Star Firestar 9MM FTE problem
I have a Star Firestar single stack magazine auto in 9mm.I bought it new just before Interarms the importer went bellyup.It has always had a problem with failure to eject (stovepipes).I have always used cheap 9mm ammo in it.Would using premium ammo work better ? Maybe 9mm+P ? The extractor seems to be working properly.Would changing the recoil spring help ? I bought a spring kit from Wolff with 3 different recoil springs of different tensions.Any ideas ? If I can't fix it myself,it goes back in the safe.
EvilDr235
EvilDr235
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I know this is usually the fix for a FTF not a FTE, but on my Star Firestar M43 I had to just slighly polish up the slide rails to get it 100%. At the time I didn't have the money to try other stuff so I thought I'd try it.
You can actually get stuff still from Star in Spain and they are quite good to work with in spite of international shipping. I recently ordered a bunch of spare mags for one of my favorite guns - the Megastar 10mm.0 -
After I first bought it,I was going to ship it back to Interarms to have them fix it,then I remembered the crappy sevice I got with them when I had a problem a Rossi revolver they had imported.I sent it to them twice with a timing problem for them to fix.When I not heard from them the second time I sent it in I called them and found out that they had gone bellyup.They did not even have my revolver,some local gunsmith had it.I called me and said he would ship it back to me.I picked it up at my local gunshop and when I got home and opened the box, the Rossi was all taken apart.I went out and bought some books on gunsmithing and ordered the parts I thought I would need and fixed it myself.I guess the moral of the story is don't buy anything with Interarms name on it.
EvilDr2350 -
the first thing I reccommend is to use good BRAND NAME AMMO that the gun was designed to shoot like regular winchester or remington 9mm and try them to see which works better, if neither work OK then look at the magazine first for feed problem or extractor and chamber for extraction problems or slide, ejector, and recoil spring for ejection problem. 0 -
How do you hold the gun? I knew a guy with large hands who held his Firestar with his pinky finger under the magazine floorplate.... turns out that the upward pressure on the mag caused jams. Wierd problem. He finally glued some thin plastic strips on the magazine to prevent it from being pushed up too far into the magazine well. 0 -
Evil, remember Interarms was the US side importer. Star, the manufacturer, is in Spain and are still around, although I think they are a shadow of their former glory. I have never had to send a gun internationally for repair, but I would trust Star to do the work. Like I said above, I have had a good relationship with them. I can probably find my contact over there. Of course mine have all been parts purchases not repair, but I would think it would be worth a few emails.
They are nice guns for the money.0 -
I took it out yesterday to shoot.About every other magazine it jams.The empty case come out about half way then stops being held by th next bullet in the magazine.Tried 3 different factory magazines.I tried swapping a new Wolff recoil spring that is the same tension as the stock spring.It worked ok for a few mags,then started acting up again.I am going to give it a good cleaning in case the chamber is causing the cases to stick, but I don't think thats the problem.If I remove the magazine,the empty case falls out of the chamber.I will remove the extractor to make sure it is working ok.Would a stiffer recoil spring slow the slide down enough for the extractor to fully remove the empty case from the chamber ? I have several Wolff recoil springs with more tension.When I replaced the stock spring,the Wolff spring was about 3/8 of a inch longer even tho it is the same tension as the stock spring.I was shooting UMC brown box 115 grain hard ball.I was also shooting some 115 grain HP reloads at 1095 FPS,but they are 17 years old.I ran out of time,so I did not get a chance to try some of the heavier recoil springs.I made sure I was not limp wristing it.
EvilDr2350 -
BTTT 0 -
Since you have springs, by all means try them. You might try shooting a few different bullet types through it (round ball, JHP, etc) as well as different power levels and see if it changes ANYTHING (even as slight as the placement of the stuck cartridges). If that doesn't do it, I would google "Fluff & Buff" and go slowly and try to polish up first the slide rails and if that doesn't work, the feedramp. Like I said above, I know polishing the feedramp in particular is normally used for FTF issues, but I have had luck with those both of these procedures fixing various issues in Star's and Tanfoglio pistols in particular. 0
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