Star Firestar M40

915 · Dec 23, 2019

It’s interesting, I was actually on the hunt for a 3913, 4013, CS9, CS40, or CS45 but the auction prices just kept creeping above what I was willing to pay for a carry gun that is no longer being produced. I wanted a compact, single stack all metal auto in a service pistol caliber for fairly frequent carry. Particular fondness for 90s examples. Then, I stumbled across this Firestar M40.

Came with original box, paperwork, cleaning kit and two mags, one with the finger extension. Condition of the finish is good, no corrosion, nicks, or scuffs although it does have some discoloration. I believe I can restore it. Barrel and internals are in excellent shape.

If you’ve seen my other handguns, you may remember that I can’t leave well enough alone. Some upgrades are planned also. Stay tuned for the “after” pics!

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diyj98 · Dec 23, 2019

Right after Interarms dropped the importation, I ordered a Firestar in 9mm, 40S&W, and 45 acp, as well as the double stack Firestar Plus. Nice little guns, just very heavy for their size.

Driswalds · Dec 23, 2019

You will be happy with your new Firestar.
I have a M40 and have had very good luck with it.
Very accurate and never a fail to fire or extract.
As you know its only drawback is its weight but that helps soak up the recoil.

Mine has more of the discoloration on the back strap and on the side against my body.
Mine is more of a uniform light brown color. I attribute it to my body sweat.

If you find a good fix for the discoloration let me know.

austintexas · Dec 23, 2019

I bought one years ago before S&W made a 40. Great gun, shot it until I came across a 4004 at a gun show. I paid $250 and a couple of years later sold it at a Gun Shop for $250. Wish I had kept it, but back then it was sell one to get a different one.
SWCA 892

Fishinfool · Dec 23, 2019

I used to own one in .45acp with the "Starvell" finish. A type of hard chrome, I believe. Mine was a great shooter, and well made. I only traded it because it was heavy for its size, and I had bought it more for carry than as a range gun.

Larry

mckenney99 · Dec 23, 2019

I bought my M40 when they first came out and mine had the blued finish. Since it was to be used as my duty backup gun and off duty gun, I shot it quite a bit before qualifying with it. Always used standard 180gr FMJ Winchester white box ammo for practice. I did have a problem with the head of the recoil spring guide rod mushrooming and making it extremely difficult to disassemble the gun. Several times I had to drive the slide off the frame with a small dead blow mallet and then chuck the guide rod in a drill press to dress the head back down to a usable size. I believe the early guns had 9mm recoil springs and they might not have been strong enough. The ledge on the slide stop that engages the slide at slide lock also had a tendency to round over. Upon writing to Interarms they sent me extra recoil springs and a Starvell finished slide stop as a replacement. The blued finish did not hold up well to being carried daily in an ankle holster and eventually I sent the pistol off to have it completely hard chromed. The hard chroming definitely cured the rusting problems and seemed to help the peening issue with the head of the guide rod and the slide stop. Gun always shot very well and was very reliable and I kept it in service until Glock came out with the M27. Still have the M40 and it is still fun to shoot every now and then. Even picked up a like new Milt Sparks Executive's Companion holster a couple years ago off a bargain table.

915 · Dec 23, 2019

Thanks for the input guys! Love reading about these forgotten little guns, just don’t see much about them anymore.

Driswalds said:
Mine has more of the discoloration on the back strap and on the side against my body.
Mine is more of a uniform light brown color. I attribute it to my body sweat.

If you find a good fix for the discoloration let me know.

I’ve used this process on a lot of different (non-blued) firearms and it seems to work pretty well. I start with Mother’s mag & aluminum polish to get the heavy stuff. It’s messy and pretty aggressive so you’ve got to be careful, but it gets rid of the tough bits. Wipe off, then use Renaissance Wax all over to even things up. Wipe off, then I give everything a heavy coating of oil since the wax strips the metal. Let it sit for a bit, then wipe everything down thoroughly.

It’s worked well on quite a few guns, even some that were pretty close to hopeless.

Here’s the backstrap which has still got the oil coat on it. It was pretty heavily discolored before.

Full after pics tomorrow most likely, it’s coming together well. Barrel and innards are perfect.

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bummer · Dec 23, 2019

I owned one a long time ago. Very accurate but heavy

growr · Dec 23, 2019

I too own all three calibers...the first was my M40 like yours and then added M43 and M45.

My only problem was breaking the extractor. This was a problem on the M40 in Starvel finish only.

The Starvel finish seemed to be a little to brittle. The blued version M40 was never a problem.

Jack First in South Dakota had a machine shop make a substantial run of blued ones of which I bought two. After firing many thousands of rounds, it is still solid.

Great guns, their greatest asset was also their biggest liability...the were heavy, but they soaked up recoil and made them very easy to shoot and control.

Enjoy this treasure of a gun!!!

Randy

bub075 · Dec 24, 2019

Back in the day, I bought an M45 in Starvel. I planned to carry it off duty at my PD job, so I shot it a lot, verifying reliability since it was a "cheap, Spanish gun". It always shot very well and was accurate. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to carry SAO guns for any reason, even off duty. I was a rookie and didn't check before buying it, so bad on me. After finding that out, it sat in the safe for several years, till I traded it for something that I don't even remember. I was impressed with it, though, and sometimes wish I still had it. Although heavy, it really soaked up the recoil from a small .45 and shot well. Good luck with yours. I think you'll enjoy it.

915 · Dec 24, 2019

I’m definitely liking this little guy so far! Ran four mags through it today just to function check, no formal targets. I’ll try to get a proper range report this weekend. No malfunctions today, mild recoil for a tiny forty, and seems like a natural pointer. Date stamp indicates mine is a 1993 manufacture.

On to the post-rehab pics!

As is always the case, I’m seeing a few spots that I missed, but I’ll fluff those out later. Turned out really well for a 26 year old nickel finish.

Now, for comparison: you guys already seem pretty familiar with the size of this little guy, but for those that aren’t, here is a size comparison with a Sig p238. These Firestars look large in solo photos for some reason (to me) but that is far from the truth. Being able to shoot 9mm, .40, or .45 out of something not much larger than a pocket pistol was pretty ahead of it’s time for the early 90’s.

Range report soon!

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growr · Dec 24, 2019

Stunning M40!!!

Where did you find those grips?

Randy

LVSteve · Dec 24, 2019

I have one of those in 9mm. How is the safety engagement? Sometimes they require a touch of thumb-back on the hammer to work.

Driswalds · Dec 24, 2019

The wood grips really make it pop.
Did you make them?

915 · Dec 24, 2019

growr said:
Stunning M40!!!

Where did you find those grips?

Randy

Driswalds said:
The wood grips really make it pop.
Did you make them?

Thanks guys! I’m not quite that talented! I got mine on eBay, but they came from this company:

Altamont Company - Pistol Grips, Rifle Stocks, Knife Handles

Right now, they don’t seem to have the Firestar listed on their available firearms section but they made these so they must have the template available, I’m sure they could make them on request. I just bought them a week ago.

LVSteve said:
I have one of those in 9mm. How is the safety engagement? Sometimes they require a touch of thumb-back on the hammer to work.

Mine is pretty positive, snaps on and off with the hammer up or down. It’s a little easier to move than your average 1911 but I don’t feel like it’ll accidentally come off in the holster.

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Qc Pistolero · Dec 24, 2019

Darn nice little thing.I know it is fashionable nowadays for guns to be light but I like mine on the heavy side.
If you ever get tired of lugging all that weight around,just let me know!
Seriously,congrats and nice job!

Thin Man · Dec 24, 2019

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.

diyj98 · Dec 24, 2019

Fishinfool said:
I used to own one in .45acp with the "Starvell" finish. A type of hard chrome, I believe.

I believe starvell was an electroless nickle.

diyj98 · Dec 24, 2019

austintexas said:
I bought one years ago before S&W made a 40. Great gun, shot it until I came across a 4004 at a gun show. I paid $250 and a couple of years later sold it at a Gun Shop for $250. Wish I had kept it, but back then it was sell one to get a different one.
SWCA 892

I believe S&W came out with the 4006 several years before the Firestar was introduced in any caliber.

ACORN · Dec 28, 2019

A bit of a co-inky-dink, I stop by a local pawn shop this AM and they had a blue M45 with Starvel controls in .45acp for $275.

Star Firestar M40

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