tell me about my dad's Star SA 9mm

dcxplant

dcxplant

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Hi folks, looking to crowd-source from this awesome pool of knowledge here on SW-Forum! This is a pistol my dad recently gave to me.

What I know:
Star SA 9mm in blued steel with black plastic grips imported by Interarms of Alexandria, VA in the 1980's, bought new and in very good condition.

Left slide face:
BECH VERRIA
LIBAR-SPAIN
Exploding star logo

Right slide face:
INTERARMS

On heel of magazine well:
BM

-Can this be carried in Condition 1 like a Series 80 Colt 1911?

-Is this a quality pistol?

Thanks everyone!

Edit:
I found this article, not sure how old it is.
http://hipowersandhandguns.com/Critical Look at Star Model BM.htm
 
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The BM and the BKM (alloy frame) are Star compact 9mm pistols. I had a BKM several years ago (20-25) I remember it being reliable compact and pretty accurate. I don't believe it had a magazine disconnect, but could be mistaken! The BM and BKM shared the same magazines, but they didn't share them with anything else. The only other thing I can share is they were not rated for +P ammo, and while they may handle it, parts and repairs will be costly if even available and should be avoided. Ivan
 
About 15 years ago Interarms had a bunch of the Star BM pistols, retired from service with the Guardia Civil (paramilitary police) of Spain. Very nice little 9X19 pistols on the Browning pattern (sans grip safety), about the size of a Colt Commander overall. At the time these were available for around $129 or so with original box, manual, and spare mag. I ordered three, thinking they would make good back-up pieces, suitable for keeping one in each vehicle, the camper, or some such plan.

My boys absconded with them. Darn good little shooters! I found them to be accurate and reliable with any of the ammo I ran through them.
 
dcxplant said:
Left slide face:
BECH VERRIA
LIBAR-SPAIN
Exploding star logo

-Can this be carried in Condition 1 like a Series 80 Colt 1911?

-Is this a quality pistol?
Click to expand...

Actually it's:
BECHEVERRIA
EIBAR-SPAIN

The company, IIRC, was Bonifacio Echeverria S.A. of Eibar, Spain. The BM and the alloy BKM were good little 9mm handguns. I had a BKM for a number of years before I sold it. It was a nice shooter although it did seem to have a sensitivity to some of the wide mouth hollow points. Today's defensive ammo like Critical Defense should work fine in it. I remember mine did have a magazine disconnect which makes me suspect the BM did also. The way the magazine disconnect worked on these guns affected the trigger pull. It was a flat metal spring that rubbed against the bar of the trigger as it moved backwards putting resistance and adding weight to the trigger pull They were quite easy to take out though and it improved the trigger pull on mine tremendously.

As for Condition 1, I don't see why not.

Just remember, parts are very hard to come by since the company is no longer in business.

CW
 
-Can this be carried in Condition 1....

If the safety works properly,,
it should be able to be engaged all the way with one hand and in doing so the hammer will be pushed back passed the full cock notch and held there. You should be able to see that hammer motion.
If you can't engage the safety without some help by pulling back on the hammer a bit at the same time to get it engaged,,the safety cam surface is worn (in the very least) and I wouldn't trust the gun cocked and loaded carry.
Many STAR pistols exhibit the above two handed safety engagement necessity. Enough that many owners think it's normal operation. Afterall, I seen it say so on the net!
They are instead just worn part(s).

Also check to see if the particular pistol has an inertia firing pin or not. The BM model was brought out in the early/mid '70's and advertised as having one (something new for STAR at the time).
But some of the production seems to have been sent through with the older Model A & B style non-inertia F/Pin style.
This latter type makes it dangerous to place the hammer down on a loaded round as the firing pin is then pressed firmly against the cartridge primer. A bump to the hammer can cause a discharge.

In any of these STAR models, just like the Colt,,the 1/2 cock hammer position is not a carry position. It's there to catch the hammer if dislodged from the full cock position for some reason other than the purposeful pull of the trigger.
 
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