Star Echeverria: Basque rarity guns
Star
Echeverria weapons manufacturers from Basque are well known among
collectors and gun enthusiasts. During the beginning of the 1920, they
started producing a gun which can be described as a copy of the famous
Colt M1911 A1. Their first model, name P, was an almost identical copy
of the Colt, also in .45 ACP. The differences were almost negligible and
mostly cosmetic in nature. For instance, Star’s guns didn’t have
a beaver-tail tang, but they did have a rest for the little finger at
the front of the handle. The grips were also thicker, so that the gun
could fit in the hand more comfortably. Adjusting to the demands of the
market, Star started producing a similar gun, Model A, which was
slightly smaller and in 9 mm caliber. This gun was made for 9 mm
Bergmann-Bayard caliber, or 9 mm Largo for quite a while. It was in 1942
that they made the version for 9 mm Parabellum, and it was named Model
B. The German Army bought 15.000 of these guns, as they had a serious
lack of handguns.
While
still making models A and B, Star started making Model M, which was
somewhat larger, as they were a direct successor to the model P, also in
the 9 mm Luger. Just as an example, the handle of the model MB was
longer than the handle on model B and was able to hold a clip with nine
bullets, instead of eight. Model MB was 40 g heavier than model B and
somewhat longer and higher.Expert Conversion
The
prewar years in Spain have seen a rise of popularity of the so-called
automatic guns which had an option of rapid fire. Naturally, the
reliability and accuracy of such a weapon were sub par. In 1930, Star
introduced a new automatic model AD, where D stands for ‘dispositivo’
meaning that the weapon had a firing selector. The new model AD came in
several calibers including 7,63 Mauser, 9 mm Bergmann, 9 mm Browning
Long, .380 ACP and even .45 ACP. Clips were made which could hold 32 9
mm bullets or 25 .45 ACP bullets. Naturally, models A and B were quickly
shown to be inadequate for automatic fire with such large calibers.
That’s when a logical solution of using the stronger and bigger model M
presented itself. The new gun was named MD.
The
gun that we were able to get a hold of was from the MD series, but it
came with a slight adaptation. Namely it was missing the firing mode
switch, which should be located on the right side, near the top of the
handle. This made it only able to shoot in semi-automatic mode, just
like a regular model MB. The proof that it wasn’t just a regular MB was
found in the groove at the handle and a larger bolt at the right side.
Those are the only parts testifying that the gun was able to fire in
fully automatic mode. The switch had two positions, when it was lifted
up the gun would fire single bullets, and when it was down the gun would
fire in bursts.
It
would be difficult to guess as to who have made this conversion, but
since it was done expertly it might be safe to presume that it was done
by the manufacturer Star. The holster even has MB engraved instead of
MD, but the B is much larger and more shallow than the letter M, which
means that it was made later, covering the D. The gun was made in 1960.
Reliable and Robust
The
age of the gun makes it clear why Star decided to do this conversion.
By that time, no one was interested in automatic guns, and the company
had to adapt to the market. Even the regular MB guns weren’t selling all
that well, less than 1800 of these guns were made. Form the collector’s
point of view, even MB guns are quite rare, which makes a converted MD a
real treasure.
The
gun that we got our hands on came in the original box, with a spare
clip for 16 bullets and detachable wooden stock, which could also be
used as a holster, similarly to Mauser C96. The standard clip holds nine
bullets, while there were also clips for MD which could hold 32 9 mm
caliber bullets. While this would make a terribly impractical automatic
weapon, when used as a semi-automatic, the gun is actually quite good.
Thanks to its weight and the way it was made, this is a quite reliable 9
mm Luger gun. Some of its best features include a clearly defined
sights, as well as a great trigger system. The only fault that we could
find would only appear when the stock was attached, as it would bring
the shooter’s eye too close to the sight for accurate aiming.