Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Pre-Christmas El Cheapo Gun Alert...

I notice that the new close-out catalog from wholesaler/blow-'em-out-the-door guys CDNN has a few more Star BMs (read about 'em here and here) for sale at the el cheapo price of $159.00.

These were always okay little guns...essentially Spanish-made Commander-sized 9mm 1911 copies. The real trick items were the aluminum-framed BKMs, which I haven't seen for sale in a coon's age. The mags hold 8 rounds and there are usually a bunch around at different price points. The big joke here is the 9mm Stars generally worked better than most (much more expensive) 1911 9mms...I wouldn't want to run a lot of 9mm +Ps through the a Star, but hey, the same basic gun was issued in 9mm Largo, a hotted up nine, so I few probably wouldn't cause a BM to blow up in your hand. Don't blame me if it does, however. Lots of Star accessories/parts on the internet...check 'em out here.

One other thing of note in the CDNN catalog...they still have a few FN Hi-Powers in the less desirable .40 S&W at $399. As you all know (don'cha?), the FN/HPs are gone baby gone after this batch, with Browning once again doing the heavy-lifting on BHP distribution...at a tidy eight bills per gun...it's all that rich Corinthian leather and walnut dashboard stuff...don't come whining to me about how you meant to get a BHP from FN when they were cheap! The smart people — ie, not me — snapped up the 9mm guns for under $400 like ravening pirhana...

7 comments:

  1. My wife's first automatic was a Star BKM, which were also her maiden initials. She like it much better than the S&W M36 I'd given her as she shot it much better. On day we're shooting at an indoor range and I notice she's loading up the hot reloads I'd made up to approximate the +P+ loads I'd gotten for carry. I explained to her that those would beat the aluminum frame up too much and she should use the standard pressure stuff. Her reply, the regular stuff "doesn't feel right." After some discussion I determined that she *wanted* more recoil the she was getting. We sold the BKM to a friend and she got a Firestar in 40 S&W. Should have kept it, I've got a daughter who's 10 now that it would fit just fine, except that she's a southpaw.

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  2. Anonymous6:17 AM

    I'm changing the subject, I know, I know.....but there's something I've been trying to find out for almost a year now.

    Do any of your serphim or cherubim have ANY idea when then Taurus Thunderbolt in .357 magnum is going to be available?

    I've been anxiously awaiting the release of the Thunderbolt in .357 mag for almost two years now.

    Any word at all?

    I've been told twice by Bob Morrison on a syndicated radio show that they're already out there, but nobody seesm to have any idea where.

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  3. Hillbilly;

    I have a STANDING ORDER for a .357 Thunderbolt rifle, and I don't have one!!! Nor does Tequila, host of our COWBOYS show.

    There may be a few out there, with the emphasis on the word "few."

    Taurus tends to trickle guns in until they're 100% ramped up...look at their 1911s, which are only just now on shelves in any great numbers. I'll call Bob and see what I can shake loose about the whens and wheres...

    mb

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  4. local pawn shop in Arlington, VA here has a Star BM in perhaps 70% condition for $250.

    great little guns.

    I am tempted to get one for my wife, though what I really want for myself is a Star PD

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  5. Anonymous9:24 AM

    Michael: Just now called CDNN, they are already sold out of the FN Browning Hi Powers in .40. They have the other version but the originals are already gone. Just so you and your readers know.

    All The Best,
    Frank W. James

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  6. Well, Frank...I tried!

    I heard the SFS guns can be converted back to the standard config by replacing the SFS parts with plain vanilla BHP parts. If it was a 9mm, I might give it a try, but am not a fan of the .40 (although I do have one Novak built).

    Shoulda, coulda, woulda...I'm planning a BHP show, like the 1911 show, with Bill laughridge next season...fingers crossed!

    Iain...Firestar .40 is a nasty little beast...I carried one for a while back when it was the meanest little blaster you could get, and by about the 3rd shot I just wanted to close my eyes and wave the thing around. You could weld steel with the muzzle blast...not quite as bad as a little Glock G33 in .357 Sig, but certainly right behind it! Cool little carry gun, though...

    mb

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  7. This cannot work in fact, that is what I consider.

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