I bought a Star PD about 1977 thanks to Col. Jeff Cooper talking them up for a lightweight and potent concealed carry gun. While mine came with an extra magazine, I quickly ordered another so I could carry two reloads with it (I later obtained 3 more so that I could rotate my carry magazines). I carried it until about 1990 or so (since 1985 as an off-duty police officer) and always found it to be 100% reliable, even to the point of feeding empty cases from the magazines. I went through several of the buffers on the recoil spring assembly over the years, every few hundred rounds having to replace them. Also two recoil springs at my gunsmith's recommendation. While I was a .45 fanatic for many years (i still carry a .45 acp 1911 on duty), I now carry an Officer's size 9 mm off duty.
I recently found one of these at an auction and picked it up. While researching it I came on this video. It also has a buffer that needs replaced as it is missing one of the points. To Ian... to disassemble it, instead of pulling the slide back and trying to hold it in alignment while removing the slide stop, pull the slide back until the notch in the slide just in front of the serrations matches up with the safety and latch the safety in place. That removes the tension from the slide stop allowing for easy removal. Then just get a grip on the slide, lower the safety and then ease the slide off of the frame. Reassembling is just the reverse, slide the frame on, latch the safety in the notch, reinstall the slide stop, release the safety and you are done.
Iv seen many, many comments about “who is fireplace guy?”! Long time viewers put together that this was a private collection that Ian had access to. Newer viewers would ask about the location or who’s its was when a single fireplace video came out more recently. Very cool to get to have him in front of the camera.
I have Antaris' two superb books on Star and Astra - both signed an dated. I also dropped him a line via his website a few weeks ago but no reply to date. I have a BM and three Megastars. Two in 45 and one in 10. Beautiful beasts.
It’s always great to promote these small youtubers, Ian seems to have a promising future ;) This was a very pleasant and well vibed interview. I’m going to stick around this channel, i like it here.
I bough a star 45 at the coast guard exchange in Kodiak in 1974-ish. Alloy frame, magazine safety. I bought it because it was what I could get. I was looking for a 44mag...alaska, right. No can get. Colt. No can get. Star can get. In 1976 the star got sold to fund a colt gold cup and on its heels a Ruger Super Blackhawk. Fast forward to 2011. On my fathers passing I inherit most of his guns. Being the only apple that did not fall too far from the tree. Among them was a 9mm star. Like a small version of a 1911. Not being a big fan of a 1911 set on stun, I shot up the 9mm ammo that came with it and sold it to a cop looking for a backup gun. Eventually we all regret the errors of our youth. Sadly these guns, as you note, are now uncommon and hard to find. Interesting video. Fox out.
(Lightweight) Commander introduced ~1950, Combat Commander in 1972. I think the weight of the PD was two or three ounces lighter than the Commander; the barrel and slide were almost a half-inch shorter, as was the frame, and there was no steel grip safety. One of the major reasons the PD has become rare, not addressed in the show, is the frames often cracked. I had two PDs in the '90s, one cracked, and I sold the other while it was still intact.
I own 2 Star PD' in 45 ACP, I bought one I believe in the mid 80's and my wife bought me another in the late 80's. For a small 45 I felt it was very accurate at 50' if I could put all 8 rounds on a paper plate. I was able to eventually put all rounds at 50' that I could cover with the palm of my hand and at 75 feet I could cover all the target holes (most of the time) with my hand with my fingers spread. Shooting from the "hip" I could put 4 or 5 rounds on the paper plate. It did have a kick and it took time to learn how to control my shots. I went to a Kimber 45 acp and my shooting did not get much better except I could six rounds at 75 ' on the paper plate with greatter frequency. Both Stars had at least 2000 to 2500 rounds through them and I never rapid fired either pistol. I still don't have 1000 rounds through my Kimber Pro Carry ll. I just bought my wife a Ruger Security 380 and for my self a Stoeger str 9C. We are getting on into our 70.s and she in her late 60's. Yes, she is a better shot, but has had surgery on her Right shoulder so maybe I'll get a chance to out shoot her for a change.
I bought a polished stainless steel 45 PD in 1985, i still own it, it"s my prefered carry and it's in perfect working order. I had problems with feeding hollow points, i had the barrel ramp modified and the trigger was "tweaked". Not one problem ever since.
I had two of these pistols when I lived in South Africa.(I also had Colt 1911A1 and a Combat Commander) But these Star PDs were great for carry.Especially during the hot times of the year when your only dressed lightly.
I 've been waiting for you to do a Star PD video, I'm so glad that you finally did! Nicely done, and I learned a few things. There are a couple points about the weapon that you guys did not cover that I think are important to note: 1. The thumb safety differs in functionality from a 1911 in that it can be engaged while the hammer is down, locking the slide and hammer until released. 2. There is a third cutout on the left side of the slide, in between the thumb safety cutout and the slide release cutout that accepts the thumb safety. When the thumb safety is engaged in this cutout, the slide is held in the correct position for disassembly. No need to manually hold the slide back in order to get the slide release out or in. Like a Hi-Power. I thought that this in particular is a real improvement.
Great video. I checked several of your other videos and subscribed. Interesting. I became a police officer in 1973 and there were very few small, concealable choices for off duty use at the time. Especially at an affordable price. The Star PD came along as one of the options. They were difficult to get, as I recall. Actually, yes, officers got them and showed them around. Not because it was a premium handgun, but because it was small and potent and reasonably priced. Those were rare commodities in the mid-70s. One of the officers in our District got one and several of us met on the basement shooting range after our shift to try it. I was not impressed. I thought the recoil was abusive. Not just unpleasant, but abusive. I didn't like that it had no grip safety. I was OK with carrying a 1911 cocked and locked, because it had a grip safety. Suffice to say...I never bought one. Oddly enough, years have passed and I now own and carry 2 1911 Officer's size pistols with aluminum frame and the recoil is probably just as abusive but I don't have a problem with it, and of course they have grip safeties. Maybe I should have bought one of these in the 70s. 😏
I bought myself a P.D. FOR MY BIRTHDAY IN 1979 ,SIMPLY a great gun. I carried it till all the finish wore off, it looks stainless now. My only complaint is it should have had a feed ramp barrel so it would reliably feed hollow point ammo. I may have gotten the best one in the world but it is the flattest shooting gun I ever encountered, from point blank to 100yrds I hit exactly where I aimed!!I have never seen any other gun shoot that flat, pistol, revolver, or rifle. Unfortunately I had to stop carrying it because there is a 9mm beretta on the hot list with the same serial number I got tired of continually having to point out it is a star not a beretta
My dad had one. I first shot it when I was about 10 years old. At the time it was a serious handful, but I really loved that gun, to such an extent that I bought a Star as my first gun. But by then the "wonder nine" era was in full swing and I got an M30PK instead. Still often wish I had hot a PD instead, but the 30 is much nicer to shoot.
i have carried a star pd all my life, excellent pistols that feed everything without a polish job (unlike a colt) and very light weight!! My current is a PD in starvel with dovetail rear sight and finger rest triggergaurd. is this the pd 2000 you refer to?
I thought the lightweight Commander was the original commander from 1950, and in 1970 they introduced the Combat Commander with a steel frame, and then the Commander with the alloy frame became known as the Lightweight?
Suggested retail was virtually the same, in 1982; about $350 for either, according to 1982 Guns & Ammo Annual. The 1977 suggested price of the PD was actually higher, $240 vs. $207.
@@jessestreet2549 Awesome, did you get your buffers and install them yet? It says on the ones I got from The Gun Garage not tpo snap them on. I wonder why? Did you snap your new one on or did you take your guide rod apart? I'm wondering if there is a trick or technique to taking it apart.
@@michaelmorgan9973 I think I just got super unlucky. Buddies that got some had ones that were reliable. I had one where the locking lugs on the barrel would peen every 50 rounds or less. I assumed it was a spring issue or ammo issue but it didn’t matter which rsa I’d throw in. Didn’t matter the ammo and it was parts matching. Different barrels no issues in that same frame/slide Similar issue on 2 slides so I assumed I’d finish up with 3 working and spare parts. Not the case. The POI on one was always drifting. Not the sights as they measured the same as others and rear would barely budge with a sight pusher. I figured maybe a frame issue in the end. No other slide, bushing, barrel etc would get it to group right. This is with other shooters besides myself as well… and I’m far from terrible shot. I didn’t take calipers to it as I was already frustrated with them. Watching this video I think maybe the rsa buffers could have been the culprit to the performance of them. Even though it’s 9mm it’s basically the same build and soft metallurgy from star
@@hailtothe_rooster1572 I may have a stinker. Thrown every part I could think of at it, need to find a competent gunsmith to trouble shoot it better than I'm capable of doing. 😢 Beautiful gun too with Altamont grips
Look good to me, never seen one of those here, in Spain; not on the street, not to a cop or Guardia Civíl, not on the Royal spanish Marine Infantry, not on the Armada.
I bought a Star PD about 1977 thanks to Col. Jeff Cooper talking them up for a lightweight and potent concealed carry gun. While mine came with an extra magazine, I quickly ordered another so I could carry two reloads with it (I later obtained 3 more so that I could rotate my carry magazines). I carried it until about 1990 or so (since 1985 as an off-duty police officer) and always found it to be 100% reliable, even to the point of feeding empty cases from the magazines. I went through several of the buffers on the recoil spring assembly over the years, every few hundred rounds having to replace them. Also two recoil springs at my gunsmith's recommendation. While I was a .45 fanatic for many years (i still carry a .45 acp 1911 on duty), I now carry an Officer's size 9 mm off duty.
I recently found one of these at an auction and picked it up. While researching it I came on this video. It also has a buffer that needs replaced as it is missing one of the points. To Ian... to disassemble it, instead of pulling the slide back and trying to hold it in alignment while removing the slide stop, pull the slide back until the notch in the slide just in front of the serrations matches up with the safety and latch the safety in place. That removes the tension from the slide stop allowing for easy removal. Then just get a grip on the slide, lower the safety and then ease the slide off of the frame.
Reassembling is just the reverse, slide the frame on, latch the safety in the notch, reinstall the slide stop, release the safety and you are done.
Iv seen many, many comments about “who is fireplace guy?”! Long time viewers put together that this was a private collection that Ian had access to. Newer viewers would ask about the location or who’s its was when a single fireplace video came out more recently. Very cool to get to have him in front of the camera.
I have Antaris' two superb books on Star and Astra - both signed an dated. I also dropped him a line via his website a few weeks ago but no reply to date.
I have a BM and three Megastars. Two in 45 and one in 10. Beautiful beasts.
There was also a factory +1 magazine extension. I have one. Also the plastic buffer gets brittle over time. Wilson Combat makes one which fits it
It’s always great to promote these small youtubers, Ian seems to have a promising future ;) This was a very pleasant and well vibed interview. I’m going to stick around this channel, i like it here.
@12:58 There's a notch in the slide that allows the safety to hold it open for removal of the slide stop.
I bough a star 45 at the coast guard exchange in Kodiak in 1974-ish. Alloy frame, magazine safety. I bought it because it was what I could get. I was looking for a 44mag...alaska, right. No can get. Colt. No can get. Star can get.
In 1976 the star got sold to fund a colt gold cup and on its heels a Ruger Super Blackhawk.
Fast forward to 2011. On my fathers passing I inherit most of his guns. Being the only apple that did not fall too far from the tree. Among them was a 9mm star. Like a small version of a 1911. Not being a big fan of a 1911 set on stun, I shot up the 9mm ammo that came with it and sold it to a cop looking for a backup gun.
Eventually we all regret the errors of our youth. Sadly these guns, as you note, are now uncommon and hard to find. Interesting video.
Fox out.
(Lightweight) Commander introduced ~1950, Combat Commander in 1972. I think the weight of the PD was two or three ounces lighter than the Commander; the barrel and slide were almost a half-inch shorter, as was the frame, and there was no steel grip safety. One of the major reasons the PD has become rare, not addressed in the show, is the frames often cracked. I had two PDs in the '90s, one cracked, and I sold the other while it was still intact.
I own 2 Star PD' in 45 ACP, I bought one I believe in the mid 80's and my wife bought me another in the late 80's. For a small 45 I felt it was very accurate at 50' if I could put all 8 rounds on a paper plate. I was able to eventually put all rounds at 50' that I could cover with the palm of my hand and at 75 feet I could cover all the target holes (most of the time) with my hand with my fingers spread. Shooting from the "hip" I could put 4 or 5 rounds on the paper plate. It did have a kick and it took time to learn how to control my shots. I went to a Kimber 45 acp and my shooting did not get much better except I could six rounds at 75 ' on the paper plate with greatter frequency. Both Stars had at least 2000 to 2500 rounds through them and I never rapid fired either pistol. I still don't have 1000 rounds through my Kimber Pro Carry ll. I just bought my wife a Ruger Security 380 and for my self a Stoeger str 9C. We are getting on into our 70.s and she in her late 60's. Yes, she is a better shot, but has had surgery on her Right shoulder so maybe I'll get a chance to out shoot her for a change.
I bought a polished stainless steel 45 PD in 1985, i still own it, it"s my prefered carry and it's in perfect working order. I had problems with feeding hollow points, i had the barrel ramp modified and the trigger was "tweaked". Not one problem ever since.
Well done gentlemen. Respect shown and given.
So happy to have found mine. Buying the book!
please make more videos together - especially since you have so easy access to the fireplace guy and his amazing gun collection
I had two of these pistols when I lived in South Africa.(I also had Colt 1911A1 and a Combat Commander) But these Star PDs were great for carry.Especially during the hot times of the year when your only dressed lightly.
I had a star pd in the late 70s. The gun was rock solid reliable when using Winchester Silver Tips.
I 've been waiting for you to do a Star PD video, I'm so glad that you finally did! Nicely done, and I learned a few things. There are a couple points about the weapon that you guys did not cover that I think are important to note:
1. The thumb safety differs in functionality from a 1911 in that it can be engaged while the hammer is down, locking the slide and hammer until released.
2. There is a third cutout on the left side of the slide, in between the thumb safety cutout and the slide release cutout that accepts the thumb safety. When the thumb safety is engaged in this cutout, the slide is held in the correct position for disassembly. No need to manually hold the slide back in order to get the slide release out or in. Like a Hi-Power. I thought that this in particular is a real improvement.
A fireplace cannon would be cool and a good collaboration video
Great video. I checked several of your other videos and subscribed.
Interesting. I became a police officer in 1973 and there were very few small, concealable choices for off duty use at the time. Especially at an affordable price. The Star PD came along as one of the options. They were difficult to get, as I recall.
Actually, yes, officers got them and showed them around. Not because it was a premium handgun, but because it was small and potent and reasonably priced. Those were rare commodities in the mid-70s. One of the officers in our District got one and several of us met on the basement shooting range after our shift to try it.
I was not impressed. I thought the recoil was abusive. Not just unpleasant, but abusive. I didn't like that it had no grip safety. I was OK with carrying a 1911 cocked and locked, because it had a grip safety.
Suffice to say...I never bought one. Oddly enough, years have passed and I now own and carry 2 1911 Officer's size pistols with aluminum frame and the recoil is probably just as abusive but I don't have a problem with it, and of course they have grip safeties.
Maybe I should have bought one of these in the 70s. 😏
I bought myself a P.D. FOR MY BIRTHDAY IN 1979 ,SIMPLY a great gun. I carried it till all the finish wore off, it looks stainless now. My only complaint is it should have had a feed ramp barrel so it would reliably feed hollow point ammo. I may have gotten the best one in the world but it is the flattest shooting gun I ever encountered, from point blank to 100yrds I hit exactly where I aimed!!I have never seen any other gun shoot that flat, pistol, revolver, or rifle. Unfortunately I had to stop carrying it because there is a 9mm beretta on the hot list with the same serial number
I got tired of continually having to point out it is a star not a beretta
Ian, Did Star ever make a P D with front serations in the slide? Thanks
My dad packed a star PD for years. Great gun, great shooter.
Commander models all had a full size 1911 frame hence 7 rd mag. The Officer model reduces the grip to a 6 rd mag
My dad had one. I first shot it when I was about 10 years old. At the time it was a serious handful, but I really loved that gun, to such an extent that I bought a Star as my first gun. But by then the "wonder nine" era was in full swing and I got an M30PK instead. Still often wish I had hot a PD instead, but the 30 is much nicer to shoot.
i have carried a star pd all my life, excellent pistols that feed everything without a polish job (unlike a colt) and very light weight!! My current is a PD in starvel with dovetail rear sight and finger rest triggergaurd. is this the pd 2000 you refer to?
I thought the lightweight Commander was the original commander from 1950, and in 1970 they introduced the Combat Commander with a steel frame, and then the Commander with the alloy frame became known as the Lightweight?
Another great job Len !
I have one I bought in the early 80s great gun.
I had a star PD. The only glitch with the PD if it was glitch. You had to change the buffer periodically. It shot well.
Thank you
Of all of the guns I've owned and sold the Pd is the one I regret selling the most.
Those small stars look really pretty.
Can someone suggest a good leather holster for the Star PD? Some nice looking grips?
Azula makes some on Ebay and Amazon, I ordered one a few days ago, haven't gotten it yet..
A few close-up shots of the guns would have been nice, even one.
Honestly a Colt Goldcup in 45 ACP wasn't much more. Maybe about $600 or so and a great shooter right out of the box!
I had no clue the Star PD was named after P Diddy. I learn so much from you two.
Query: what was the relative cost differential between a Star and a Colt??
Suggested retail was virtually the same, in 1982; about $350 for either, according to 1982 Guns & Ammo Annual. The 1977 suggested price of the PD was actually higher, $240 vs. $207.
my first major caliber pistol. it's on my "bury it with me" list. can anyone tell me where to find a recoil buffer?
Look up bob's gun parts
@@Hidalguense thank you.
I just ordered 3 from "The Gun Garage".
@@geofftisdall4202 that's where i ended up.
@@jessestreet2549 Awesome, did you get your buffers and install them yet? It says on the ones I got from The Gun Garage not tpo snap them on. I wonder why? Did you snap your new one on or did you take your guide rod apart? I'm wondering if there is a trick or technique to taking it apart.
Well this is neat
When the star BMs came in I picked up 5 and couldn’t Frankenstein them enough to make 1 a reliable shooter
I had 2 at different times and both of mine worked fine.
@@michaelmorgan9973 I think I just got super unlucky. Buddies that got some had ones that were reliable.
I had one where the locking lugs on the barrel would peen every 50 rounds or less. I assumed it was a spring issue or ammo issue but it didn’t matter which rsa I’d throw in.
Didn’t matter the ammo and it was parts matching. Different barrels no issues in that same frame/slide
Similar issue on 2 slides so I assumed I’d finish up with 3 working and spare parts.
Not the case. The POI on one was always drifting. Not the sights as they measured the same as others and rear would barely budge with a sight pusher. I figured maybe a frame issue in the end. No other slide, bushing, barrel etc would get it to group right. This is with other shooters besides myself as well… and I’m far from terrible shot. I didn’t take calipers to it as I was already frustrated with them.
Watching this video I think maybe the rsa buffers could have been the culprit to the performance of them. Even though it’s 9mm it’s basically the same build and soft metallurgy from star
@@hailtothe_rooster1572 man that sucks, sorry you didn't get to enjoy "any" of them. 😳
@@hailtothe_rooster1572 I may have a stinker. Thrown every part I could think of at it, need to find a competent gunsmith to trouble shoot it better than I'm capable of doing. 😢 Beautiful gun too with Altamont grips
Look good to me, never seen one of those here, in Spain; not on the street, not to a cop or Guardia Civíl, not on the Royal spanish Marine Infantry, not on the Armada.
why does he keep interrupting Ian
Algorithm comment
This is no pkm it's not even, a belt fed MG.