Note that none of the Firestars are as heavy as a comparable-sized 1911
Note how much those Firestars look like S&W 3rd Gens
and you have a few more answers...even moreso when
you find out that M45's share mags with the S&W 4500-series,
and the CS45 mags are a perfect match when you add
the Star magwell catch hole to them.
The Ultrastar line was truly next-generation, but came too late.
their Polymer pistol has a few features that even new pistols
don't do, but should have learned from. That ultralight slide is
a sneaky way to handle .40S&W recoil...makes it a non-issue.
Less mass moving backwards means less felt recoil.
And the Megastar Line...OMG
The Megastar 45 was capable of firing .45-super without even
bothering to change anything!! And the Megastar 10 was a beast.
But again, too little, too late...
Spain's economic woes killed Star, Astra, and a handful of others.
Their draconic anti-gun laws made the situation worse...
the US's 10-rd max in 1995 couresty of Bill Clinton, killed several
of their best sellers, including the Megastar line and the 30/31.
So by 1997, Star was toast...the workers of Star and Astra got
together and created ASTAR, which lasted about three years, but
there was no way they could succeed, with the anti-gun climate raging
full-bore and restrictive laws being passed in the US & EU.
The 1911's rise due to the Clinton Gun Ban is where RIA came in to
play...they've taken up the slack in 9mm 1911's where Star fell.
Adding more calibers and options...including their own .22TCM,
which is superior to the FN 5.7 in every way.
Now that mag capacity is no longer restricted, an inventive cuss
with muchbux could utilize the Smart tech that Star used, and
re-release the Firestar & Ultrastar lines to a much more receptive
audience, as single-stacks are now IN. The M243 Firestar Plus
was a great little doublestack along the lines of the S&W 5900-series,
which also used 5900-series mags...9mm & .40S&W options made it
the Perfect BUG, slipped easily into concealment, and was pretty light
for an all-metal pistol. The Ultrastar 9mm & .40 had some features
that would sell well now, if only anyone paid attention to 'em
Everything Star made in it's last generation was either an improvement
on the 1911 in the lines of what S&W did with 3rd Gens, but since STAR
pistols had the controls in the Frame instead of the Slide, they could use
longer barrels than the S&W, and were MORE ACCURATE at the firing line.
A point to ponder, indeed!!
The Ultrastar's were basically Improved Glocks...but they were unable
to explore the double-stack mag before their demise...would have
been AMAZING as a double-stack instead of a single-stack!!
And the frames were truly next-generation!!
....I am trying to buy it back from Her...
