Hi-Point Firearms Forums banner

FI .380

9K views 62 replies 15 participants last post by  Yeayeaigetit 
#1 ·
A friend who doesn't know much about guns showed me this beauty. Firearms International 1911 style .380. "Washington DC " The trigger is really smooth, probably 3-4 lbs. Comparison to a Shield 9.
Air gun Trigger Wood Gun barrel Gun accessory
Air gun Grey Everyday carry Material property Trigger
 
See less See more
2
#2 ·
I place it in the SNS section as it is a FI piece. Just like my FI revolver. The frame and slide are absolutely gorgeous.
 
#3 ·
Not as gorgeous as mine that's nickel plated.
@greg_r got one too.
You just missed a dude on EBay who was parting out one.
I got a spare firing pin.
 
  • Like
Reactions: undeRGRound
#4 ·
That's a Star Model D.

Firearms International (FI, not to be confused with FIE) acquired the rights and essentially it's a Star Model D pistol sold under another name. There are some reports of FI selling the import-marked version as the "Garcia Model 30" as well.

The same goes for the Iver Johnson Pony .380 pistols.
 
#5 ·
So decent quality? The finish has a really deep luster to it. Like a black mirror.
 
#7 ·
@adam01364 - I love these 1911 knock offs. What's your opinion of the M43 Firestar? I MIGHT have a chance to trade an SD9VE for one
 
  • Like
Reactions: undeRGRound
#12 ·
Not really SNS territory but they are nice pistols. SNS guns are typically mass produced junk useing alternate materials such as zamak along with simplistic designs with low parts count. Those pistols are more on par with actualy real firearms. Maybe not Beretta or HK but they are quality pistols compared to our favorite zamak junkers.

accutek and sterling are pretty much SNS territory though even though they are not zamak. Some guns are so bad they simply have to get thrown in with SNS groups. I make the rules for all this by the way so no need to question it.
 
#14 ·
The finish on some of those Spanish pistols was very nice. I never had a problem with my Iver Johnson. Biggest issue is parts availability.
Here's my IJ:
View attachment 68095
Neat pistols. That magazine well is interesting how they chose to ovelap the frame with that hump on the front of the frame. I wonder what the reason whas behind that as I dont see things like that much. Maybe some sort of butt strike protection. Its deffinitly got a purpose as those are extra steps in the machinining process. The extractor is crazy long as well. Almost double what it needs to be. Not sure why they would choose that route.

Parts availability...l feel your pain. Often times pistols like these your only way to get spare parts is to buy another complete gun. At least the ammo is common though. Parts availability is the main reason I stick to certain designs and not branch out into too many oddball guns.

You need to track down a VP70z Adam. You would love it. Nothing is breakable on them either. I rate them more durable than Makarovs.
 
#15 ·
@adam01364 - I love these 1911 knock offs. What's your opinion of the M43 Firestar? I MIGHT have a chance to trade an SD9VE for one
The 9mm firestars are really good..... really good. They just got axed for political and financial reasons. Parts wise I think the only somwhat concerning part is the extractor and availability of replacement. 40 and 45 firestars had some issues and I wouldnt mess with them unless your just really into Firestars. An SD9VE is a fair trade if the firestar is not abused. Just inspect it well. If you dont have a whole lot of full size high capacity guns it may not be worth it in this climate we are in. If I was in a scrape I would deffinitly choose a SD9 over a firestar. In terms of the trade itself though its pretty good. All steel old world quality pistol over newer mass produced striker fired plastic. The firestar is also infinitly more collectable so I dont think you could ever lose money on it.
 
#16 ·
Thanks for the advice. I get what you're saying about the political climate. I have other "high capacity" 9mms, so that isn't an issue. My thought process is that, being lower capacity, the M 43 may not be on a hit list - yet. And I do like the 1911 styling. Just making sure I wasn't going to rip the guy off - or get ripped off
 
  • Like
Reactions: undeRGRound
#17 ·
accutek and sterling are pretty much SNS territory though even though they are not zamak. Some guns are so bad they simply have to get thrown in with SNS groups. I make the rules for all this by the way so no need to question it.
My BIL carried a Sterling as a back up when he was a patrol officer. It always went bang, and didn't jam. I have one just like it I got from dad. I also bought one on line. Nice little pistols.
 
  • Like
Reactions: undeRGRound
#19 ·
Some are better than others. The 25acp ones are not too bad as they are basically a cheaply built Galesi. The model 400 in 380acp suffered a lot of problems. The 22lr are finiky like any other 22lr pocket gun but can work with the right combination of ammo and polishing. Some years were better than others. I have a 25acp still thats pretty decent. Its pretty hard to screw up a pocket gun in 25acp. Even some of the worst manufacterers still managed to put out a decent 25. A lot of that is due to the cartridge itself and the fact that they are always simple blowbacks.

Now it should be said that the stainless sterlings or any other stainless guns from that era can always be finiky in terms of lube. They really didnt have a handle on making stainless pistols back then and most manufacturers struggled with the different combinations. Some still do not have a handle on this. Good lube to use on those early guns is FP-10.

I will say this... the sterling 400 IMO is one of the prettiest guns ever made IMO. Finish is not great but the lines are nice. They just had all kinds of problems from parts breakage, metalurgy, bad safety design etc. Sterling also had some real funky guns and even a decent sigle shot hunting pistol so they were a neat company to watch. They had lots and lots of problems in house though and it buried the company in the end.
 
#21 ·
Again, thanks for the information. I once owned a Star .45 (don't remember which one). Heavy but nicely balanced. Had to be careful, though - it would ALMOST use standard 1911 mags, but not quite. Like so many other things, it went down the road. Older, but not much smarter, I guess
 
  • Like
Reactions: undeRGRound
#22 ·
Sounds like the Star PD. Those had a cult following for a long time. People were really into the PDs and the Detonics Combatmaster. Those Star PDs come up for sale on Gunbroker pretty regularly for decent prices these days.... used to be you couldnt find them. I guess that is one of the positives with all the glock and polymer striker worship these days. A lot of the classics come up for sale more.

I always wanted the Thomas 45. Strange compact 45 but pretty neat. My first FFL dealer (who became a friend) had one and brought it shooting a few times. Here is a a little on it

https://www.historicalfirearms.info/post/165060071454/aj-ordnance-thomas-45-ap
 
#23 ·
Not really SNS territory but they are nice pistols. SNS guns are typically mass produced junk useing alternate materials such as zamak along with simplistic designs with low parts count. Those pistols are more on par with actualy real firearms. Maybe not Beretta or HK but they are quality pistols compared to our favorite zamak junkers.

accutek and sterling are pretty much SNS territory though even though they are not zamak. Some guns are so bad they simply have to get thrown in with SNS groups. I make the rules for all this by the way so no need to question it.
Now don't make fun of my Sterling 22. All steel even. Bought it new back in the late 60's I think it was. I keep it in the original box with the paperwork for it. It functions very well with the higher velocity 22lR ammo.
 
#24 ·
Its probably the cream of the crop for SNS 22lr that people know about. There might be some more obscure stuff out there I have not run across. I think the J22 is a little less ammo sensitive but the Sterling is a better pistol overall. I would put the sterling 25 behind the raven on my list. Sounds kind of nuts but Ravens are just overlooked because there are so many of them.

Sterling really had some kind of diamonds in the rough. Its really just the 400 where it takes a major nose dive. Also... some sterling are well put together and finished wonderfully.... others look like left over parts thrown together to get out the door before they shut down.... and many of those just dont run without a lot of work.

A lot of people throw AMT into SNS territory but I dont really see that at all. For my SNS rules (which is all that matter for me).... if its zamak....its in. Only a few non zamak are allowed. This is mostly because Accutek broke all the the rules. Standard Arms is another. No but its not a real firearm

Starting to feel like I am back in elementary school argueing Batman vs Spiderman... who would win HaHa!
 
#25 ·
I though I wanted a AMT .22 Automag. Nope. They never had a good reputation. The .380 back up in some editions were okay. Too damned heavy by today's standards.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rerun
#33 ·
I missed this post... The 22 Automags were cool pistols but they are extremely ammo sensitive. Very accurate and fun to shoot. Closest thing I would compare it to would be a tokarev with much better ergos in terms of grip angle. They really fit my hand well. Its just hard getting the right ammo to work reliably in them. I actually want one again but the prices are stupid. AMT is like Intratec or Cobray. They have a hard core collector following and the prices dont match the value....at all. The Backups usually sell at OK prices but I think its just because so many were produced. Anything with the name Automag on it gets overpriced. You could engrave Automag on a lorcin and probably sell it for double.

I just want an Automag 2 because I had one as a kid and miss it. I think it was the second pistol I bought with my paperoute money. It jammed all the time with winchester but I still loved it. I could probably make one reliable now. The jams were all feeding issues mostly due to bullet profile from what I remember. They look awesome.... all the AMT pistols do. Straight 1980s asthetics like the Detonics pistols.
 
#47 ·
A friend who doesn't know much about guns showed me this beauty. Firearms International 1911 style .380. "Washington DC " The trigger is really smooth, probably 3-4 lbs. Comparison to a Shield 9.
View attachment 68047 View attachment 68049
I think those were imported by FIE and were called The Pony. Great little pistols and of COURSE, because they were made in Spain, people talked poopie about them.
 
#49 ·
I think I got it Lawson. Its basically a 45super with a smaller primer opperating at around 28,000psi (same as the super). I can probably pull this off. I tend to like to overcompensate on slowing down the timing. So I am lookinging at

Flat firing pin stop
Increased Hammer spring
Increased recoil spring... possibly a buffer as well
Bushing compensater (just to add mass to the slide)
Possibly stronger mag springs

I like that the SMC has a little more case strength. Thats a nice tweek they did to the super.
 
#57 ·
Testing, testing, testing....

Hopefully this works! Hi guys, long time listener first time caller! I'm incredibly excited to see the gang from the old sns forum come back together. I was never a member but I lurked super hard, I geek out on inexpensive pistols. You might say I am an aspiring zamark hording weirdo. Anyhow, just joined the forum to remedy never jloining the last. I look foward to continuing to learn about the red headed step children of the American gun world with you fine folks.

When I got a bit more time I'll try to post an introduction again, didn't work the first time, almost certainly user error.

R.e. the fi 380. Growing up I had access to one of the Spanish micro quasi 1911a1s but not really in 380. I loved that thing. Sorry I dont remember the details on make/model but I believe it was a star pistol. I agree with an earlier poster suggesting trading a new polymer popper for some old school cool (but for the love of god keep your mags. Depending on where you live, pistols can be easy to replace. Mags not so much). The star was a very ergonomic and soft shooting pistol. I would love to get another.
 
#61 ·
UndeRGRound,

Yeah the older pistols really have a class about them that modern pistols lack. Dont get me wrong, I rock a plastic fantastic on my belt but it's soulless like a hammer. I'm glad to have it, and it's a great tool but that's all it is to me.

Old tokarevs, markovs, 1911's, stars, wheelguns are just neat in a way plastic will never be. And if course, because I'm touched in the head I feel the same about sns type guns lol.

But if you get a good deal on an old star 380 micro sorta but not really 1911 I would grab one. RIA armory makes one that has my attention as well.

Regards,
Foolsgold39
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top