Star BM question

[sniper]

Hopefully, someone here will be knowledgeable enough to help. Years ago, I almost bought a Sig model 250 for concealed carry, but the grip was just a little short, and the lip on the magazine dug into my finger, causing serious discomfort.

I like the looks and size of the Star BM, and It's steel! I noticed it also has the same kind of lip on its magazine. My hands are rather large, and I haven't been able to find a Star BM locally to check. Does anyone have knowledge about the size of the BM grip? I watched a bunch of YouTube "experts" unboxing and shooting the BM, and nobody complained, but for the price of the extra magazine and other oddments one fellow added to his, I could buy a brand new S&W M&P 2.0 Compact, which fits my hand like an old friend, and get change!

I am in no hurry, so maybe my best solution will be to attend the next gun show and see if I can find a BM to handle.

What say, experts?

 

[Redcoat3340]

I'm no expert...but had a BM and still have an M&P 2.0 (in 5" model).

I liked the BM, it's got interesting history and looks great. But it doesn't come close to measuring up a 2.0 in terms of trigger or pure shootability. Plus spare parts are going to get harder and harder to find. The M&P will be around for a long time and spares, and upgrades, like night sights or FOs, are easy to get.

If you are buying it for concealed carry....why go with an old design or old gun when the M&P is so much better from every perspective.

Full Disclosure: I have only one striker-fired gun for self defense, a Ruger SC9c...and have a bunch of Smith 3rd gens (CS9, 6906, 3914, 4513, and CS45) plus a Sig P6, P245 and a Beretta PX4c to choose from for carry.

Will be interesting to hear what the real experts have to say.

 

[stansdds]

These were good compact 45 ACP pistols back in the day. A quick search and I found that a little over 200,000 were produced from 1972 to 1992. Good luck finding one and good luck finding parts. Personally, I would look for something newer and with a more abundant supply of parts.

 

[JayFramer]

Has ideal stopping power for home defense, I'd use it. Parts and service are abundant and will be for decades. These are TOUGH pistols and every bit as well made as any Colt.

 

[Diego]

These were good compact 45 ACP pistols back in the day. A quick search and I found that a little over 200,000 were produced from 1972 to 1992. Good luck finding one and good luck finding parts. Personally, I would look for something newer and with a more abundant supply of parts.

The BM is a 9mm pistol. The compact .45 by Star is the model PD. I friend of mine who was in Spain's navy police was issued a model BM and he liked it a lot. He found it much easier to carry during plainclothes counterterrorism vigilance around the navy base than the (also available) high-capacity Star 30-M. As I remember, Navy police procedures mandated that both guns had to be carried in condition 3 (hammer down on and empty chamber), thus the advantage of the double action of the model 30-M was lost, and many of the NP officers appreciated the compactness of the BM. Some members of the Guardia Civil, now equipped with the Beretta 92 FS also miss the BM for the same reason. Two officers I know still carry their privately owned BM off-duty, but they are considering replacing them with lighter subcompact Glocks. Spare parts are still relatively easy to obtain in Spain, but that will be more problematic with time, and I guess it will be worse in the US. If I lived in a country were I had not a limit on the guns I could own, I would reserve the BM as a nice plinking gun

 

[BB57]

The Star BM was a 9mm pistol, not .45 ACP. It was (and remains) a well made and reliable pistol that is enjoyable to shoot.

They disappeared for awhile but have shown up again in significant numbers on the surplus market. Parts may be an issue, but then again unless you abuse it, you are not likely to break anything either.

Still, I'm a "two is one, one is none" kind of guy so I addressed the potential future parts issue through the simple expedient of just buying more than one. All three shoot great and are reliable with my preferred hollow point load. All three also have decent trigger pulls although they do have a bit or perceptible creep that you don't find in a well done 1911 trigger.

Size wise the Star BM compares very closely to an officer framed 1911, with very slightly slimmer proportions in the slide and slightly less weight than a steel frame officer model 1911.

The slight weight reduction and slightly slimmer profile makes it a very attractive alternative to an officer model 1911 in 9mm, and at about $200 per copy, it's a great deal. The grip fit and feel is essentially identical to the officer model 1911.

The magazine is slightly longer than the officer model magazine, but also holds 8 rounds of 9mm Luger.

 

[flagman1776]

I have a Star BMK which came to me used from a friend's estate. It had a burr in the mag catch that gouged the mag body... easily fixed with a stone. I rather think it hadn't been shot much, if at all, as my friend hadn't already fixed this. The plastic grips it came with are functional but ugly. When I replaced the grip panels with nicely checkered wood, I found I had to relieve around the thumb safety to assure easy operation. The BM / BMK is a solid rugged proven SA 9mm pistol. I wouldn't hesitate to carry it if you are ok with cocked & locked. I used a generic belt slide holster which I wet molded to fit better.

 

[BB57]

I agree the factory grips are not very pretty. The grips on mine were also almost on the slick side, despite the molded checkering since the checkering is fairly flat topped.

Wood grips make them both more attractive and more practical.

The impression I had with all three of mine Spanish police surplus pistols is that they were carried some but shot almost never as the internals show almost no wear.

 

[dr. mordo]

The BM is a nice gun with a much better trigger than any striker fired gun I have held. I have one and would carry it without hesitation.

One caveat - the OEM mags with steel followers would not reliably feed JHP bullets. The recent manufacture mags with plastic followers function perfectly with any ammo I fed them. New springs might fix the OEM mags, but I haven't tried.

 

[stansdds]

My apologies, I was thinking of the Star PD in 45 ACP when I made my comments. My bad.

 

[BB57]

The BM is a nice gun with a much better trigger than any striker fired gun I have held. I have one and would carry it without hesitation.

One caveat - the OEM mags with steel followers would not reliably feed JHP bullets. The recent manufacture mags with plastic followers function perfectly with any ammo I fed them. New springs might fix the OEM mags, but I haven't tried.

I have eight of the stock factory metal follower magazines and they all reliably feed 124 gr XTPs.