So I just picked up a Star Megastar in 10mm...
- Thread starter loscricklestick
- Start date
loscricklestick
Inactive
Anybody?
loscricklestick
Inactive
Doesnt look like it, doesnt hold any similarities in my opinion,
But I was told its worth 1200-1500?? I'm doing research, and im not finding much to back that, but theres almost NOTHING on these pistols, and you cant find them on gunbroker. Kinda stumped?
But I was told its worth 1200-1500?? I'm doing research, and im not finding much to back that, but theres almost NOTHING on these pistols, and you cant find them on gunbroker. Kinda stumped?
loscricklestick
Inactive
I mean, i suppose theres a couple similarties, but its stuff like the inverted rails, and thats about it. maybe the same... more or less shape? All I can think of.
loscricklestick
Inactive
It does, thank you very much.
Not a price but some good info http://www.bren-ten.com/website/id62.html .
I have a fire star I picked up many years ago and except for being heavy it a good gun.
I have a fire star I picked up many years ago and except for being heavy it a good gun.
Bill DeShivs
New member
http://www.star-firearms.com/firearms/caliber.shtml
The Megstar was one of the last guns that Star made. Star had a great thing going with all of their 1911 style pistols, but they decided to "modernize" and make guns like the Megastar and Firestar series. While good guns, they were over-engineered, and bigger/heavier than their previous guns. I believe that this was a large part of the reason for Star's demise.
The Megstar was one of the last guns that Star made. Star had a great thing going with all of their 1911 style pistols, but they decided to "modernize" and make guns like the Megastar and Firestar series. While good guns, they were over-engineered, and bigger/heavier than their previous guns. I believe that this was a large part of the reason for Star's demise.
The 10mm and .45acp Megastars were actually over-engineered which - at least with real 10mm loads - is hardly a bad thing.
Back in the day (early '90s), I held and handled a few 10mm Megastars and got to shoot exactly one. The best thing going for it was that its all-steel size and weight absolutely soaked up the felt-recoil of hot 10mm loads - truthfully, it felt like you were shooting very light & fluffy .40 loads, or maybe even a 9mm.
Anyway, the second thing going for it was its use of a high-capacity magazine on a platform that wasn't a Glock.
You'll recall these guns were floating around during the Clinton AWB, and so prices for these and other hi-cap guns JUMPED thru the roof .... which led to the downside that, in my experience, the Megastar's 14-rd 10mm mags are super scarce and pricey, and Star-made Megastar parts weren't exactly plentiful, if anything broke.
If Star's 10mm & .45 Megastars had been imported in great numbers some years earlier - say, in 1988-1989 - there'd have been more magazines and parts available.
I have a Megastar in 45acp with the Starvel finish (hard chrome). It would be neat to have a matching 10mm, but I can't justify paying the going rate. The 45 is double-stack and iirc, it has a capacity of about 12-13 rounds. I have only shot it a couple of times - it's very soft shooting for a 45 due to its weight.
It's a nicely designed gun, but over engineered, especially for a .45. It is definitely not a Bren Ten copy. In fact, I don't think it copies any design or even resembles another design! It is quite large and heavy. The fit and finish (mine is in excellent condition) is so-so; not exactly crude, but far from being fine. It has a magazine disconnect which can be easily removed. It's DA/SA, so it has a safety which also acts to drop the hammer if you push it past "safe". The trigger is nothing special. Accuracy is good, probably due to its weight and the way the barrel locks up.
My guess is that a Megastar 10mm with nice shiny Starvel finish in excellent condition would sell in the $1,200 range +/-. With the blued finish, it would be $200-$300 less. I believe the .45 is more common and therefore sells for less than the 10mm. I have seen nice examples of the 45 with Starvel finish sell for over $600. The prices of what these guns actually sell for seem to fluctuate a lot, probably because there aren't many out there. I happen to follow these on Gunbroker and they will sell for more than what you would think - there is some collector's value to these.
It's a nicely designed gun, but over engineered, especially for a .45. It is definitely not a Bren Ten copy. In fact, I don't think it copies any design or even resembles another design! It is quite large and heavy. The fit and finish (mine is in excellent condition) is so-so; not exactly crude, but far from being fine. It has a magazine disconnect which can be easily removed. It's DA/SA, so it has a safety which also acts to drop the hammer if you push it past "safe". The trigger is nothing special. Accuracy is good, probably due to its weight and the way the barrel locks up.
My guess is that a Megastar 10mm with nice shiny Starvel finish in excellent condition would sell in the $1,200 range +/-. With the blued finish, it would be $200-$300 less. I believe the .45 is more common and therefore sells for less than the 10mm. I have seen nice examples of the 45 with Starvel finish sell for over $600. The prices of what these guns actually sell for seem to fluctuate a lot, probably because there aren't many out there. I happen to follow these on Gunbroker and they will sell for more than what you would think - there is some collector's value to these.
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Walt Sherrill
New member
The most recent Fjestad Blue Book (which is only a general guide -- but one that gun shops use to stay real...) says it's worth about $400.
(I looked, and that $ amount is for one in 98% condition; so your price might be a bit lower.)
Mags may be hard to find (if not impossible.)
The Firestars and Megastars have always been solid guns, and it'll probably hold up well. Parts, of course, are made of unobtanium -- and if you ever need something like an extractor, you may have to get one from someone in Spain. Contacts on the Spanish Pistol Board, below, may help.
Here's the best site I've found for STARs...: http://star-firearms.com/firearms/guns/firestar/index.shtml
also -- The Spanish Pistol Board. http://forums.gunboards.com/forumdisplay.php?40-The-Spanish-Pistol-Board&s=&daysprune=
(I looked, and that $ amount is for one in 98% condition; so your price might be a bit lower.)
Mags may be hard to find (if not impossible.)
The Firestars and Megastars have always been solid guns, and it'll probably hold up well. Parts, of course, are made of unobtanium -- and if you ever need something like an extractor, you may have to get one from someone in Spain. Contacts on the Spanish Pistol Board, below, may help.
Here's the best site I've found for STARs...: http://star-firearms.com/firearms/guns/firestar/index.shtml
also -- The Spanish Pistol Board. http://forums.gunboards.com/forumdisplay.php?40-The-Spanish-Pistol-Board&s=&daysprune=
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carguychris
New member
Fjestad BB values for uncommon off-brand guns IMHO often seem to be fiction.
IMHO the best way to figure out the value for an oddball pistol such as this one is to use the "Advanced Search" feature on Gunbroker and only pay attention to completed auctions in which the pistol actually sold. This allows you to easily weed out speculators who advertise uncommon guns at pie-in-the-sky prices.
Also, just outta curiosity, does the Megastar have the modular drop-in hammer-and-sear assembly like the 28/30/31 series?
IMHO the best way to figure out the value for an oddball pistol such as this one is to use the "Advanced Search" feature on Gunbroker and only pay attention to completed auctions in which the pistol actually sold. This allows you to easily weed out speculators who advertise uncommon guns at pie-in-the-sky prices.
Also, just outta curiosity, does the Megastar have the modular drop-in hammer-and-sear assembly like the 28/30/31 series?
Walt Sherrill
New member
carguychris said:
Markets for certain guns also seem to vary widely in different parts of the country.
My personal experience with Star is modest -- I've owned two Model Bs, several M43s in 9 and .40, and three M43 Firestar Plus (9mm) [great compacts!], one of which had the Starvel finish -- but for me the BB prices seem to be right at what you'll find in the real world.
Your point that the 10mm might be more unique and could cause the price to go up a good bit may be correct, but I've never seen Stars command premium prices. (I picked up a Firestar Plus a few years back in a pawn shop for $175 --and it was like new. They couldn't sell it -- nobody wanted it.) This 10mm might be an exception.
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carguychris
New member
Actually, I didn't intend to say with certainty that the BB value for the Megastar is bogus—I was merely making the point that the BB is not gospel, particularly for less common guns.carguychris said:
That said, my observation has been that the Megastar is perhaps the sole modern (i.e. post–1975) Star model that's widely sought-after by those who aren't die-hard Star collectors. Although the single-stack Firestar series were popular carry pieces in the late 1980s—arguably due to a dearth of competition—the 28/30/31, Firestar Plus, and Ultrastar don't do anything that several competitors don't do better, and they consequently never really seem to have caught on, either when they were new or today.
Speaking of which, one of my local dealers has similarly had a Firestar Plus for many months, and I've been toying with the idea of lowballing it.
Walt Sherrill
New member
carguychris said:
I think the Fjestad Blue Blook is sort of like the Kelly Blue Book -- it's just a general guide. Exceptions are everywhere -- but it's a good place to start. As for the Firestar Plus guns:
They're fine little guns. Mags are NOW getting hard to find. The are small, light (alloy frames) and have double-stack mags (13 round mags can be found at gun shows.) They're light to carry but the recoil isn't harsh -- and they're easily concealed. I used one for concealed carry for a while several years back.
When I've seen some of the (later) poly framed guns for sale they'd just set there -- people just looked at them -- as though they were the gun equivalent of the Edsel; they just don't find them attractive. Their last guns were actually darned good guns, but they came too late. The 10mm might be a different breed and might command a better price.