FastEd
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Will shoot it tomorrow.
Picked up a nice little Star .380 today. . .
- Thread starter FastEd
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JWhitmore44
Blackhawk
Reminds me of a little Llama 380 I had years ago. Thing looked like a scaled down 1911. It show quite well. That little star looks pretty nice.
WIL TERRY
Buckeye
EDDIE, I HAVE ONE IDENTICAL TO YOURS, and it shoots like a little 380ACP NM pistol. IT does need a slightly higher front sight. It is a STAR model SS and has never malfed a single round.
OP
FastEd
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I bought a Star .380 back around 1974 when they first came out with that model.
Excellent pistol. When I ran across this one today I couldn't resist. It looks brand new.
Fits my hand perfectly. I'm as happy as a hound dog with two tails...
Excellent pistol. When I ran across this one today I couldn't resist. It looks brand new.
Fits my hand perfectly. I'm as happy as a hound dog with two tails...
Mike Armstrong
Hunter
Basis for all the more recent Colt .380s--Mustang, "Government Model" etc.
(One wonders WHAT government moniker that refers to ?????? It would have to be the Spanish government--or Peruvian--wouldn't it ????? Certainly not Uncle Sugar.).
(One wonders WHAT government moniker that refers to ?????? It would have to be the Spanish government--or Peruvian--wouldn't it ????? Certainly not Uncle Sugar.).
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FastEd
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Nice Combo:
WIL TERRY
Buckeye
Mike Armstrong said:
MIKE,
IT IS a U.S. "Government Model" because it is built on the 1911 GOV'T model system of locking, unlocking etc. Being a locked breech 380ACP pistol you can stoke the devil outta the little cuss and really make the 380ACP/9MMK cartridge set up and sing a sweet tune. It'll leave the 9MMMAK in the dust.
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FastEd
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Its a perfect miniature 1911 except for the ejector.
Mike Armstrong
Hunter
Well, not "perfect" unless it's unlike any Star I ever saw....it don't got no grip safety, do it?
On the other hand, like Star, I never considered the grip safety on a 1911 to be a feature worth copying.....I notice old JB left it off the Hi-Power, too.
I agree that if all .380s were as well designed as the Stars, the .380 round would have a much better reputation than it does. Blowback is simple, but not necessarily good.
On the other hand, like Star, I never considered the grip safety on a 1911 to be a feature worth copying.....I notice old JB left it off the Hi-Power, too.
I agree that if all .380s were as well designed as the Stars, the .380 round would have a much better reputation than it does. Blowback is simple, but not necessarily good.
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FastEd
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The Colt .380 Government Model doesn't have a grip safety, either.
Pretty fun looking combo!
Mike Armstrong
Hunter
yeah, Ed, that's why I say the Star is the basis for those .380 Colts, not the 1911. They are basically just copies of the Star "S" series. Star even made the compact, aluminum-framed versions 'way before Colt did ("Starfire").
Interesting little globalism train-of-events: Star copies the 1911 in 1921 when the Colt European patent expires, then Colt copies the Star in the 1980s and on. I guess imitation IS "the sincerest form of flattery!" Now if Colt could get its PRICES down someplace near where Star was......
Interesting little globalism train-of-events: Star copies the 1911 in 1921 when the Colt European patent expires, then Colt copies the Star in the 1980s and on. I guess imitation IS "the sincerest form of flattery!" Now if Colt could get its PRICES down someplace near where Star was......
Just to add to Mike's comment...
Star did copy some of the 1911 in 1921, but kept some of the internals from their Modelo 1920 which were less complex. In 1931 Star updated it's design, and got a patent on the improvements. Browning, just a step behind, had to stop design on the HP. After slight modifications to keep from infringing on Star's patents, Browning released the HP in 1935 (after JMB had passed).
The Star patents of 1931 were used by the Argentines in 1938 for the Ballester-Molina. The BM is chambered for 45ACP and looks exactly like a 1911 without a grip safety. Even uses some 1911 parts, including the magazine. So, from a 45 to a 9mm, then back to a 45.
Another bit of trivia is the competition between Star, with their Models 28/30/31, and the Sig 210. These 2 designs went back-and-forth with improvenemts. After Star folded, Sig released the 210-6 as the final variant.
BTW, I'm still looking for a Star Model 31.
Ted
Star did copy some of the 1911 in 1921, but kept some of the internals from their Modelo 1920 which were less complex. In 1931 Star updated it's design, and got a patent on the improvements. Browning, just a step behind, had to stop design on the HP. After slight modifications to keep from infringing on Star's patents, Browning released the HP in 1935 (after JMB had passed).
The Star patents of 1931 were used by the Argentines in 1938 for the Ballester-Molina. The BM is chambered for 45ACP and looks exactly like a 1911 without a grip safety. Even uses some 1911 parts, including the magazine. So, from a 45 to a 9mm, then back to a 45.
Another bit of trivia is the competition between Star, with their Models 28/30/31, and the Sig 210. These 2 designs went back-and-forth with improvenemts. After Star folded, Sig released the 210-6 as the final variant.
BTW, I'm still looking for a Star Model 31.
Ted
