I had this problem with a Ruger 9mm. I sent it to them several times and they returned it no-problem-found. I then videoed me firing the gun and the gun jamming. I had a friend fire it in case I was limp-wristing it. They allowed me to replace it with a different model, but denied there was a problem. 1. Video the problem and return it to the manufacturer with the video. 2. It may be a tolerance build-up issue. As the gun heats from repeat firings some parts expand out of tolerance. (That, I’m certain, was my issue.)
Oh, one more thing, buy different ammo. My Kahrr (sp?) will only fire certain ammo. Some 9mm is 1”1/16 and some is 1”3/16. My gun will only fire the former.
Sell it and buy another brand That’s what I did with mine never could get it to function right.
I ended up with a Walther PPK the star seems like a neat little pistol but if they don’t work they go down the road.
Not enough information. “Jamming” means what? Failure to feed? Failure to extract? Stovepipe? Have you tried firing with a different magazine or firing with just one round to see if it’s a magazine or feed ramp problem? Have you tried different brand ammo?
Get a Glock 42. That’s what I’m going to do when I have the funds.
I assume the spent cartridge is not ejecting. Either the tolerances between the chamber and the brass you are using is too tight after firing or the spring on the ejector is too weak to grip and hold the cartridge during extraction.
Revolvers eat anything you feed them, and also go BANG every time.
Get something more reliable.
Suggest you try this in order. Make only one change at a time to try to isolate the problem. It is the process I have always used with sticky actions.
1. Thoroughly clean and lubricate the pistol.
a. look for any obvious rough spots on the slide and frame.
b. stone or emory or file off any rough spots.
c. Examine the chamber and spent brass for any markings.
-if found, you can lightly polish the chamber with product/tools made specially to do so (check Midway/Brownwells) or just use car paint rub out product and a tightly wrapped cleaning jag attached to a drill motor.
d. examine the extractor for burrs. Make sure it is not bent and is seating correctly.
2. At the range,
a. hold the pistol firmly in a strong grip Weaver stance and the wrist locked bracing against the anticipated recoil.
b. Try a variety of full metal jacket ammo. The heavier the bullet the better. Franchi and Sellier and Bellot ammo seem to be hotter than US loads and would be what the Star was designed with in mind.
3. Count on sending 200-300 rounds down range to “break it in” once it starts to work more reliably.
Good luck and have some fun making it work.
My favorite “fun gun” is a 30 year old Star Model B in 9mm.
Sell it, and stick with Kimber .45
There is no substitute, and when you need it to work, it will.
When you say mint, do you mean you bought it new and not many rounds have been fired or do you mean you bought it used and it looks new?
If you bought it used you may have just relieved somebody else of their problem.
If you bought it new, it may just need some breaking in.
I just did a quick search. It looks like you may need to take some special care with this gun, most of this don’t have a firing pin lock which means it can fire if you drop it.
Good luck.
1) Download the magazine by one or two rounds and try again. If it no longer jams you are probably using low powered range ammo (Winchester White Box or similar full metal jacket stuff.) Load the magazines and let them set loaded between range sessions and the magazine springs will loosen up a bit. (The next round in the magazine is pushing up against the inside of the slide, causing friction.)
2) Your recoil spring is a bit too tight. Lock the slide back and leave it that way between range sessions.
3) Fully load a magazine, but make the first round a full powered defensive hollow point load. (You know, the buck-a-round Hornady Critical Defense type stuff.) If your problem goes away and you can shoot a full mag, then see 1 or 2 above.
Chances are there's nothing wrong with your Star that a few hundred rounds won't cure.
Also, it wouldn't hurt to field strip the gun, clean it thoroughly, and lube it at the appropriate points, including the rails. The Star is a 1911 style, and 1911s like to run very wet.
Here's a good site for information: http://www.star-firearms.com/firearms/guns/s/
And from that same site, here's a PDF of the manual: http://www.star-firearms.com/firearms/manuals/downloads/a,b,m,p,s_manual.pdf
Take it to a real, experienced gunsmith. Do not file or stone anything. It will only make the repair more expensive or impossible. It ALWAYS costs more to repair after the customer has “fixed” it.
Don’t know what the guts look like, but if there is a spring on the slide lock it might be bent.
I’ve got a CZ83 does the same thing when the spring gets bent.
I don’t know if you know what year your gun was manufactured but I read that in the 80’s the company retrofitted a bunch of Spanish police .32’s on a trade for new .30’s. They totally rebuilt them as .380’s but had to do a lot of hand fitting and Star did not have enough personnel who knew the proper way to do it. So they had problems with those weapons. Could be you got one of those. Take it to a gunsmith. He’ll know.
Try using Italian gun grease for cleaning. Its good stuff.
I had that same problem with a Star 9mm, and a pretty good smith was unable to reproduce it. Given the number of different calibers I shoot successfully I don’t think it was limp-wristing, but I never really did solve it. All I can offer is a BTT and wish you the best of luck.