Star BM 9mm rebuild.

[AZ Refugee]

I had one of those back in the 70s. Mine had an alloy frame I think Called the Star Light or Star Lite..maybe. Worked good. Traded it off for a whole house full of used furniture to a city cop in the used Furniture business. The gun magaziens all said it was a good one but tended to be delicate..which never did figure out why they said that. Stars were general considered to be a notch above Llama and the other made in Spain guns.

BKS Starlight

 

[bigwheel]

Thats it by golly. Thanks. i mean to say most Spanish guns were considered throw down material back in my day..but Star and Astra both had toleraable reps for cheap guns. Think I gave 70 bucks for that gun brand new. It sorta made me mad cause I had spent 65 on a Llama .380 a few months earlier. It just didnt rate for five bucks more a person get a 9mm. lol.

 

[diesel1959]

J&G SALes http://www.jgsales.com/handguns-c-16_1136.html

They've had them, along with Classic Firearms and AIM Surplus.

 

[diesel1959]

I got mine at my gun dealer in Hurst, Kentucky Windage. I'd imagine that your gun dealer could pick up one for you. Current prices are $236.00 for good condition and $281.00 for very good condition. I bought the very good condition option, the barrel looks like new inside, the frame, not so much.

I've picked up one for right at $200.00 and one that's a little bit roughed-up for $169.00, I think. Both are solid, mechanically. I've cleaned them and used cold blue and they both look pretty nice IMHO.

 

[satx78247]

Thats it by golly. Thanks. i mean to say most Spanish guns were considered throw down material back in my day..but Star and Astra both had toleraable reps for cheap guns. Think I gave 70 bucks for that gun brand new. It sorta made me mad cause I had spent 65 on a Llama .380 a few months earlier. It just didnt rate for five bucks more a person get a 9mm. lol.

bigwheel,

My favorite Spanish pistol was the "odd-looking" but GOOD shooting "EX-Condor Legion" Astra 400, that I bought for 20.oo cash with holster/belt in 1966. = I carried it when I was the county's stock detective.

To the "city kitties" here, IF your county has a designated/full-time stock detective, you're in the COUNTRY for certain sure.
(I spent most of my time finding/returning lost/strayed/stolen horses, cows & swine.)

yours, satx

 

[bigwheel]

bigwheel,

My favorite Spanish pistol was the "odd-looking" but GOOD shooting "EX-Condor Legion" Astra 400, that I bought for 20.oo cash with holster/belt in 1966. = I carried it when I was the county's stock detective.

To the "city kitties" here, IF your county has a designated/full-time stock detective, you're in the COUNTRY for certain sure.
(I spent most of my time finding/returning lost/strayed/stolen horses, cows & swine.)

yours, satx

That Stock Agent do sound highly uppercust..lol. Had several old pals get to be Investigators for the Texas and SW Cattle Raisers Assoc. Those were some sought after jobs. Think they got paid good were well thought off on livestock crimes. They were mostly all crusty cowboys...with cop experience a plus. Seem to recall they made extra money for selling memberships and magazines maybe.

 

[diesel1959]

bigwheel,

My favorite Spanish pistol was the "odd-looking" but GOOD shooting "EX-Condor Legion" Astra 400, that I bought for 20.oo cash with holster/belt in 1966. = I carried it when I was the county's stock detective.

To the "city kitties" here, IF your county has a designated/full-time stock detective, you're in the COUNTRY for certain sure.
(I spent most of my time finding/returning lost/strayed/stolen horses, cows & swine.)

yours, satx

Even if their county hasn't designated a deputy as a livestock deputy (as part of that county's sheriff's department), EVERY county in Texas and Oklahoma is covered by one of the twenty-five Special Rangers of the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raiser's Association. For instance, the guy who resides in Liberty County also includes ALL of Harris County as part of his responsibility.

Check here: http://tscra.org/who-we-are/

 

[satx78247]

bigwheel; diesel1959,

UNFORTUNATELY, I was a DEPUTY CONSTABLE (I wasn't then old enough to be a Deputy Sheriff, as I was barely 18YY.) - I wished for years to be a REAL detective for a BIG/classy outfit like the TSWCRA or TIPROA. = Those gents are "the cream of the crop", imo.
(My job was "down in the basement", when compared to those gentlemen.)

My month's pay was 161.12, a 22.oo per month laundry allowance & the use of a county credit card for gas for my personal car.
(In those days, I drove a 1961 RED/white AMC Metropolitan roadster.)

The county provided me NOTHING except the money, the credit card, a "tin" star, a copy of the Penal Code & a (seized) 10 gauge DB Parker sawed-off shotgun.
(NO police academy or formal training as a lawman, either.)

My "uniform" (IF you can call it that) was a baseball cap, J.C. Penny's khaki work shirt, blue jeans & work boots.
(I pinned my tin star to my gun-belt..)

Even though "the kid", as the REAL "PO-lice" often called me in those long ago DAZE, after a while, asked my opinion on "way out in the county stuff", as I knew all the farm families & the latest gossip.
(I had worked over a year before the SD finally gave me an "antique" 1-channel Motorola 2-way radio on the "inter-county" frequency.= Until then, I kept a pocket full of change to use in pay phones.)

Rural LE is REALLY different than most LEOs ever experience.
(To the LEOs here: Have you ever had a criminal case to recover HALF of a stolen hog OR have stopped at a farm & asked the farmer to go get his shotgun & come to help?? = In those "primitive" days of yore, I did BOTH.)

yours, satx

 

[bigwheel]

Sounds like an interesteing career. Thanks for your Service Sir.

 

[RedArmy]

I've picked up one for right at $200.00 and one that's a little bit roughed-up for $169.00, I think. Both are solid, mechanically. I've cleaned them and used cold blue and they both look pretty nice IMHO.

Awesome, they're a bargain for the price. Feel free to post some pics.

 

[satx78247]

Bigwheel,

It got my (then) GF & I through college anyway & we weren't hungry at least.
(We also ran over a mile of trotlines, had numerous "set hooks"/limb-lines out & sold a LOT of catfish "dressed to order".)

yours, satx

 

[RedArmy]

Sounds like an interesteing career. Thanks for your Service Sir.

+1, you guys need to write up some memoirs, I would love to read them, that's Texas history.

 

[diesel1959]

+1, you guys need to write up some memoirs, I would love to read them, that's Texas history.

I know your comment was directed to satx, but I wanted to respond . . . I have worked in law enforcement for over twenty years, but I don't want to have anyone misunderstand--I don't work for TSCRA; however, a good friend of mine is one of the Special Rangers, and I've had plenty of dealings with him. They do indeed have an interesting and pretty varied career path.

As a rural deputy constable, I've had to dispatch critters* with alarming frequency (my boss threatened to paint animal silhouettes on the patrol unit each time that happened), and indeed, had to call local citizens to help out on occasion. I specifically recall having folks riding with us in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ike, so as to increase our "reach", if you will. It was greatly appreciated.


*I can recall an alligator, a rabid pitbull, three injured deer, three severely-injured horses, a couple of severely-injured cattle, assorted other injured canines/felines. The sheriff would not allow his deputies to do humane dispatch, nor were the DPS Troopers inclined to do so. There would be too much paperwork involved; however, my boss was a good bit more "understanding" about such, and he trusted my judgment in such matters.

 

[satx78247]

+1, you guys need to write up some memoirs, I would love to read them, that's Texas history.

RedArmy,

Actually (such as it was) it was Arkansas "history".

yours, satx

 

[RedArmy]

OK, I'm still plodding along on this project. I hope to try the bluing later tomorrow. Here's where I am so far.

Stock barrel link and pin on the left, EGW barrel link and Jack-First tool steel pin on the right. The barrel lug had burs and was slowly milling through the stock barrel link.

Barrel fully polished with new link and pin installed. Most will know, but for those that don't, be sure not to remove any material from the barrel or inside the barrel bushing. The barrel has little ridges that run radially across the surface of the barrel, if you remove those then the barrel will be undersize and effectively ruined. The same with the inside of the barrel bushing. The lug where the barrel link mounts can be deburred, smoothed and polished, just don't remove any material from inside the mount, the EGW barrel link doesn't require any fitting, it's a drop in part.

Extractor smoothed and polished.

SAFETY GLASSES REQUIRED: To remove the recoil spring you will need some needle nose locking pliers and preferably a vise with rubber pads. You will need to put some form of protection over the plier jaws to prevent galling the recoil guide rod. Heat the threaded end of the guide rod to melt the thread locking compound. I used a screw driver to push the spring down so I could get the pliers locked on. Don't clamp over the spring guide washer or you could damage it. Unscrew the threaded end and you're done.

The guide rod is solid steel like most of this pistol. This thing is the AK-47 of 9mm's.

 

[RedArmy]

I know your comment was directed to satx, but I wanted to respond . . . I have worked in law enforcement for over twenty years, but I don't want to have anyone misunderstand--I don't work for TSCRA; however, a good friend of mine is one of the Special Rangers, and I've had plenty of dealings with him. They do indeed have an interesting and pretty varied career path.

As a rural deputy constable, I've had to dispatch critters* with alarming frequency (my boss threatened to paint animal silhouettes on the patrol unit each time that happened), and indeed, had to call local citizens to help out on occasion. I specifically recall having folks riding with us in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ike, so as to increase our "reach", if you will. It was greatly appreciated.


*I can recall an alligator, a rabid pitbull, three injured deer, three severely-injured horses, a couple of severely-injured cattle, assorted other injured canines/felines. The sheriff would not allow his deputies to do humane dispatch, nor were the DPS Troopers inclined to do so. There would be too much paperwork involved; however, my boss was a good bit more "understanding" about such, and he trusted my judgment in such matters.

All of those stories are interesting, I'm a database manager, pretty lame compared to what you guys do. I stare at computer screens all day and listen to people complain, sigh....

 

[RedArmy]

RedArmy,

Actually (such as it was) it was Arkansas "history".

yours, satx

Still cool to hear and it really is interesting.

 

[Dawico]

Good info so far. Keep it coming.

 

[diesel1959]

Keep up the good work!

 

[benenglish]

All of those stories are interesting, I'm a database manager, pretty lame compared to what you guys do. I stare at computer screens all day and listen to people complain, sigh....

Hmmm. I went from a civil Officer doing field work with a federal LE TLA to (roughly, over time) a Unix sysadmin job.

The former job required, in the worst cases, that I go into the crack house, unarmed, no backup, while no one knows my location with any more specificity than one of the multiple zip codes I was assigned, then interview someone in there and convince them to do things they didn't want to do.

The second job required me to stare at computer screens.

I'll take the computers.

Luckily, I had a few other employment stops along the way to keep things interesting but those are tales for another time.