 9mm and what a chunky piece of steel it was still kicking my *** for trading it on god nows what. As memory serves it was quite accurate.


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Yep, have a model M40, Starvel finish. Most of the above comments are right on the money. Fun guns to shoot, just because of the weight. I recently broke the tip off my extractor, replaced it with one I'd had from Interarms, and ordered a new one from Jack First. Some parts are still available, and Wolff still makes recoil springs, so I'll keep shooting it.

Have not heard of one till a couple of months ago. Never knew they were popular. I have a 40 and 9mm. They sat in someone’s closet for many years. I tried to shoot the 40 a few weeks ago and it would not feed my hollow point copper plated reloads. They work in all others. Clean and lubed it since it was completely dry. I think it was new in the box. Will try again. Have not tried the 9 yet. Thanks for everyone’s replies!