Recently I bought some ammo from a guy that is selling off quite a few guns also. One was a EAA Witness in 10mm. After doing a little research it sounds like there are lots of problems with this gun, cracked slides and poor customer service. I'm not interested in this one anymore.

He also has a Star Firestar model 43 9mm for $250. From what I've read people really like this gun, and the price seems ok. I was curious what some of the folks on here opinions were of this gun.



TIA.

The Firestar's are great from all the experience that I have had with them. Sold several back in the gun business days and the only complaint was they were fairly heavy for such a small gun.

Kind of what "29" said.

I bought one when they first came out. Was one of the first really compact 9mm's.

It's well made and has been reliable & accurate. Only down side is that compared to contemporary compact 9mm guns, it's a boat anchor.

They were a hot item for a while. One of the gun rags pronounced it "gun of the year". The firestar is a bit heavy by today's standards, and single action only. The following year the S&W 3914 was "gun of the year". As with all auto's, magazine availability and cost is the issue.

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SOS USA

I had one, and it was a good little pistol. As others have said, it's a little heavy for its size, but for $250.00, I wouldn't let that get in the way.

I qualified with a Firestar 40 for off duty and we had a guy that carried a Firestar 45 on duty. They were heavy, but I liked. They are single action only, and I liked that too, a lot more than DA or DA/SA.

The only thing I didn't like about them is that whoever imported Star firearms quit importing them and there was no supply of spare parts if anything broke. You might want to check to see if anyone else is importing them now.

As others have said the weight is an issue, another is parts availability. Firestars are known for firing pin breakage. I made pins for mine out of cold rolled steel, it will peen a little but I have not had one break like the brittle factory pins. Sarco in NJ bought all of the remaining parts when Firestar shut down several years ago. They have not had any firing pins for quite some time. Fun guns to play with but I don't carry one for self defense.

I had one in 9mm as well as the .40. Both were heavy and accurate. The only gripe I had was the ambi safety would get loose. I tightened up the tongue and groove area of the 2 halves and it would immediatley get loose again. The used soft metal for that part in my two.
I still liked them though.

Star isn't just not imported. They are out of business, as is Astra.

Thanks all!

I went over to take a look at it and went ahead and brought it home tonight.



Must of been in a gun buyin' mood today, a co-worker sold me his 12ga Stevens pump for $40, it's kinda rough but lt'll make a good enough loaner for someone to take hunting.

Wow, that's neat and the Stevens, too. You'll not regret those purchases for those prices. Use them in good health!

I remember how nifty I thought the Firestars were when they first came out. I was managing a gun store at that time, and just couldn't believe that there was a working and available 9x19 that was the size of a PPK. Takes me back.

I had one in .40 I bought in 1993, it was a bit heavy but a great gun. That year it was voted the 1993 Handgun of the Year award.

Great little gun find there. I wish I had mine back, really good range gun very solid. I still have my Star PD and it still makes my carry rotation.

My brother-in-law kept one of these in a drawer next to his bed for years. I shot it a few times. It fired and function well, no problems, but I also found it heavy by todays standards. I think you'll like it RYNO good luck.

Great handgun in ALL regards including weight. The weight is what makes them so incredibly manageable. I have 4 of them and thoroughly enjoy them.

I am not aware of firing pins breaking...the only thing I know of is the Starvel finish .40 S&W's had a problem with extractors breaking. The blued ones were fine as were the Starvel finish 9mm /.45 ACP....just the .40 and only the the Starvel finish. Go figure....I was told that the Starvel were too brittle but the blued steel were fine....seems to be the case from what I have seen.

I ordered mine through Jack First in South Dakota as they had a run of blued steel extractors made several years ago.

Magazines are easily found even here in Montana as are holsters for them.

You are really going to like this fabulous gun!

Randy

If Star made it, it is probably a quality firearm, in my opinion. Star and Astra are competitive.

Removal of the magazine safety is not difficult if you decide you don't want it.

Buck

I have had a Firestar 45acp for at least 15 years. It was my carry gun for a long time & has seen quite a few rounds down the range to boot. Only had a few stovepipe jams, probably from a loose grip - nothing mechanical. Growr is correct in his observation that their weigh makes them manageable. I can confirm that even for a short barrel & frame 45acp, it is quite an easy pistol to shoot. It took a little getting used to the trigger though, as it is hinged and not a straight pull like a 1911 design. Accuracy was as good as I could stand, probably better than I can shoot anyway. Mine is blue finish & it has held up quite well for a daily carry piece. I finally retired it from carry when my wife presented me with a Sig P239 in 357Sig. A couple of years ago I replaced the Sig with a Kimber Pro Carry II 45acp.

I would have grabbed that up too. I have 2 Stars, a PD in .45 and a 1911 copy in 9mm. They are 2 very good shooters. Enjoy your catch!

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He who angers you,controls you

Nothing at all wrong with the little Firestars. I like the compact size with the relitively heavy weight. Makes for a nice compact gun with low recoil. And they feel good in the hand.



Nothing really wrong with the 10mm Witness either except that if you are going to use heavier 10mm loads they need a heavy recoil spring.

Nobody is importing the Star firearms into the USA anymore.

Finding even a spare magazine can be difficult to impossible.

I have owned the same pistol, blued, since they first came out.

The SA only trigger is very heavy and gritty. Sights are very small. Because of the small, and shallow sights, and heavy trigger pull, they are really only useful at fairly close range.

Mine does CCW duty in the summer. It's heavy, but very slim. They hold 7+1 rounds of 9mm

They are reasonably reliable, with good ammunition. I had to polish the feed ramp to get mine to be reliable with HP ammunition.

The magazines do not drop free when released, which is something I REALLY don't care for.

They were shipped with only one magazine, meaning there are less 'spares' in circulation than S&W's that shipped with 2 magazines.

I'd look for some spare magazines, before buying it, if I was you.

They aren't very refined or desirable guns, so you might be able to get him down in price some.... the more the better.

Well , I like 'em so much , I own two. Mine have proven accurate and reliable. Yeah , they're a bit heavy , but they are all steel and it soaks up the recoil well.



Mags , original and good aftermarket , are out there , as are nite sites. Holsters can still be found on Ebay.

The trigger can be smoothed out nicely by a good gunsmith.

goldenlight...I find magazines for Firestars with no problem even in remote Montana, holsters are also readily found as well. The magazine not dropping free is no big deal as most European guns are designed this way.

Randy

Nice pistol. I liked the FireStar. Had one in 9mm for a time. Came to me as part of a trade.
Wasn't exactly my type of pistol but it kinda grew on me. I'd probably still have it or one like it if i could horse the slide back.

STAR is out of business now as pointed out.
Parts are where you find them. Mags don't seem to be too much of a problem. I see them at gunshows still in the individual sale factory packages.
If you need parts for any STAR pistol, a fellow over on the Spanish Pistol Forum can be of great help.
The Spanish Pistol Board
He post under the name of 'Star', (his first name is Jorge, IIRC). He's easily found over there on that board.

He's in Spain and has a great accumulation of parts, accessorys & knowledge re: STAR pistol. Prices are reasonable and shipping is fast.

I see that Sarco has a good stock of spare parts, all new on their site Sarco, Inc. - Star Firestar M45

I've had a Firestar 9mm for quite some time and take it to the range and out plinking occasionally. Never let me down. I agree, it is heavy but that helps with recoil.
I would like to put a laser sight on it but, as of yet, have been unable to find anything that will fit. Any suggestions? Wondering if the Lasermax Sigarms guide rod laser sight would work? I'm not sure the guide rod and the take down lever is close enough to the Sigarms to work.
Anyone know about this?

Yep, I'm a fan of the Firestar, too. All steel and run like a clock.