Star 380

[CZU]

This is a model SS from 1989. Obviously the Colt grips do not belong on this, they are for a MarkIV series 80 380. They do fit somewhat and you can tell that there are some differences between the Colt version and the Star. The original grips did come with the pistol, I just haven't gotten around to putting them on. The walnut grips do make the pistol flatter however, I will have to find some factory walnuts to replace the plastic ones. An older version of this would have been preferred, I missed out on the Spanish Air Force models about 30 years ago when they were first released.

 

[target tech]

Neat gun. I take by the barrel bushing that it is 1911 lock work under the slide, and not a fixed barrel. My Dad has a Llama that is a proportionately scaled down 1911 in almost every respect. It seems to have less recoil than my PPK, alot of fun to shoot.

 

[Pisgah]

Neat gun. I take by the barrel bushing that it is 1911 lock work under the slide, and not a fixed barrel.

Not necessarily. Both the LLama and the derivative Rock Island Baby Rock have the barrel bushing and a fixed barrel.

 

[CZU]

Neat gun. I take by the barrel bushing that it is 1911 lock work under the slide, and not a fixed barrel. My Dad has a Llama that is a proportionately scaled down 1911 in almost every respect. It seems to have less recoil than my PPK, alot of fun to shoot.

It is 1911 style under the slide according to the manual. The manual that I looked at pertains to models SI, S, A, B, M, P.

http://pdf.textfiles.com/manuals/FIREARMS/star.pdf

 

[ISCS Yoda]

I can't tell from the picture if that is a "scaled down" gun or not but this is a Star Model S, made much earlier than 1989, and it was designed to compete with the Colt .380 Government Model (I guess that's the Mark IV, which answers the question of whether or not that Star Model SS is scaled down - it has to be!), but that was smaller, still, as I recall.

The original hard rubber grips on this gun cracked - well, on the right side. Due to that crack when I tightened the screw it could reach the "......." (can't recall the name of the part!) and the gun would not fire - actually, it wouldn't do much of anything. Ajax Grips was still extant and an easy drive so I brought the gun to them and they made me these custom rosewood grips. That solved the screw problem - the gun itself is a tack driver! I bet that SS shoots great, too! Nice gun!

 

[LVSteve]

Not necessarily. Both the LLama and the derivative Rock Island Baby Rock have the barrel bushing and a fixed barrel.

All the Star S series guns were locked breech, either swinging link a la 1911 or closed cam like a CZ 75.

 

[2152hq]

The extra 'S' in the Model S designation indicates the gun was mfg'd w/a magazine safety. (Model SS)
The 32acp version of the pistol is the Model SI.
The mag safety version is the Model SIS.

Mag safety came into the production in '57.

 

[TomkinsSP]

My S, SI, BM, BKM, PD are JMB type short recoil locking breech with 1911 style bushing, link, etc. The "Super" A, B are HiPower style.

For fun set a SIG 238 on top of an S. The S is effectivly a 3/4 scale Government Model, while the SIG is a 3/4 scale Officers Model, with a shorter grip and slide. But all of the "working bits" are in the same places.

 

[charles_the_hammer]

Nice pick up, there.

A lot of folks try to poo poo on the Spanish pistols but they made some nice ones - mainly Star and Astra, not so much Llama. If some Colt snob tries to knock it be sure and let him know Colt contracted Star to manufacture pistols for them and just stamped them "Colt" when they made it to the States. The model was called the Colt "Pony" .380

 

[TomkinsSP]

Nice pick up, there.

A lot of folks try to poo poo on the Spanish pistols but they made some nice ones - mainly Star and Astra, not so much Llama. If some Colt snob tries to knock it be sure and let him know Colt contracted Star to manufacture pistols for them and just stamped them "Colt" when they made it to the States. The model was called the Colt "Pony" .380

And the "Colt jr." made by Astra.

 

[2152hq]

The Colt / STAR manufacturing agreement to sell the STAR Model D in the USA as the Colt 'Pony' never really got off the ground.
A very few pistols, some say around 25, examples were made up and marked as 'Colt' . The project fell apart for some reason after that and no more were made or sold.
The idea was to sell the popular STAR Model DK 380 in the USA as it was no longer importable due to the GCA68 point system.

Colt & STAR decided that all the parts (forgetting the frame for a moment) would be made in Spain as they still continued to be mfg'd at the time.
Then those parts imported to Colt. The slides were unmarked and Colt would roll mark them with their markings, numbers ect.

Regarding the pistols Frame:
One story is that the frames were made in the US at Colt or a contractor for Colt.
Another is that the frames were also made in Spain by STAR and were of special dimension to add importation points.
The dimensional difference was the addition of a lanyard loop on the bottom of the grip to add to the height of the pistol,,one of the things that the ATF scored for points.
The other thing was the small adjustable rear sight on the slide.
...So the question..Why make the changes to make the gun importable if you are not 'importing the gun' and just the small parts instead.

This latter story/position makes sense. But the one about the frames being made by Colt in the USA is more often cited.
Take your pick...

The ser#'s were prefixed by the letters 'CPA' for Colt Pony Automatic.
The GCA68 demands a prefix to the guns ser# to denote a model separation. Colt chose that letter sequence.

After those few factory test & show guns were made, no more of the Colt/STAR partnership Ponys were made it seems.

Next Iver Johnson bought the rights to the particular gun in the USA. They went ahead and manufacture slides and it appears they bought up NOS Colt frames as some of the IJ products have those 'CPA' ser# prefix.
The small parts are STAR mfg and they sold the pistol as a 'Starfire' which was the US name of the pistol when imported and sold here by Garcia. They must have eventually mfg or had frames made to supply their production.
Either the IJ or the next maker changed the frame a bit by lengthening the grip tang.


Next Firearms International got into the ring. They started selling the same pistol as the 'Model D'. I believe they bought the rights from IJ,,but it's confusing at this point. Maybe they were just making the pistol as an outright copy.

I'm not sure if they were making the pistol themselves or still relying on STAR for small parts,,or what was going on.
These are steel frame pistols



The original STAR Model DK 380 pistols (and Model DKI 32acp) are great little alloy frame pistols w/ swing link locked breech actions. Very small and light weight. Pretty snappy in hand when fired though!
I've had two of them and both functioned perfectly with FMJ. Not so well with any HP type ammo I tried.
IIRC, a Model S magazine will fit and give you added capacity with the mag hanging down below the frame. Good for the spare mag I guess.