Star Model B Questions

[abr10dr]

Since a few of us got in on this batch of Stars from CIA & J&G, I'm starting a thread on questions some of us with limited knowledge (me) may have. I for one
really appreciate the sharing of info from the members with more experience. I've been on this site for four years and although I don't post much, I've read most of the posts on the C&R forum since I signed up, so thank you all. Anyway here's a few to start

Mine came with mags that have the "folded over Base", how do they come apart without damaging them?

The grips on mine don't look original and seem warped (they are the plastic ones), also the screws heads OD seems to large and don't seat all the way in the countersink, anyone else notice this?

The grip screw slots are very narrow, is this common?

Parkerized finish - what do you use for the initial cleaning? Mineral Spirits, Acetone? I know that after cleaning the finish needs to be re-oiled, mine seems to have some cosmo crud build up in places and I would like to clean it up. I've done the Google search thing and found many different opinions, just curious about your recommendations.

Tanks, Rick

 

[G O B]

I have a B that i have had for years. The mag comes apart from the top. It is a bit tricky, but basically you tip the follower and remove it by pulling it out in front of the feed lips

BE CAREFUL! Almost all feeding problems with this gun are due to worn or bent feed lips.

Mine is nicely blued, but park will clean up with mineral spirits.

Mine loves Wolf. These have a nifty 'double strike' feature. To work with war production hard primers the hammer is designed to bounce and strike the primer twice! I have never had a pierced primer, but it makes a serious dent in them.

Great pistol, nice balance, surprisingly accurate, and so far drop dead reliable with good magazines.

 

[abr10dr]

G O B, thanks, got one mag apart by holding down on the spring thru the slot and at the same time holding the nose of the follower with large tweezers came right out. Boy there is a lot of dirt/crud in there, it's soaking in CLP now, I'll let it sit for a while then wipe it out.

Thanks
Rick

 

[somd_mustangs]

The original grips for 1945 are wood (see below). Guns without the lanyard ring would just have wood in that area instead of cutout.

Here's full checkered wood grips - not the original style for this year but this company makes good stuff, have their grips on several other guns including Colt 1902/05, Woodsman). This version of grip covers up the lanyard ring hole, if the frame is drilled for one.

http://grips4u.net/product/star-b-grips-checkered/

These look like they're the right ones but I haven't tried them. Listed as Super B but that's the style of the straight B. Plastic repro of the original wood... the company offers the grip screws too.

http://vintagegungrips.net/ao-s73.html

Can also loiter on eBay, they occasionally pop up. There's a guy on GunBroker that lists a lot of grips for Stars but you'll have to wade through and find the right ones. Model A works too (not the early style with Star Trademark on the grips though).

You'll also want to be careful about "fully seating" the screws so they don't impinge on the magazine (or crack the grips of course).

 

[abr10dr]

Thanks somd, I like grips4u products, I have them on my FN High Power and a CZ82, Numrich has smooth wood grips for $28, no screws tho, sold out. $9.00 each for screws from Vintage, WOW!! It's the lower right panel screw that sits proud, tried all four screws and they all don't sit flush, so it's probably the counter bore on that one hole is not deep enough. That's easy enough to fix, I think I have a flat bottom wood bit that will work.

Rick

 

[Machodoc]

Parkerized finish - what do you use for the initial cleaning? Mineral Spirits, Acetone? I know that after cleaning the finish needs to be re-oiled, mine seems to have some cosmo crud build up in places and I would like to clean it up. I've done the Google search thing and found many different opinions, just curious about your recommendations.

First of all, the park'd finish isn't original, but since it was clearly done to a batch of these, it's part of the firearm's history. It doesn't worry me. We may eventually find out by who/why it was done, and that may be something interesting. Many of these guns have seen action in multiple countries ... more about that sometime in the future.

But, to answer your question ...

As others have noted, mineral spirits is a very good cleaner for these. Charcoal lighter fluid is a cheaper and easier to find substitute ... perfectly fine to use. Take off the grips, break the gun down, let the parts soak, and use a nylon brush to remove the softened gunk. Then let the parts dry off and spray on a generous amount of gun oil. Let that soak in for an hour, or so, then wipe off all the excess. Park'd finishes can soak up a fair amount of oil.

 

[Arcamm]

Has anybody range tested these with steel and brass ammo?

If so, any differences in performance?

 

[Machodoc]

Has anybody range tested these with steel and brass ammo?

If so, any differences in performance?

Yes ... there was a discussion started in the "Just Got It Now" thread. I think it was Alphabrew [Edit: it was] who said that he ran some TulAmmo (steel case) through his, and it worked fine.

My earlier tries, with "slippery" brass, were pretty disappointing. The columns of rounds tended to fall forward, or the top round would pop out funny, causing a jam. In one case, about four rounds fell out as I was ejecting the mag after a jam with the brass-cased rounds. If I could get them to stay in column, they shot fine ... but just slamming the mag home was enough to cause a problem.

I put the gun aside for a bit.

I'd just recently had a poor experience with some 9mm TulAmmo that wouldn't feed for doodly-squat in a very nice gun that I was trying to show off to a friend. I'd sworn the Tul 9mm off as total crap ... until a few minutes ago.

When I tried the "rough" steel cases of the fairly cheap Tul ($10+ for 50 at Wally World) in the Star B, they stacked up neatly in the mag and stayed that way. They seemed to work better if I only loaded 7 rounds, but that's no biggie ... they worked! Now I need to go to the range and run several more mags through it to see how consistent the apparent "fix" is. I may do that today.

 

[Abulg1972]

Am I reading from you guys that steel cased ammo is the best choice for the Star Bs? Before I buy any 9mm stuff, I need to find out whether my local range prohibits steel cased stuff or only steel core stuff.


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[Machodoc]

Am I reading from you guys that steel cased ammo is the best choice for the Star Bs?

Yeah ... based on limited data, right now, that seems to be the best approach.

Before I buy any 9mm stuff, I need to find out whether my local range prohibits steel cased stuff or only steel core stuff.

I'd be really surprised if they really care what kind of cases you fire (unless they are really greedy about re-selling your brass). What really makes a difference is the damage to steel targets, backstops/traps, etc. that a steel-core or armor-piercing round can do.

Call them.

 

[Abulg1972]

Yeah ... based on limited data, right now, that seems to be the best approach.







I'd be really surprised if they really care what kind of cases you fire (unless they are really greedy about re-selling your brass). What really makes a difference is the damage to steel targets, backstops/traps, etc. that a steel-core or armor-piercing round can do.



Call them.

I just did. They say no steel core - steel cased is fine. Given how greedy and shady these MFers are, in surprised but happy.


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[Abulg1972]

What is it about steel cased ammo that makes it better for these pistols?


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[CasualObserver]

The mags were originally designed for the longer 9mm largo. The steel cases if the 9 mm Luger used during the war didn't slide around in the mag like brass ones. At least that is the theory.

 

[Machodoc]

The mags were originally designed for the longer 9mm largo. The steel cases if the 9 mm Luger used during the war didn't slide around in the mag like brass ones. At least that is the theory.

^^^^^ This ... and the theory seems to be pretty valid.

 

[abr10dr]

Some new pictures after de-grease and clean. There are some rust spots on both sides of the grip frame, under the grip panels. What is the best thing to do? just keep them protected or sand them out with x-fine sand paper?

 

[abr10dr]

A couple more shots

 

[abr10dr]

I forgot to add, I definitely have grip screw issues. only one of the four screws in all the way, and it fits all four holes. The other three only thread in a turn or two. I thought maybe the threads were just dirty, but after a good cleaning with solvent and a tooth brush it's still no go. They sit proud and I can feel them when holding the pistol. Time to search out a replacement set.

 

[somd_mustangs]

Sounds like some of the grips screws don't have the right thread?
1911 screws look identical but have a slightly finer pitch, at least compared to my 1943 Star. It may not be easy to find the right screws - in which case getting the tap for 1911 grip screw and re-tapping the holes may a viable option. If this was an all-original, investment type piece that would be a heinous idea; anyway, the threads may be slightly boogered in the frame already if this is the case.

Take a close look and compare the one screw that works to the the ones that don't.

Don't use sandpaper or even fine steel wool (IMHO) on parkerized finish. You won't be happy with the result. Those spots look like very light rust so some oil (Kroil etc) will probably get the active junk off.

 

[abr10dr]

somd, thanks once again, I ordered a set of screws ($14) and grips from
Grips4u so we shall see.

 

[Machodoc]

Just got back from the range, where I put 100 rounds of TulAmmo through my latest Star A/B conversion without a hiccup. This is the same gun that was barely functional with my brass-cased reloads that work great in everything else that I own.

Ironically, my Stingray-C is just the opposite ... runs like a champ on brass-cased stuff, but the Tul is horrible in it.