Starfire Pistol Model 31
Now in its third generation, this modern, high-capacity pistol was the first Star to offer both the closed-cam unlocking and inverted slide rails that are in many ways their trademark today. All these pistols are double-action with a slide moutned safety or safety/decocker, feed from interchangable 15-shot steel magazines and are generally of conventional layout. Along with the MAB PA-15, these are the very first of the 'wondernine' high capacity double actions to be produced. The first in the series, the M28 was developed specifially to meet the modern requirements for double action high capacity military and police pistols. It was one of the few entered into the first JSAAP contest, from which the Beretta 92 was crowned the M9 service pistol. The M28 showed very, very poorly -- stopping an average of every five rounds -- and though this has been sometimes blamed on ammunition, one suspects that a service pistol should be very tolerant of ammunition differences. The M28 was never adopted by any organization, and only a relatively few were sold commercially. The gun was pulled from production and replaced with the M30. The M30 differed from the 28 in a number of details, but mostly in having a separate loaded chamber indicator at the 12-o'clock position (directly on top of the slide). The M30 and 31 have the chamber indicator integral with the extractor. The ejector port and some of the slide contours were alsp redesigned. The M30 is used in small quantities by several foreign armed forces as well as the Spanish Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force, the Guardia Civil, the National Police and others. It should be noted that the safety does not disengage the trigger when activated. Though the gun is completely safe, the trigger can be pulled and the gun will click as though it is firing. This could be good for longevity, allowing dry firing without striking the firing pin, but could foster bad habits or cause a tactical problem where the firer cannot figure out why his gun fails to fire. The M30M (M=Military) steel framed version is used by the armed forces, while the shorter PK (P=Police) alloy version is usually used by the police. The M31 is an evolutionary step in the chain and adds a cone-shaped barrel for increased accuracy and a three-position decocker/safety combination. It is used by the Basque and Catalonian Police and the Guardia. Most are available in only 9 mm Parabellum, but a few steel framed M31s were made in .40 S&W caliber. None of any series appear to have been built in 9 mm Largo caliber. The M31P is steel framed and the PK is the alloy version. Both have the same barrel length.
Picture and information courtesy of: Steven Hoober
