M often brings cool things when he comes to visit. After our session, he thinks he just might mod this into his carry gun. Because M also likes cool carry guns that not everybody else carries.
This is a Spanish Star 1911-ish in 9mm Largo. I like it! Considering it's older than me and has only been a little better cared for, it's very sweet-shooting. Good-going-on-excellent trigger, exceedingly mild recoil, puts bullets where you point it.
Downsides are a magazine safety (didn't know they did things like that in 1951) and an old-fashioned hammer/slide arrangement designed to take divots out of your fist. Since retrofitting a beavertail grip safety is out of the question - because the pistol has no grip safety - M figures he'll probably end up bobbing the hammer somewhat.
Oh, yeah - another downside would be the oddball caliber, but M has never considered that a particular downside. Plus he bought about 9 billion rounds of surplus ammo when he bought the pistol. Because he's M.
For around $300 and some loading dies, a guy could do worse.
16 comments:
Dammit, Joel... I'm trying to do the responsible thing and get a modern, low maintenance pistol in 9mm so I can afford to practice with it and you guys go and wave this in front of me?
You suck. The both of you...
My quirky carry gun is the Star Model BM in 9mmP. I like it for many of the same reasons M likes his Star. The Model BM is a nice mix of 1911 and P35 features. It does bite the hand on occaision, but does it politely.
My one and only Star is a .45 PD, my favorite big bore carry gun 45 version of that BM). About 30 oz. loaded, 6 shot capacity, fully adjustable rear sights and COMPACT. Holstered in a Bianchi Speed 45 strongside, its a great gun.
Way back, my friend had a Star Super 9mm, it was a sweet shooting pistol. Slide was a bit longish, but that just made it easier to point.
Mag safety = criminal safety and/or Darwin Preventer.
Grr.
In this case, Brass, the mag safety = less chance that an inattentive soldier will inadvertently shoot his comrades while horsing around. This was made in 1958 for the Spanish Army, and I'm pretty sure the mag safety had nothing to do with PC. :)
M, oh, I'm familiar with Star and the Hi Power having their origin as military firearms, and that in that capacity, they weren't destined to be handled by . . . the most responsible or capable individuals.
It's just that for today's productive-sector end-users, a magazine disconnect "safety" may be a liability.
I collect Spanish Iron. Have too many models B, a PD, yadda yadda. Nice shooters.
The magazine safety is a flat spring under the right hand grip. The magazine lifts it away from blocking the sear. Remove the grip, slide a magazine in, and stick a bit of copper wire or paperclip in there. I used an offcut piece of house mains wiring last time I had to do this.
Easily reversible too.
"a magazine safety (didn't know they did things like that in 1951)"
My H&R self-loader, made in 1918 or so, has a thumb safety, grip safety, magazine disconnect, and loaded chamber indicator. The newer of my two Savage 1907s, circa 1914, has a loaded chamber indicator.
You think people are likely to "clear the chamber" without dropping the mag nowadays, imagine when autos had only been around for a couple years.
Yeah, I've been schooled on the magazine safety thing - it's a lot older than I remember it being.
I only ever owned one pistol with a mag safety, and it was a new S&W. I think of it as a new-fangled nanny thing, which of course it isn't at all. It's an old-fashioned nanny thing.
Now go out and find me an Astra 600/43!
Buck.
"Nanny thing"?
That's like saying the thumb safety on your 1911 is a "nanny thing".
Safeties on pistols?
What the hell for?
90% of handgun injuries are survivable. So, why bother?
I CCW a TT-33 loaded with +P JHP handloads, two more mags of JHP's and three mags of steel cored +P rounds I loaded myself in case of JBT's.
850Js of shooty goodness in each round, sweet trigger, no bloody safety. I just carry it with hammer down, cocking it one handed is no problem.
I could probably load the rounds to 1000J, Soviets mostly liked their guns like their women: sturdy and hard to damage.
Thing cost me $100 and is IMO of far, far greater value than those piddly, overpriced, anemic 1911's..
Tam-
Gotta disagree on that. A thumb safety is a safety device. A magazine safety is a limiting device. Anything that causes the gun to be impossible to fire, that may not easily be switched off, is not for me. Nanny, by definition.
Which would you rather dry-fire in practice? A pistol with a mag safety, or one without?
Joel,
True, but some guns are next thing to un-firable without a magazine anyway, lacking an external slide catch.
I don't like mag safeties myself, but mostly on mechanical grounds (fewer parts are generally better parts) but I wouldn't call 'em "Nanny" unless Nanny forced them to be put there.
Mechanical safety froofraws have always appealed to a certain sector of the buying public.
Well, you make an interesting point. Possibly I overused "nanny" in this case.
Hell, I never understood multiple safeties anyway. Grip safeties, for example, have never been adequately explained to me.
I have an old Star Model Super that's dying a slow death. I don't shoot it anymore, the loaded chamber indicator has left the building, and the barrel bushing has broken.
But I have a threaded 9mm para barrel for it, around 6 magazines, and at least 8 boxes of Blazer 9mm Largo JHP ammo for the damn thing.
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