Star BM 9mm trigger disconnect

[nekshot]

The trigger disconnect apparatus in the mag well puts a rather nasty long couch in the clip. Any advise what to do with this offensive thingy? If it’s not related to trigger, it’s coming to the file for sure.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

You should be able to easily remove this part by taking off the right side grip panel. The magazine safety is a sort of "L" shaped piece that has a pin on one end that goes into a hole in the right side of the frame, and a long flat spring that goes up with a nub that enters the magazine well. When the magazine is inserted it pushes the nub out of the way and will allow the gun to fire. With the magazine out of the gun the part blocks movement of the sear.

Be aware that if you have to use the gun in self-defense and are later charged with a crime or civilly sued the absence of the part may become an issue, especially if the gun's discharge was accidental.

I'm a big fan of the Star BM, and Star pistols in general. They are very well made pistols, and the BM is one of the best.

DG

[Sasquatch-1]

If you are talking about the mag safety, It is very easy to remove and replace. Took mine out a long time ago and keep it with the gun. I do not use this gun for personal defense.

[StrawHat]

…
Be aware that if you have to use the gun in self-defense and are later charged with a crime or civilly sued the absence of the part may become an issue, especially if the gun's discharge was accidental…

DG

DG,

Can you cite a case where this has happened? I am trying to find one but so far it has always been “… it happened to a friend of my cousin…”

Looking forward to actually finding a case.

Thank you.

Kevin

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Right off hand, no I can not. However I've heard for years that firearms that cause an accidental discharge because they were modified will really put the defendant at a disadvantage in a law suit. It just makes sense-- if the device was installed by the factory as a safety feature and it has been removed, the the gun is no longer as safe as it was intended to be. Example: A child finds your pistol and attempts to fire it. The magazine has been removed, but a round remains in the chamber. With the magazine disconnect device the pistol can not be discharged. No problem. But, if the device has been removed the gun goes "BANG!" and you'll bear responsibility for where the bullet goes. If I get the time I'll see what I can find on the internet about such a situation, but I'm sure you could turn something up with due diligence. Good job for M-Techs or Char-Gar!

DG

[Stacts]

DG,

Can you cite a case where this has happened? I am trying to find one but so far it has always been “… it happened to a friend of my cousin…”

Looking forward to actually finding a case.

Thank you.

Kevin

Remember Kyle, the Kenosha Kid. During the trial, the DA tried to bring up Rittenhouse's use of FMJ ammo as some kind of proof that he (Kyle) wanted to cause extra damage by using ammo that would over penetrate and thus strike extra people.

If the DA is enough of a jerk, they will use ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING to try to claim you were a bad guy.

[Sasquatch-1]

Right off hand, no I can not. However I've heard for years that firearms that cause an accidental discharge because they were modified will really put the defendant at a disadvantage in a law suit. It just makes sense-- if the device was installed by the factory as a safety feature and it has been removed, the the gun is no longer as safe as it was intended to be. Example: A child finds your pistol and attempts to fire it. The magazine has been removed, but a round remains in the chamber. With the magazine disconnect device the pistol can not be discharged. No problem. But, if the device has been removed the gun goes "BANG!" and you'll bear responsibility for where the bullet goes. If I get the time I'll see what I can find on the internet about such a situation, but I'm sure you could turn something up with due diligence. Good job for M-Techs or Char-Gar!

DG

I am not taking sides here, but if you leave a firearm within reach of a child and they get hold of it, you have bigger problems than having removed the magazine safety.

On the other hand, anything a prosecuting attorney can make you defend is going to cost you wads of money.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Sasquatch-1, I completely agree with everything you said. But, sadly, these things do happen. They have happened often enough to arouse the anti-gun segment of the population and to give all gun owners a black eye. These incidents have lead to the "firerms must be secured when not in use" laws.

O.k. then, next order of business: StrawHat--this is a good place to start:

https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/gun-modifications

It is a lengthy article on what liabilities are created by gun modifications. Read it all, especially the summary.

nekshot--First, I own 3 of the Star BM pistols, used to own 4 of them. I've been doing some thinking about your original post, and the statement that the magazine safety interferes with a good trigger pull--or stated another way, you don't like the existing trigger pull. As a retired gunsmith of over 30 years experience in general gunsmithing it occurs to me that your trigger pull can not be effected by the magazine disconnect safety. When the magazine is out of the pistol the gun can not be fired at all. When the magazine is in the pistol the disconnect is pushed aside by the magazine body and then has no effect on the trigger pull. Your trigger pull can only be improved by a careful polishing of the areas where the trigger and sear bar rub the frame, and the connective areas of the sear and hammer. This should properly be done by a gunsmith familiar with the pistol and would prove to be well worth the cost of his labor, but this is not to say that you could not do it if you have some practice in this area. At present the Star BM is still a glut on the surplus handgun market with parts available from J&G Sales (only one of several sources) should you attempt the job and mess something up.

I'll give another plug for the Star BM, one of several I have made on the Forum over the past couple of years. They are without doubt the best buy in their price range presently offered on the surplus handgun market. They were produced when handguns were still all steel before the influx of plastic, but are never-the-less not excessively heavy because they are basically a compact version of the Star Model B, itself a fine handgun. They can handle hot 9mm loads, are accurate and reliable and for a decade were the official pistol of the Spanish Civil Police (Guardia Civil)--which is why there were so many of them. They were also produced in a lightweight aluminum framed model for civilian sale, but the steel frame will give less felt recoil.

Here's a couple of mine:

312784 312785
Click to enlarge.

Note for collectors: Notice on the first pistol the matching Guardia Civil property marks on the frame and slide. In the second photo the mark has been defaced/removed with A swirl marking. The first BMs that were imported had the markings intact. I guess the Guardia had second thoughts and decided to remove them on later exports of the pistol. In the case of the 2nd pistol, I bought a mostly stripped frame on Gunbroker for $40. Seemed like a good deal at the time, but it languished in my projects pile for a couple of years. When I decided to build a pistol out of it I purchased many of the small parts from J&G Sales. It seems to me that I bought the slide from another source, but I presently forget where I obtained it. The end result was within a few dollars of if I had bought a complete pistol, so there were no savings, but it was fun.

DG