Star Firestar Information Please

[BSA1]

Please educate me about the Star Firestar M43 9mm. How well do they hold up? Seems like I read that the firing pin is prone to breaking.

 

[Jimmyjones]

I have 3 M43s and a Firestar Plus (the double stack). One of the M43s has quite a few rounds (<500), and never had an issue. The Plus was my EDC/saddlebag gun for years and probably has a 1000+ rounds through it and has been flawless.
They use the same slide, I've swapped them and both guns ran fine. If there's concern about the firing pin, I'd recommend using snap caps for dryfiring.
I shoot the double stack better, once outshot friends with a Ruger 10/22 and a Maddi with it, although I think the operator had more to do with it than the firearm .

They are tanks, all steel and heavy compared to most "modern" firearms.

 

[Thin Man]

I've had my M-43 Firestar 9mm for 20 plus years.
I consider the Firestars to be the single most "shootable" sub-compacts ever made and mine is still a favorite after all these years.
The physical size of a PPK, but an ounce heavier than a Ruger P-95.
As far as the firing pin issue, if you dry-fire use a quality snap-cap and you'll likely never have a problem.
In fact, Jack First makes replacement firing pins for the M-43s in the event of a failure.

A gent in Texas made a set of Bloodwood grips for mine.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Star stopped production of the PD (45 ACP alloy frame), BK (9mm Steel frame), & BKM(9mm alloy frame) to produce the Firestar. I believe the Firestar was the final nail in Star's coffin!

Ivan

 

[diyj98]

When they first stopped importing these, I ordered one in 9mm, 40, and 45 as well as the double stack Firestar. They were dependable, but heavy. Be aware parts can be hard to find if you break something.

 

[LVSteve]

The fault that does afflict the Firestars is that something wears on the hammer (IIRC) so you cannot flick the safety back on. You have to pull the hammer back just a touch to get the safety on.

I bought a M43 in Starvel, the nickel looking finish, as a carry gun. Small, plenty of weight to absorb recoil, what could go wrong? It shoots great at the range, but I cannot get it to point the same way twice drawing from a holster. Look for a weak recoil spring, too. Mine would fling the empties into the next zip code until I put a Wolff extra power replacement in there.With the heavy spring it handled +P defensive loads just great. Still, with the draw issue, mine is a safe queen these days.

 

[SPEEDGUNNER]

They are good guns, quality product. When you are out of ammo you can beat your opponent to death because they are substantial slabs of steel.

 

[LVSteve]

They are good guns, quality product. When you are out of ammo you can beat your opponent to death because they are substantial slabs of steel.

For home use with the same characteristics, consider a Star 30M or a Baby Desert Eagle.

 

[BSA1]

I am surprised that it never has caught on with the 1911 Fanboys. Aside from it’s weight I find the trigger guard on the small size.

I have one with Starvel finish that I brought about 30 years ago. It is my second one. The first one had a poor blue finish so I sold it and got the glamour queen. As the weather is turning cold I started my annual winter cleaning and maintenance of all my guns. It has been many years since I shot it but I keep it clean and lubed so it is ready for use. I have a Milt Sparks Executive Companion IWB holster for conceal carry but being realistic there are a lot better choices today.

Anyway it occurs to me having some spare parts and a extra magazine would be a good idea on a gun this old. Internet search failed to turn up a factory firing pin and ejector. Jack First has reproductions in blue so I may have to buy a blue firing pin so I can have a spare. The other shocker is the price of spare magazines.

Maybe it will make a range trip this winter.

 

[robertrwalsh]

I had a Firestar in .40. It fit my hand beautifully though it was a bit heavy. Unfortunately it had a problem. The slide stop was made in two pieces. The cross-pin was not sturdy enough and would bow which threw the magazine follower interface out of position. This would then slide down between the magazine follower and the inside of the magazine itself jamming the gun up really good. After going thru three of the slide stops I got rid of the gun. I neve heard of this happening with the 9mm. I am guessing the part was underengineered for the stress involved. I never did have any firing pin problems with the gun.

 

[Liftrat]

I, too, have an M40 in Starvel, bought used, and with 500 rounds since then. No problems. Star firearms has a web page with a short history and a manuals page, if you're interested. The scarcity of spare parts, holsters, and magazines should factor into price, if you're buying. I can only say I've been happy with mine.

 

[LVSteve]

FWIW, the S&W CSX has been compared to the Firestar on quite a few occasions.

 

[2152hq]

The fault that does afflict the Firestars is that something wears on the hammer (IIRC) so you cannot flick the safety back on. You have to pull the hammer back just a touch to get the safety on.

.

That's a common problem with the Star design in most all of their semiauto's.
The Safety has a small lug on the back side that engages a cutout in the hammer. Pushing the Safety upwards to the SAFE position is supposed to also cam/lift the hammer back far enough to disengage the sear surfaces of the hammer and sear from eachother.
The lug and cam surfaces wear and the movement of the Safety doesn't lift the hammer quite far enough as it should. So you end up manually pulling the hammer back that last little distance to fully engage the Safety.

The issue is so common on the earlier Star semiauto pistols that I've seen it written up that the manual help in cocking the hammer to engage/re-engage the Safety was stated to be the way the pistols were originally designed to work.

 

[AJ]

Never had a Firestar, but I did have a Star Model 28 and foolishly sold it Thought it was a very good gun. A friend who was a Chief Of Detectives for a local PD carried a Star PD and trusted it in any situation he ran into.

 

[DesertFox]

Always wanted, never grabbed. But I do have Granddaddy Star Megastar Starvel in 10mm!

 

[ACORN]

I wanted a Star PD since I first saw one.
I was at a show recently and there was a nice one for $375.
Then my buddy started asking why would I want an older gun with parts made of unobtainium?
I searched around and found a .45 Shield and never looked back.

 

[Mbrgr1]

Solid guns and...........

great for big handed folks. I sold the Firestar but kept the Megastar! Now you are talking hefty + , love it!

 

[Kanewpadle]

Beware of the safety. I’ve seen several go bad allowing the gun to fire with the safety on.

 

[growr]

The Firestar's greatest asset and detriment are one in the same...it is a heavy gun. Great for soaking up recoil, not so much fun to actually carry for a long day.

I had a 9mm, 40 S&W and a .45 Firestar that were stolen almost two years ago, the .45 got returned but the other two are still in the wind.

My only problem or parts breakage was in the .40 S&W with the Starvel finish....the extractor was very brittle and most did break.

Jack First in South Dakota actually had a bunch of them made in a blued version......the blued .40 never had that problem only the starvel finish.
Don't know if that was a problem in the Starvel finish 9mm or .45acp.

Great guns otherwise!!

Randy

 

[scoobysnacker]

Please educate me about the Star Firestar M43 9mm. How well do they hold up? Seems like I read that the firing pin is prone to breaking.

I think (know) the earlier Star models, such as the B, BM, and B Super have fragile firing pins. Bill Deshivs used to make replacements, not sure if he still is.

I haven't heard of that being an issue with later models, but I could be wrong.