It's a good day with pockets full of brass
I guess you could argue that a great day would end with a bucket full of brass but I haven’t gotten quite that lucky yet.
Sunday, the 9th of March, was one of the first real nice days of the season - sure we had a couple nice ones before, but never any time to do anything. But yesterday, finally, we went out shootin’, and with how the weather has been fluctuating it was absolutely worth heading out and trekking down across the field to our tiny 'range'.
We took four guns, the Savage .17hmr, Finnish M28/76, my friend’s new Ruger LC9, and a Star BM compact 9mm Luger borrowed from another friend. I only let one round off the Finn (little recoil is always recommended to prepare you for a shooting day) and didn’t shoot the Savage at all - she’s a fine gun and a beautiful one at that, I just didn’t feel as hellbent on shooting it as I did the Star. And lemme tell you, I hope my Star shoots just as nice, I haven't had much of a chance to talk to other Star owners or do much reading on them but if this kind of trigger pull and ease of use is common for Stars I highly recommend getting a model yourself.
STAR BM 9MM LUGER
Where my Star is chambered in 9mm Largo and is full sized, this Star was chambered in 9mm Luger - more readily available - and ‘compact’, it’s no teeny weenie back up ankle gun by any means, but it’d be small enough to conceal nicely with enough take down power to lay down a Moose with the right ammo. I found the recoil to be extremely manageable and fun, an overall nice fit for my small hands (better, to be honest, than my full sized model). Safety was quick and light to use with just my thumb. What really surprised me (I mean SURPRISED me) was the trigger pull - not just crisp, but practically non existent. I don't know if this is the standard for the Star BM or if a past ownerUnlike my CZ70 which needs both fingers and man-hand power to pull to the breaking point, you can't even squeeze the Star BM's trigger without it going off. I was expecting at least some squeeze, especially after shooting with the brisk and peppy two-stage trigger of the M28/76. But – following the ancient rule of gun and range safety – my finger didn't come in contact with the trigger until I was aligned with my target and ready to shoot. If I were to carry this as a concealed weapon, I would find the trigger to be highly desirable because it allows you to find your target and immediately fire when ready.
Groupings were very nice for the roughly 25 yards we shot from, all shots hitting within an inch or less. However, the gun shot slightly off-centered due to someone at some point messing around with rear sight – the former setting is marked, thankfully. Some minor adjustment and this gun will easily hit 1” and smaller groups, center target, at a reasonable 25 yards. Accurate enough for a concealed carry pistol? Hell yes. Even in the heat of the moment, this pistol feels forgiving enough to allow you to easily incapacitate an attacker coming at you.
I do have to complain, however, about the take down difficulty compared to my full sized model. This little pistol fights and argues with you, and you have to watch to make sure you don't lose anything in the process. I guess you could call me spoiled after taking down and putting back together my full sized Star.
I also found out Monday night that this little pistol is now mine – well, it will be mine as soon as I find a .22, .32, or .38 pistol. The owner of this sweet little number is wanting to trade for a smaller caliber something or whatever, and I'm more than happy to oblige.
RUGER LC9 (LIGHTWEIGHT COMPACT 9MM)
While this Ruger LC9 isn't necessarily a new introduction to the world (first introduced in 2011), it was the first time I had ever heard of it when I walked into my FFL and saw it on the self. As you can probably tell by past posts, I'm not real huge on 'new' guns beyond having a few favorite makes that I like the styling, feel, or quality of – not that there's anything wrong with a factory fresh pistol or rifle, but there's something about patina and age that draws my eye and peaks my interest. I have to admit though, my other local FFL has mentioned that they'll be getting sparkly pistols in relatively soon and I'd be a damn liar if I said I wasn't completely tickled by the idea of a glam pistol. Future buy? Quite possibly....
My friend bought the LC9 specifically for home defense and concealed carry and will preform very well in both those aspects. It's small, slim, and very lightweight. While showing guns to my friend guns at the shop, we handled both the LC9 and a similar lightweight, compact Walther. Where the Walther felt awkward and unwieldy (I am a huge fan of the fit and feel of regular sized Walthers too), the Ruger felt like a much more snug and comfortable fit in the palm.
For me personally, I find it to be too small and slim despite the fact that it does fit very well in my hand and for the size, is an attractive little pistol. The recoil was heavier as anticipated with such a lightweight firearm chambered in neat and tidy 9mm but completely manageable, although in my opinion, a novice shooter should be first worked with on a slightly heavier 9MM or .38 caliber pistol before graduating to something smaller and henceforth heavier in kick such as the LC9. While it isn't a .45 magnum, I can certainly see a novice or otherwise inexperienced shooter being surprised and mishandling the pistol.
While groups at 25 yards were very reasonable and neat, very good accuracy considering the small size, the trigger pull was a big turnoff for me. It has a breaking point that feels like you have to press the trigger through the back of the gun just to get it to fire, a kind of travel I personally would find irritating when practicing with regularly to use as a concealed weapon. It was particularly noticeable the first time I shot it – you squeeze and creep back, anticipating that first shot...and nothing happens, so you keep squeezing, creeping, and anticipating until finally you find where the gun fires and you put a hole in the target. It's the sort of pistol that you have to fire with just a long, steady pull instead of a squeeze, pause, and then application of another pound of pressure to fire.
This particular LC9 came equipped with a nifty little laser that is turned on by your gripping of the grip. I have to admit, even in broad afternoon daylight it was very visible on the target. I didn't notice it myself when shooting – I shoot with the sights, not with a laser pointer – but if you're wanting a laser pointer on a gun then I suppose that's a good thing. Or, being a polymer gun (not as good for chucking as a metal gun), if all else fails you can always try to burn out an intruder's retinas with it.