July/August 1978 - American Handgunner

By C. GEORGE CHARLEShere was a time when the fellow whoT wanted a good .45 autoloader couldpick up an excellent military Colt or contractM1911lA1 at a pretty good price.They were inexpensive enough that economicallythere wasn't any point in buyinga new Spanish Star Model P. It's afact that even doggy militaries cost morethan a brand-new Star, when you canfind one.Actually, the Star design is an improvementupon the old Colt/Browningdesign, with a much more simplifiedframe and lockwork. It is this verv improvementand simplification of frameand lockwork that makes the Star mucheasier to shorten and lighten for combatuse. The parts that give the gunsmith fitsin the Colt don't even exist in the Star.Additionally, there is more leeway in theStar for butt modification.Now let's take a look at what can bedone to whittle that massive 37% ounce,8% inch long, 5'/z inch high gun down tomore manageable and concealable sizewithout detracting from its inherentgoodness and reliability.The hardest part to hide of any gun isthe butt and the .45 and .38 Super Starhave lots of butt. First off, field strip thegun and remove the grips and magazine.Notice the magazine safety (interruptor)positioned in the groove on the right sideof the frame behind the magazine well.Drift it out from the left side and throw itaway. A combat gun has no business witha magazine safety. Of course it is usefulin a household by a neophyte.Now look at the bottom half of the butt.Notice it is completely uncluttered withjust a metal shell into which the magazinefits. Everything below the mainspring anchorpin could be cut away and not interferea bit with the functioning but thatwould be cutting off too much thus makingthe handle too short for proper con-trol. Removing %" to ¥% from the buttis about right and there are two waysto do it.Simplest for the amateur is to saw andfile two lengths of 1/10" by %" steel stripto fit snuelv into the butt cutouts as-,shown. First, remove all other parts fromthe frame. Then, clean the joint surfacesthoroughly. Next flux and apply silversolder. Be sure you heat enough until itflows and a good joint is produced. Makesure these inserts are flush with the sidesof the butt inside so a magazine can enterfreely. This soldering can be handledwith a household propane torch or twoalthough an oxyacetylene torch will dothe job more easily.When cool, clean up the outer surfacesof the inserts. File if necessary. Then youcan flush and smooth with the frame butt.Screw the right grip back in place. Locateon the grip a new grip screw hole on linebetween the two existing and Ys" abovethe bottom hole. Level the frame with theright side up on the drill press table. Nowyou drill through the grip and both sidesof the frame in one shot. Remove the gripand tap both frame holes to accept theoriginal grip screws. Clean off the burrsinside and out as well as making certainthe screws turn in freely. Mark and drillthe screw hole in the left grip too.Now, with a properly secured seat forthe grips provided by the inserts, simplyscribe around the butt parallel to the bottomat the cutoff point. With a new highspeedsteel blade doused frequently withcutting fluid, you can hacksaw off theThe big star is a modified takeoff of theBrowningIColt .45 Government Model. Itcan also be done with the 9rnm or .38Super, all steel models.butt as near to the scribed lines as possible.Just remember to leave enough metalto file and grind it true to the mark. Thenew butt bottom surface should be flushwith the bottom of the silver solderedspacers or perhaps cutting slightly intothem. Note that if the spacers had notbeen installed, the butt would now be arelatively fragile open "U" of steel. Thespacers tie it all together and preventdistortion.Next, with files and your ever handyDremel Moto-Tool, duplicate the funnelingof the original butt around the inneredges of the new surface. These bevelsfacilitate rapid insertion of a freshmagazine and can well be carried evenfarther if you like. This is the simplestway.If you prefer and have welding equipmentthat you know how to use, youmight prefer doing it this way. First, youcan saw out a W section of the butt betweenthe mainspring anchor pin and thebottom paralleling the bottom line of theAMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULYIAUGUST 1978