star made in spain 45 auto version of 1911
 

does anyone know anything about a 45 auto 1911 clone made by star in spain ? i have aquired one from a relative and he says its a good gun, but i take that as a grain of salt i wanna hear from other people that has owned, or shot a bunch of rounds threw them and would like some knowledge of the gun... some this is what i know about it so far, it is a P D model, which i believe it stands for aluminum alloy frame compact size... but rather than that i know nothing else about it. are they good guns? are they reliable? help me out folks if you can

Re: star made in spain 45 auto version of 1911
 

Welcome to TFF J tice! I have shot one that my friend has and they are good shooters. The problem lies in the fact that parts are not interchangeable with true 1911's. Star has been out of business for awhile now and trying to find any replacement buffers is a pain; there are a few aftermarket parts available though. Slide wear on the alloy frames can be an issue if you plan on shooting thousands of rounds through it.

Overall, you got a good gun, shoot it and have fun! I wouldn't recommend shooting +P loads in it though, that will just decrease slide life.

Re: star made in spain 45 auto version of 1911
 

The Star PD has an excellent reputation and Star makes some pretty decent firearms. The Star PD is actually bringing a bit of a "premium" these days, as they are considerably more costly than the 9mm BM; which for the most part, is a very similar firearm. The PD does have an aluminum frame, so it is light weight from a carry standpoint, but the suggestion that you not feed it a steady diet of +p ammo is a good one, as over time it will take its toll on the alloy frame.

Re: star made in spain 45 auto version of 1911
 

Welcome to TFF j. I owned one years ago. The only specific thing I really remember was what woolley said about the parts not being interchangeable, but as I remember, it was a good shooter and I had a lot of fun with it.

Re: star made in spain 45 auto version of 1911
 

I had one for years......A good carry piece. Just remember the PD does NOT have all the safety features of the 1911. No squeeze-grip safety and the disconnect safety is not as good as a Colt. I never carried mine in condition 1. Always left the chamber empty. As I remember this is the one .45 that you could put the safety on with the hammer down. But I never trusted it enough to keep a round in the chamber. It was a light good shooting .45. Only trouble I had was a broken extractor. (but that was my fault, for a while I was loading 230 LRN bullets over Bullseye powder). Action worked very "snappy" with the fast burning powder. After replacing the extractor I switched to unique and never had another problem. That was a good many years ago.....Looking back, I wish I still had that gun.......Don in SC

Re: star made in spain 45 auto version of 1911
 

The Star safety design actually blocks the hammer from falling and lifts it off of the sear. They are actually safer to carry in condition 1 than the original 1911/1911A1 design.

Re: star made in spain 45 auto version of 1911
 

+1 to Bill. The Star PD is safer gun to carry loaded than the pre-1980 Colts.

j tice, count me as another fan of the Star PD. I had one for almost 15 years and shot it often enough to get to know it well. The PD is a good gun; light weight, safe and reliable.