Star Firearms

Finding & Interpreting Star Model Numbers

Model names are all too frequently a source of confusion for Star pistols. Especially for the older pistols, there are just a few tips you need to know to almost always find the correct model of your gun.

Older pistols

First of all, there is simply no such thing as a model SA, or S.A. That is part of the company name, and means "Anonymous Society," (Sociedad Anónima). Kind of like Inc. or Corp. in the US. The right place to find all older Star pistol model numbers is on the butt, as seen in the illustrations below and photo to the right. On the flat plate on the bottom of the gun, just rear of where the magazine is inserted, look for a letter, set of letters or a word. The longer number is your serial number, incidentally.

If there is letter code, the first letter is always what I call the series. Any following letters are modifications to (variants of) the base gun. Note that most series also have variants that are not differentiated by a letter code change. I know of only some of the definitions; I and N mean a caliber change from the basic version, S means that they are updated to include a magazine safety and K means an aluminum frame. There are others as well, but some have various meanings, such as D where on the PD it seems to mean "small," and on the MD it means "fully-automatic." Very confusing.

Just to add more trouble, some pistols will simply be marked "Super," with no letter codes. These are the Super (linkless, quick-takedown lever) versions of a number of models. I know of the Super designation appearing alone on model A and B pistols, but it can be on others as well. Use caliber and other details of the gun to determine your model if this is the case.

The chart to the right delineates the differences between some of the more confusingly similar pistols, and what I know of some of the suffix codes. Models A and B, for example, are confusingly similar, but are (apparently) differentiated by caliber. Suffix codes are changes to the base gun. Some are not at all clear, but the ones I know are listed here.

Another confusion comes up sometimes in caliber markings being confused with weapon names. Patronen '08 is a way of saying "the cartridges that fit in the model 1908 pistol." The Pistol '08 is the Luger, and more recently the cartridge that fits it is called the 9 mm Luger, or Parabellum. Up thru the 50s at least, a number of Stars in 9 mm had the chamber hoods stamped P'08 or something similar. This is just a caliber notation. The German-issued Star Pistols were only made from 1942-44, should have the last three digits of the serial on all major components, and may have German Army and/or Nazi proofmarks. Identification of this weapons continues to be problematic.

Modern pistols

Newer pistols have a model name or number, sometimes with a type suffix, clearly on the sides of the gun. Any brand names (e.g. "Firestar Plus") are on the slide and any listed model numbers are on the right side of the frame above the grip panels. Some pistols will have no model number listed. The Megastar, for example, is the Model 50, but is [more or less] invariably sold as the "Model Megastar."

All the modern pistols have model numbers instead of letters, starting with 28. I have no idea what happened to the first 27 or to many of the numbers in between. Some are clearly also just chosen for marketing needs, like the .45 ACP caliber Firestar M45. Some also have other apparent meanings. The Firestar Plus is the M243, where adding 200 to the M43 must mean "super version" or something to the Star engineering department. Similarly, the M105 was an alloy predecessor to the M205 plastic framed Ultrastar. Not obvious what they all mean, but they definitely mean something.

Some of the modern pistols also use variant designators. These are much simpler, though. Basically M (Military) means steel, and usually the longer of the two, and P (Police) means alloy, and shorter. These are used on the 28/30/31 series, and are always used. There is no "base" Model 30. Sometimes, these are not used, so the model number for the Firestar Plus has no K suffix, to designate that it is alloy framed.

Once you find the model, you can look up which series it is in and go to the relevant page on the table here.

Importers Marks

I get asked a lot about marks that end up being import marks. Weapons made outside the US must be imported, and stamped with the importer company name and location. I am sure other countries have similar regulations. Import stamps are usually not going to match, many will even be non-straight or will not have been finished over. US importers include Interarms and CAI (I will add others as I recall them). Location can be as little as city and state, or even odd abbreviations; American Arms has always just stamped "NKC" to mean "North Kansas City, Missouri."

Especially because of the large number of Star pistols imported as surplus, import marks are almost always of no value when trying to identify the gun. If you are trying to buy one, they can be useful, as many people will post the gun for sale as being made by Interarms, and so on.

Proofmarks & Year Codes

Since the dawn of organized weapons makers and armies, the purchasing governments have demanded a system for assuring that the products live up to their promised specifications. This practice became most organized, and earned the name of "proofing" with the advent of firearms, when armor plates were proof tested to assure their resistance to early gunfire. Though 100% of armor in those early days was tested, this rapidly changed to batch testing, which is what we have now with firearms. A representative sample of each lot of weapons is tested with a proofing cartridge, which is vastly over the normal specifications. If the weapon survives a certain number of these, it passes, and all weapons in the lot get the proof mark to certify they meet the government's minimum expectations of function and safety.

Though the US government has inspection processes for military goods, there is no proof house of any sort for domestic US gun makers. Yes, that means there are essentially no standards. Most other countries, do, including Spain. The model S photo to the left shows the typical location and appearance of proofmarks on Star pistols. They are usually on and/or near the front of the trigger guard. There are 3 on a typical commerical arm, and four on a typical military arm. Note that most will not be hilited in white as these are. In fact, yours may be quite hard to find or read.

As seen below, there are four possible marks. Three are proofmarks, and there is a fourth that is a Spanish military acceptance proof. I do not know of acceptance marks for other countries that might appear on Star firearms, but if anyone does know for sure, please send me a good quality photo or other reference information. The three proof marks indicate receipt at the proof house, passing of proof, and the date of proofing. I do not know when the date is added, but note that it is not exactly the date of manufacture, but the date of proof, which is always later. Probably the same year though, so its a good guide.

Using proofmarks to determine year of manufacture:

As implied above, with proof date codes, you can get an accurate and reasonably precise date on your Star pistol. Just use this handy translation code list.

The Spanish government proof house set up 28 letters or letter-combinations that replace years, starting in 1927. Before 1927 there was the Civil War, and before that was presumably a different system, of which I am not aware. Every 28 years or so (there are inexplicable gaps) they start a new series, by adding a number to the end of the letter codes.

It is possible these only apply to the Eibar proof house. Though this therefore works fine for the Eibar-based Star, use care when trying to proof-date a gun by another Spanish maker.