Home His Collection Handguns Rifles Shotguns Her Collection Handguns Rifles Links

 

Star B-Super

 

Star B-Super, 1973 model

 

 

Technical Information

Manufacturer: Star Bonifacio Echeverria
Model: B-Super	Total Weight with empty magazine: 1066g
Country of Origin: Spain, Eibar	Barrel Length: 130mm
Calibre: 9mmP	Length of pistol: 215mm
Action: Single action semi-automatic	Width of pistol: 36mm
Magazine Capacity: 8	Height of pistol: 133mm

 

General Information

The Star model B-Super is a single action locked breach semi-automatic pistol chambered for 9mmP. It is basically an "upgrade" of the standard model B which was used by the South African Defence Force until it was replaced by the Z88 pistol. It has quite a number of added features which improved the model B.

• Added take-down lever on the right side of the pistol.
• Added "loaded chamber" indicator to the top, right above the extractor.
• Sights improved to make them easier to see.
• Upgraded the barrel link to new type closed cam system integrated with the barrel.
• Full length guide rod with captive recoil spring.

 

Ergonomics

The Star Model B-Super is not too badly designed. It's a big full sized pistol but fitted with an a single stack magazine capable of loading only 8 rounds. The slide does lock back on the last round fired and operating the slide release button can be easily done with the thumb. The safety lever is also quite easy to operate and use. The grip is quite large and anyone with small hands might find it difficult to handle the full sized firearm. It also have fairly long barrel and is fitted with decent sights. I must state that my Star model B Super is exceptionally accurate and easy to shoot on target. The single action trigger is smooth and soft to pull. Recoil is really controllable due to the large steel frame and slide. My version is not fitted with a magazine safety.

 

 

Reliability

My Star model B Super feeds a military 115grain FMJ without any failures. Hollow points is a problem though, and I have not found any modern hollow point which feeds reliably. Most hollow points will fail to feed in the Star model b Super because of the design of the magazine. It does feed any CMJ loaded "hot" with a COL of about 29.3mm. A shorter cartridge tends to nose-dive into the magazine. Any bullet other than a round nose type tends to get stuck at the bottom of the feed ramp. My current preferred round to shoot in my Star model B Super is either a 115grain cmj bullet @1240 ft/sec or a 147grain round nose bullet @ 950 ft/sec. Loading anything with a lighter charge will cause misfires in the form of "stovepipes" and double feeds. The Star model B's used by the SADF have a bad reputation for reliability. This was probably caused by the firearms being in service for too long and or not cleaning the guns frequently enough. It should also be noted that the Star Model B as well as the B-Super should never be dry-fired (pulling the trigger with a cocked hammer without a round in the chamber) as it will break the firing pin quite easily. If you want to dry-fire the pistol, invest in some snap caps.

 

Determining Year of Manufacture

In order to determine the year of manufacture, look for the date code which is usually located under the left grip panel. This is the proof mark which is used by the Eibar proof house proof house in Spain. The date code on my pistol is R1, which corresponds to the year 1973. All firearms manufactured in Spain can be dated this way.

 

 

Code	Year	Code	Year	Code	Year
A	1927	A1	1955	A2	1981
B	1928	B1	1956	B2	1982
C	1929	C1	1957	C2	1983
CH	1930	CH1	RIEN	CH2	RIEN
D	1931	D1	1958	D2	1984
E	1932	E1	1959	E2	1985
F	1933	F1	1960	F2	1986
G	1934	G1	1961	G2	1987
H	1935	H1	1962	H2	1988
I	1936	I1	1963	I2	1989
J	1937	J1	1964	J2	1990
K	1938	K1	1965	K2	1991
L	1939	L1	1966	L2	1992
LL	1940	LL1	RIEN	LL2	RIEN
M	1941	M1	1967	M2	1993
N	1942	N1	1968	N2	1994
Ñ	1943	Ñ1	1969	Ñ2	1995
O	1944	O1	1970	O2	1996
P	1945	P1	1971	P2	1997
Q	1946	Q1	1972	Q2	1998
R	1947	R1	1973	R2	1999
S	1948	S1	1974	S2	2000
T	1949	T1	1975	T2	2001
U	1950	U1	1976	U2	2002
V	1951	V1	1977	V2	2003
X	1952	X1	1978	X2	2004
Y	1953	Y1	1979	Y2	2005
Z	1954	Z1	1980	Z2	2006

 

Accuracy and reloading

 

 

 

 

Overall Impression

The Star model B Super is a robust, accurate and reliable pistol provided you fire CMJ or FMJ type rounds with a COL of about 29.3mm. It is a big pistol, but quite easy to manage and very easy to shoot accurately with. It is however designed for a shooter with large hands.