Star model S in 380 - What can you tell me about it?

J

jmlv

New member
This may well end up being my carry gun so what can anybody tell me about these guns? Any online info avaiable? thanks:)
 
Hello. These are one of the few locked-breech .380 pistols around. They're comfortable to shoot, but these days, large for caliber. Spare parts will be a problem as Star is now out of business and I have no idea how well these pistols feed JHPs as I only shot ball through a couple and that was years ago.

Best.
 
They have a grip patterned after that of the Remington M51 and it feels wonderful in the hand. Points well. Some will have firing pins that aren't inertial, and may set off the round in the chamber if the gun is dropped.

Some were used, especially by plainclothes cops, in both the Guardia Civil and the Cuerpo General de Policia and probably by local Spanish cops. Some of those were refinished and sold here by Interarms right before they went out of business.

Lone Star
 
Back in the early 70's the late Skeeter Skelton did a write up in Shooting Times magazine. If I remember correctly he thought quite highly of these pistols.
 
This is a pretty large pistol for a .380, any reason you'd pick it over a more contemporary pistol?
Star_Model_S_1941.jpg
 
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Well, size-wise, the Star S has a longer bbl., so velocity will be higher than for their DKS or other smaller .380's, and they do feel so great in the hand, and they're probably lighter than most small 9mm's, and thinner. They're also just plain cute, and all steel. And they usually sell for a modest sum, compared to a new Beretta M85, etc.
I like the exposed hammer.

Years ago, I asked George Nonte, then a leading gun scribe with a penchant for autos, if he thought the Star would match the Beretta M34 for reliability, and he thought it would. Probably, feeding JHP's depends on the gun and the brand.

Lone Star
 
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