PMC Starfire?

[Valmet]

I never hear anyone talk/about discuss PMC Starfire ammo. Unsure if it’s because it’s an older design? An outdated one, usurped by newer designs? I have a handful of 125-gr+P .38 Spl Starfire that I occasionally carry in an Airweight. Anyone else use this ammo?

 

[ContinentalOp]

More than likely it is probably because it's an older design. I want to say it came out as competition for the Federal Hydrashock back in the 90s. If I'm not mistaken, I believe it was designed by the same guy who designed the Hydrashock.

Plus, as far as I know, it's never been adopted by a LE agency and that's typically how self defense rounds get their reputations for effectiveness, good or bad. I'm not aware of any actual shootings involving Starfire, though there may be some out there.

It's been a long time since I've seen gel tests with PMC Starfire, but I recall them doing reasonably well. I'm tempted to say they had good expansion but maybe not quite as deeply penetrating as modern rounds. I could be wrong, though.

If it's what you have on hand, they function reliably, and you can shoot it well, it'll probably work fine if needed. Personally, if I were going to buy more self defense rounds for my .38 Special, I'd stick with either Speer 135gr SB-GDHP +P or some version of the FBI load (Buffalo Bore standard pressure being my favorite). I'm not saying those are the only options, but that's what I would choose. I'm not even sure if PMC still makes Starfire ammo. I only use their 132gr FMJ for range practice.

 

[Valmet]

Thanks for the info ContinentalOp- makes a lot of sense. I shoot it pretty well and am comfortable carrying it (I usually only carry an Airweight in the warmer months), just never hear much about it.

 

[Big Cholla]

Not to worry. As a LE armorer, I worked with that bullet quite a bit and found that it is every bit as good as Hydro-shock. PMC manufactured that bullet and ammo just over the hill from my house in a factory on the outskirts of Boulder City, NV. They were very generous in giving large samples of their ammo to the nearby LE agencies. I was in on testing 357 Mag and 45 acp with water jugs and gelatin blocks. In our comparisons with Hydro-shock, my conclusion was that the bullet performed as well as Hydro-shock, but was loaded to a slightly less pressure. I especially liked it in their 41 Mag load.

 

[Nevada Ed]

All my PMC is all long gone........
but I am still loading the cases.

Loved the little 110gr JHP in the .357 Magnum offering. Very accurate.

 

[fiasconva]

I bought some 124 gr years ago when it was about the only thing available. It shot well in my 5906 and was accurate but really smoked up lane I was using. As soon as I could find something else I went with that.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I shot lots of it 9mm/40/45 when it was commonly available