I have recently acquired a Star Super B in 9mm Parabellum. I have done a little research on them and havent't seen much, but what I have seen is that they all have the same problem, they jam. Mine is no exception, and I have narrowed it down to essentially a piss poor magazine design. I see where most buy another magazine and hope it cures the problem, but IM not going to pay 50 dollars for a magazine on a 100 dollar pistol. Anyone out there have and tips/suggestions/observations on getting them to run right? For what its worth I am using factory winchester FMJs, and thats the only I have tried. The sloppiness of the magazine seems like it would happen with any ammunition.

I shot 9mm Ps in my 9mm largo Star with out trouble .

To bad your not in Wis I would take that peice of junk off your hands.

I really like the gun, just want it to cycle regularly.

Rhodesia aquired several thousand for issue...and they quickly ended up with third line units as everybody who might have needed a pistol got CZ75's and F.N. Highpowers. Second tier was walther P38's and S&W 39's...The South African military had stars at one time as well, and they changed to P38's and Vectors as soon as they could get enough...

even us Zookeepers wouldn't touch Star B's.. The .45 cal PD, yes, and Browning BDA's were our 'standard issue'until enough CZ's could be smuggled in through the UN blockade.

I've had 3 of the B Super models and were no problem w/ Rem UMC FMJ 115gr commercial ammo.

I've since sold them,,gave one to my brother who still has it and shoots it regularly.
I can't pull the slide back on semiautos anymore..

He does have some fail to feed with his reloads which are of hot and cold quality! But the factory FMJ stuff glides thru it no problem


IIRC, there is a small difference in the length of the feed lips betw A-Super and B super ,model magazines. The A-Super in 9mm Largo had slightly shorter length so the longer cartridge would feed better but both mags interchange. Same with Model A & B magazines.
It could cause a feeding problem if the wrong one is in the pistol,,but then others have reported no problems when doing a conversion on an A or A-Super to 9mmP and keeping the original magazine. Something to look at I guess..

Also, is there a possibility that the mag you have is from an A or B model. You mention the extreme sloppy fit. The pistols I had were close fit as far as the magazines into the frames were concerned.
I do not know if the A or B mags will lock into place in a Super model or not. I only have an early (narrow floor plate) B model magazine left around so nothing else to compare to. But just something to consider.

Also on the Super model,,the feed ramp is 'split' or stepped between the frame portion and the portion that is part of the bbl. The pistols I've had had a small step between the two and not one smooth transition.
The ramp on the bbl portion is quite abrupt also. Ammo type/ bullet shape can be a real factor in feeding reliability.

Just some thoughts..
Good luck with the Star.

Wish I could still use one of them. I'd still own the ones I've had.
I passed up a factory nickel Star BKS just 2 days ago. Great price and condition,,but useless w/ my hands.

The sloppiness isn't in the fitment to the gun. What I am referruing to isn't really a sloppiness, but a bad design. The magazine follower's angle in relation to the feed lips gets way off with more than about 3 rounds in the mag. So as rounds are picked up, the round below it is not held against the back of the mag, so it gradually slips up and then eventually jams the gun by the nose of the next round hitting the base of the fired case as it is being extracted.

Only thing I can think of it is to check the magazine spring itself to make sure it's in the right way.
There's a front & back,,and a top and bottom on most all of them.
Try reassembling it in the mag a couple different ways and see if it makes any difference in loading and feeding.
Sometimes what seems to be the obvious way to be assembled isn't.

Hope you get it straighten out and shooting for you.

quote:

Originally posted by model7LSS:
The sloppiness isn't in the fitment to the gun. What I am referruing to isn't really a sloppiness, but a bad design. The magazine follower's angle in relation to the feed lips gets way off with more than about 3 rounds in the mag. So as rounds are picked up, the round below it is not held against the back of the mag, so it gradually slips up and then eventually jams the gun by the nose of the next round hitting the base of the fired case as it is being extracted.

The tapered rounds can't stack up at the same angle in any straight magazine with so it doesn't matter what the follower does except for the last round.

I would try a new magazine spring and a new recoil spring.

I understand what you mean, but think there is something else going on. There is just way too much sloppiness in the magazine. I am going to try to find another magazine but haven't had any luck locally and cant justify paying 60 dollars online for a gun I paid 100 for. If I am having so much trouble with finding magazines, I don't even want to think about other parts.

Well, I never got another magazine to try to fix the problem as my firing pin broke, like many before me apparently. I have found a source of Model B firing pins, does anyone know if these will work in the Super B?

Well Bob's Gun Parts in Royal AR has firing pins for the B's and says that they will fit for the Super. However, he said that there were many variations on the pin and he will need to match my old one up. Passing along in case anyone needs the info.

Well, I finally got around to sending my old pin and $25 in. Got the new pin (and my old one back) about 10 days later. Ran two boxes through it like nobody's business. Glad to have the old cheap thing working again.