Star BM 9mm review

JaxMike01 said:
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Got mine and an extra mag. Classic Firearms $199.00+$20.00 to hand pick. Free shipping and $25.00 transfer at FFL. $265.00 OTD.
Shoots nice too, almost as nice as my Remington R1. Well worth it for an all steel 9mm in JB styling.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Looks nice, how'd you get free shipping?
 
les.b said:
BB57....would you mind telling us where you obtained those handsome walnut grips??

Best Regards, Les
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I have three sets. The top two came from a seller off E-bay: jac_hmr

He has grips for other star pistols but has no more grips for the Star BM. I bought two sets from him. They were unfinished but looked great after 3 coats of Tru-oil applied with an old tooth brush on the checkered side of the grips. For full disclosure purposes each set had one panel with some figure in it, but since one was a right panel and the other was a left panel, I swapped them to have a figured set and a plain set - and I carry the plain set.

The grips on the pistol are on the bottom. I ordered them from Triple K. They were expensive and they took about 3 months to arrive - so long I forgot I ordered them. Worse, the holes for the grip screws are too deep so have to either make small washers for them or shorten the screws so that they won't bind on the magazine.

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Thanks BB57!!

I appreciate your taking the time to get back with me on this.

I was afraid that with all the Stars imported recently, that there would be a shortage of aftermarket grips available. But seriously, I can do with the factory ones until I can find a set of nice checkered wood. Your guns look pretty nice. I think that these represent a darn good value. And as I've found out in the past, you need to buy while they are plentiful. I ordered two more magazines while I was at it, for a total of five. That's another thing that usually dries up early, the mags.

Best Regards, Les
 
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AIM did have the standard grade STAR BM on sale for a short time last Saturday for $200 w/free shipping.
Just for a short time and then the free shipping deal came down.
Still a pretty good deal for these pistols.
Sometimes they have 'shooter grade' Model BM pistols in stock for $170 + shipping.
Very worn finish but if you're just going to further wear out the finish stashing it under the seat in the truck or in the tackle box,,who cares.

Grab extra magazines when you can. They get very expensive when the most recent flood of them drys up every time they come washing onto the shore.
 
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les.b said:
Thanks BB57!!

I appreciate your taking the time to get back with me on this.

I was afraid that with all the Stars imported recently, that there would be a shortage of aftermarket grips available. But seriously, I can do with the factory ones until I can find a set of nice checkered wood. Your guns look pretty nice. I think that these represent a darn good value. And as I've found out in the past, you need to buy while they are plentiful. I ordered two more magazines while I was at it, for a total of five. That's another thing that usually dries up early, the mags.

Best Regards, Les
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That's been my experience since the early 1980s. At that time you could get a really nice very good to excellent condition 1903 Springfield or .30 M1 Carbine for about $125. If you didn't want to wait for one from DCM you could get a Garand in excellent condition for about $400. That same Garand would sell north of $2000 today and a decent 1903 or M1 Carbine will sell for around $800.

The SKS was the same way as you could buy one stored in the crate from the factory for $79, the same price as a case of surplus ammo for it. Now you're looking at $400-$500 for one in minty condition.

One of the best deals I made was a Mitchell Arms AKM for $275. I didn't need or really want it, but I knew ATF was in the process of banning importation of more of them so I didn't want to pass it up. A couple years later I sold it for $1500.

When FALs were being imported you could get or build a very nice FAL or L1A1 for $400. Now, 10-12 years later, you better have about $1200.

The Star BM probably won't appreciate as much, but you won't lose money on them, and they are very well made pistols that shoot extremely well and are worth the price just on that alone.
 
My "fair" condition BM is out for delivery today per Fedex, I'm getting a little eager to see it. I've checked the reviews, there are a couple listed with pictures now... the ones so far look nice. Granted it's a small sample, but the 2 guns with photos show condition to be in the good range for a surplus; bluing looks even and the guns described as just needing cleaning. The bluing looks nice on both, one looks a bit worn but worn evenly; the other looks to have some external rust. Got my fingers crossed.

The nice thing about my FFL is that it's also the range I belong to, and thus any potential delay doesn't bother me. They allow me to handle, clean and shoot the gun on the range right away, and if I get delayed I just leave it with them until it's released. So I'll be going up with some Ballistol and patches, and will give a range report regardless :D
 
Scoobysnacker, my two more extra magazines came today, they needed minimal cleaning, and now I have five total. Haven't function tested them yet, but disassembled and cleaned, wiped down with a greasy rag, and I have no reason to believe they won't function as well as the first three.

I'll be looking forward to your range report.

One thing I noticed with my gun is that it looked really bad when I took it out of the box, but as you noted, most of that was just "gunk" and after through cleaning, most of what looked bad just disappeared. My gun has obviously been shot some, but probably just about the ammount that we usually require to "break in" a new auto. Everything now mates up nicely, and the slide moves smoothly. I think that even at $200 they are a great deal, and the "fair" condition ones are an even greater bargain.

Best Regards, Les
 
Ok, can't really complain for $150. Shoots nice and tight... the sights will need to be drifted, I was off to the right, but very tight groups. Elevation is fine

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Gun is almost in the white, but there's no rust present at all. I was already looking at refinishing a couple other guns, spoke to the guy involved, and we settled on doing 3 for right at $400 in cerakote. This will be full guns, he's going to disassemble, bead blast, acetone prep etc.
Got a beater P226, and a rough CZ 75, to go with this one.
 
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Scoobysnacker:

I'm sure not the first one to have this thought....but don't you wish these guns could talk?? Can't get that much honest wear without having some adventures!!

Of course I think the same thing about almost every used gun I get. But these are in a different category!!

Glad yours is a shooter. For $150 how could you go wrong!?!?

Best Regards, Les
 
les.b said:
For $150 how could you go wrong!?!?

Best Regards, Les
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Ahh.... the magic words.


So my FFL is a range, the gun is in a delay. I get to handle and use it, just can't accept it and take it home until it gets proceeded.

Good thing my FFL is also a friend and a smith, and looks out for his customers.

He called me and said he went over the gun again, and found a hairline crack we both missed the first time. On the slide, back by the safety, lost under some caked up grunge. Not a scratch, definitely a crack... it runs through to the edge of the slide rail internally.

After knowing, you can "kinda" make out the crack, it's a slightly visible horizontal line at the very rear of the slide, at the safety notch.

We've already contacted Classic for the RMA, should get an exchange
 
Wow!! Glad your friend was able to spot the flaw before you accepted the gun and maybe didn’t notice the crack!! Inconvenient, but maybe you will end up with a better one. Good luck.

Best Regards, Les
 
Yeah, I have the feeling this will work out for the best.

Did a little research, and on gunboards Spanish pistol forum, the specific crack seems "a thing". Might be due to the very narrow area right around where the safety engages. The crack is at the narrowest spot.

Kinda curious about the exchange... since Classic is sold out of the Fair conditions, will they send me a regular "Good" one? That's my guess. Can't fuss if they don't; it wasn't what I ordered. But if I do, then I come out ahead.
I do get the feeling they will send me something pretty decent, since it's coming on RMA.

I guess like the old TV shows- tune in same time next week!
 
I've read through this thread twice and did not see anything about holsters for the model BM. What works?
Thanks
 
The grips that came on my BM were a little rough. What bothered me the most was that there was one that was kinda warped at the top near the slide that didn't sit flush with the frame. So, I decided to try and find a new set of Star factory grips.

There were lots of aftermarket ones available, but I was able to find an original pair on eBay so I ordered them. Well, when they arrived it appeared that the seller used a little bit of deceptive photography - these grips were an ugly brown color and not black like I thought they were. Apparently they are BKM grips or some other similar model. They do fit, though.

I wasn't about to put those ugly brown grips on the pistol, so I sprayed them with 3 coats of Dupli-Color gloss black ceramic engine enamel I got at Advanced Auto Parts, then hit them with a blow dryer for about 15 minutes after they were dry to the touch. Look great. Poor man's Cerakote to the rescue again.

Also of note is these guns take Birchwood Casey Super Blue cold blue well. Fills in wear really nice. At least it did on mine.
 
les.b said:
Wow!! Glad your friend was able to spot the flaw before you accepted the gun and maybe didn’t notice the crack!! Inconvenient, but maybe you will end up with a better one. Good luck.

Best Regards, Les
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Replacement made it today; bad cellphone photo
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"Fair" condition, indeed... looks like the gun was carried and had a pretty decent amount of wear, with some rust and pitting, once upon a time.
And then it was turned in, and was factory refurbished... the slide and frame seem to have been polished so that the pitted areas are just faint texture. Then it looks to have been reblued. There is 99% plus blue remaining now, even the slide rails etc are solid and untouched (until I shot it). Good coating of almost-cosmoline, which I cleaned off. Barrel might have been replaced, as it's 100% and even the link and pin felt 'factory new stiff", prior to cleaning and oiling. There's a couple areas that appear heat-treated, and there's evidence of a stress-relief drilling at the slide stop notch.

Shooting, put a box of Sellier and Bellot 115 gr FMJ through it. Shot like a brand new gun. Ragged hole on target at 7 yds, right where I aimed. Both mags fed flawlessly. Came with cardboard box in good shape, no manual but does have a rod. I'd call it a good deal for twice the price, and a steal for $150!
 
Well, I’m glad to hear that everything worked out good!! Sounds like a great deal all around. Too bad that you had to wait and put up with the inconvenience, but all worked out in the end. Thanks for the update.

Get some extra mags while they are available.

Best Regards, Les
 
Back in the early '90's got two with consecutive serial numbers from a shop in CT. The really neat ones are the model "M" .380's that the Spanish Air Force used for a while.
 
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