The STAR PD - A Real Sleeper - ZZZZZZZZZZ

[QKShooter]

I actually owned two of these at one time many moons ago.
One, I carried for a little while & the other I kept New In Box (for some reason) & then eventually traded it.
Way back then I changed pistols almost more often than my underwear so don't read too much into the fact that I traded mine off.
It was a fantastic little pistol.
I'd buy another one & bet my life on it.

This gun was always sort of a sleeper.
A compact .45 acp pistol that was very reliable. At least mine always was.
A nice Tight lightweight little .45 that I don't think ever truly caught on. Parts will not interchange with Colt Pistols. But, Check this out.



My particular Carry Star PD was as well built and reliable as any Colt pistol.
I'll just bet you could get yourself a great deal on a used one in good, like new "un-screwed-around-with" condition.

I'm stretching my memory here but I do not think STAR magazines interchange with Colt mags.

Here is a REALLY NICE Web Page on Field Stripping the STAR PD. Check the page out & see how closely the Star PD patterns itself after a neat compact COLT.

CLICK HERE TO GO THERE - Field Stripping The Star PD

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Redneck Repairs]

Sleeper my butt , a well kept secret i will agree with ... if and when i see another one i will most likely own it .. and NO mags are not interchangable with colt mags .

[QKShooter]

You know I really didn't need the money back then. But, we were getting ready to move & I got caught the pre move get rid of all the clutter bug & I really thinned my stuff out.
Not just guns but, I really dumped a lot of my personal stuff that was highly collectible...mostly because much of it was too bizarre for the Mrs.

She didn't want to clutter the new house up with my coffee table made from a petrified Elephant ear and my elephant leg umbrella stand & turquoise covered steer skull and especially did not want my set of three shrunken heads on display in the new house.
She hated all that bizzarro $h1T ~ She still does!
I gave up three shrunken heads for that girl!
Meanwhile Just FYI ~ A nice genuine shrunken head tips the scales at 4 thousand bucks (at auction) these days.
They just don't shrink heads the way they used to anymore.
The world sure has changed.

[P95Carry]

They just don't shrink heads the way they used to anymore.

I bet we can think of some ''up top'' QK that could do with shrinking LOL

That gun looks great for size and proportion - I have heard over time of several folks who have had Stars and liked them and also found they functioned OK. Is there not too a Star BM? I am not otherwsie familiar with them.

[p8riot]

Don't forget that they are also C&R (FFL-03) eligible under section 4.

[rocky]

My friends dad tells stories of star pistols in the navy durung the 60-70's. His group couldn't find any that would stay together during a draw from the holster.

[Redneck Repairs]

LOL Rocky i heard that a lot , but i have been shooting them since the mid 70s and while quality control was never at the colt level , i have yet to see a bad one . maby its luck of the draw i donno , but a star pd is still a fromadable little tuck away .45

[OD*]

i have yet to see a bad one

Same here, and I have seen some really nice ones.
I wouldn't hesitate in carrying a PD.

[srfl]

Allegedly, the "Garcia" imported PD's (which would have been the earliest version of this gun if I'm not mistaken) had QC problems....the later "Interarms" imports were a bit better, but I've seen one of each side-by-side and I couldn't pick one over the other.

I own an Interarms-imported PD......it's my first .45 ACP pistol. It's definitely a sleeper and in my case....a keeper.

I managed to find a pair of Pachmayr grips for mine, about a dozen magazines and a El Paso Saddlery 88 Street Combat OWB holster (LN and cheap thanks to eBay) for it. I had the folks at Accurate Plating & Weaponry open up the rear sight notch on mine and now I can see the front sight easy enough.

My sample, like the entire run of PD's, fired every .45 ACP bullet profile I fed it....including the painful to shoot (in my PD that is) Corbon 165 grain +P JHP's....two rounds of that load cut a bloody groove in the web of my hand due to the downward sweep of the tang. I swore never to shoot that load again in that gun. Just as well, as the metallurgy in that gun probably can't withstand a constant diet of that (or any) +P load.

I remember an gun magazine author named (John?) McKay writing in some magazine over 20 years ago ("American Survival Guide"???) about the PD. I must have read that article 100 times or so.....that led me to really want one. One mod he made to his PD was to fit a 1911 ambi safety.

This is definitely a viable CCW even today....just make sure you check that plastic buffer!

[Amnesia Wes]

I used to carry a Star Pd in the early 80's, but it became a 'bear' to carry and subsequently switched to a 5-shot Charter Arms Detective Special revolver.

The PD fired smoothly and kicked a lot less that the Charter Arms.

I've regretted that change to this day.


Wes.

[QKShooter]

Absolutely one of the big advantages of going into a large fully stocked gun shop to buy a handgun.
Nothing beats doing a careful quality~ check "look over" and a function check including a field strip on especially any pre~owned firearm.

I've seen two identical Brand Spankin' New in box Colt pistols sitting "side by side" in the display case and one will be nice and tight and perfectly fit...and the other looked like it was assembled by a drunken chimpanzee.
Knowing which one of the two to buy is a learned skill.

If you're totally new to handguns then please take somebody with you that knows how to really LOOK at a firearm.

That person can help you pick a diamond rather than a dog.

[Dave James]

It was and is a great off duty rig,, only thing we used to do to them was install a recoil buffer to help the poor slide and frame a little..

The other pair from Star that are great but seldom seen any more where the BK and BKM 9mm's.

Back when I had more money then sense and less X-wifes I paid a known smith to make a set of ambi- safeties on the PD for me, cost me more than the pistol did

[Obiwan]

I loved mine but sold it (at twice what I paid for it) because I couldn't find recoil assembly replacement parts. The only downsides were: 1. No ambi safety avail as aftermarket (I'm lefty) and 2. hammer bite.

[Bill MO]

So can you still buy magazines and other parts for these guns or do you have to search and find at show and ect.?

I believe I saw one at the local gun shop the other day with a price tag of around $350. Is that a good deal? Only had the one mag.

[QKShooter]

Good Question...I don't know.
One magazine for any carry pistol sure would be a huge problem though.
I would not buy any pistol unless I checked to see if quality mags were available first.

I just did a fast check & Ebay has Triple K mags selling for 24.00 each.

Oh & a guy on Gunbroker is asking 570.00 for a Star PD in 98% condition but, it sure looks a bit more worn than 98% to me.