So I traded into a Star model BM the other day. It was an INTERARMS import, with a serial number that indicates it was made about the middle of that model's production run, probably late 1970s.
It was used, of course, and some prior owner had taken out the magazine disconnect safety, which is fine with me.
The gun has a nice 1911 style thumb safety with a very positive detent to hold it in the position you place it until you put decent pressure on it to switch it to the other position.
And unlike the 1911, the Star BM's safety can also be used as an alternative slide lock, which holds the slide back at the exact perfect position to remove the slide stop lever, which of course has that cross-pin that serves as the take-down part for disassembly as well.
The trigger pull was light at a measured 3.6 lbs, and that might be in part due to the grip safety being removed.
On the other hand, 30 years ago I owned the aluminum-frame version of this gun, a Star BKM, and I recall that gun's trigger was good, too, even though it had its magazine safety intact. I suppose most 1911 style pistols with single-action-only triggers have decent trigger pulls, for a defensive gun like this, somewhere in size between a Colt Commander and a Colt Officer's Model.
This Star BM came with one factory-supplied mag and one other mag, unmarked, but having a different follower. Looked like a black colored flat USGI type 1911 mag with a stepped-down notch, as contrasted with the factory mag whose follower was rounded, and nickel or chrome plated. Each mag held 8 rounds and was perfectly reliable. Empty mags didn't quite drop free all the time, but did at least pop out a couple of inches.
The pistol was shot for 150 rounds of FMJ ammo, a mix of 115 gr. and 125 gr., mostly brass cased but some aluminum Blazer ammo from CCI. We shot a dozen rounds of Gold Dot 124 gr. Hollow Points thru it also. It was 100% reliable in my hands and that of the other experienced shooter, but a novice shooter with us at the range had one (only one) stovepipe, which may have been due to limp wristing or holding the gun with a weak grip.
The gun feels great in the hand; small but on the heavy side due to the all steel construction. I did not test it with an +P ammo, but with standard pressure 9mm ammo it had mild recoil and not much muzzle rise.
After shooting it nearly 200 rounds, one of the black plastic grips cracked near the upper retention screw. It turns out the grip panel screws had worked themselves loose, 3 out of 4 on this gun, and that let the grips slide a fraction of a millimeter during recoil, and that probably caused the crack. LESSSON: Keep the grip screws snug, but not overly tight (they can crack the plastic stocks), and check them periodically.
Accuracy was good. It was the most accurate pistol we used that day, among all the short barreled defensive handguns. It seemed to like 115 and 124 grain ammo equally well. We also shot some 147 grain HP ammo through it, and it worked fine with that.
The sights are what you'd expect. Just like a bone-stock 1911 and many other military and police pistols of two generations ago. Not as big as I'd like, and no colors on them. I'm not sure what it would take to replace these sights with a front sight that has an orange dot or ramp inlayed, and a rear that has a wider notch and some dots or a bar for fast acquisiton against a dark target background. But, that's just my "wish list". The fixed sights were exactly what most people want and expect, and the gun did shoot to point of aim for 2 of us. For me it shot a couple inches high at 50 feet, so I'd aim 6 o'clock on my targets.
Disassembly and cleaning was easy, and pretty much the same as the 1911 design, except on this gun the recoil spring is captive, and affixed around the recoil spring guide.
It was used, of course, and some prior owner had taken out the magazine disconnect safety, which is fine with me.
The gun has a nice 1911 style thumb safety with a very positive detent to hold it in the position you place it until you put decent pressure on it to switch it to the other position.
And unlike the 1911, the Star BM's safety can also be used as an alternative slide lock, which holds the slide back at the exact perfect position to remove the slide stop lever, which of course has that cross-pin that serves as the take-down part for disassembly as well.
The trigger pull was light at a measured 3.6 lbs, and that might be in part due to the grip safety being removed.
On the other hand, 30 years ago I owned the aluminum-frame version of this gun, a Star BKM, and I recall that gun's trigger was good, too, even though it had its magazine safety intact. I suppose most 1911 style pistols with single-action-only triggers have decent trigger pulls, for a defensive gun like this, somewhere in size between a Colt Commander and a Colt Officer's Model.
This Star BM came with one factory-supplied mag and one other mag, unmarked, but having a different follower. Looked like a black colored flat USGI type 1911 mag with a stepped-down notch, as contrasted with the factory mag whose follower was rounded, and nickel or chrome plated. Each mag held 8 rounds and was perfectly reliable. Empty mags didn't quite drop free all the time, but did at least pop out a couple of inches.
The pistol was shot for 150 rounds of FMJ ammo, a mix of 115 gr. and 125 gr., mostly brass cased but some aluminum Blazer ammo from CCI. We shot a dozen rounds of Gold Dot 124 gr. Hollow Points thru it also. It was 100% reliable in my hands and that of the other experienced shooter, but a novice shooter with us at the range had one (only one) stovepipe, which may have been due to limp wristing or holding the gun with a weak grip.
The gun feels great in the hand; small but on the heavy side due to the all steel construction. I did not test it with an +P ammo, but with standard pressure 9mm ammo it had mild recoil and not much muzzle rise.
After shooting it nearly 200 rounds, one of the black plastic grips cracked near the upper retention screw. It turns out the grip panel screws had worked themselves loose, 3 out of 4 on this gun, and that let the grips slide a fraction of a millimeter during recoil, and that probably caused the crack. LESSSON: Keep the grip screws snug, but not overly tight (they can crack the plastic stocks), and check them periodically.
Accuracy was good. It was the most accurate pistol we used that day, among all the short barreled defensive handguns. It seemed to like 115 and 124 grain ammo equally well. We also shot some 147 grain HP ammo through it, and it worked fine with that.
The sights are what you'd expect. Just like a bone-stock 1911 and many other military and police pistols of two generations ago. Not as big as I'd like, and no colors on them. I'm not sure what it would take to replace these sights with a front sight that has an orange dot or ramp inlayed, and a rear that has a wider notch and some dots or a bar for fast acquisiton against a dark target background. But, that's just my "wish list". The fixed sights were exactly what most people want and expect, and the gun did shoot to point of aim for 2 of us. For me it shot a couple inches high at 50 feet, so I'd aim 6 o'clock on my targets.
Disassembly and cleaning was easy, and pretty much the same as the 1911 design, except on this gun the recoil spring is captive, and affixed around the recoil spring guide.
