1992...
I had recently turned 21 and was looking for my first compact handgun to carry concealed...something that would be a lot easier to hide than my only other handgun, a Taurus PT92 (I carried the 92 in a Galco SOB holster...I had no idea what I was doing).
The Colt Officer's Model was my dream CCW, but with a bank mailroom worker's salary, that wasn't going to happen. I stumbled upon a well-used Star PD at an LGS and decided it would fill the role.
I carried the PD for about 2 years before I traded it for a 6906 (I was a rookie officer carrying a 5946 and figured it'd be advantageous to carry magazine compatible guns (Again, I was clueless and thought it mattered. Or maybe I was looking for an excuse to buy another gun).
Ever since, I thought about the PD every now and them and how much I loved that little gun. I'd casually kept an eye out when I visited gun shops...saw a couple over the years, but in pretty junky shape. I missed a few on GB recently that looked in decent condition, but either got outbid or I forgot about the auction and came back just after it ended. I made a trip upstate to visit a couple of gun stores and happened into a pawn shop close by to one. Browsing the case, my eye caught what I thought was a familiar profile and as I snapped my gaze back I said, "Oh...it was a Star BM."...but then a saw a tag showing "Star PD .45ACP" and nestled next to the BM was a pristine Star PD marked at $499. I handled it for a few, looking it over...amazed at the condition. Some slight haggling got me out the door at 10% off.
Included was the original box and accoutrements (paperwork is in perfect condition). The bluing is near flawless, with just two spots, top of the slide release and on the thumb safety, showing the typical "bronze" color that these seem to turn (I've seen some PD's with frames that are almost completely "bronze" color from the bluing/anodizing fading). There is zero wear in the typical spots (muzzle, grips, backstrap, etc.) and the lack of wear on the magwell suggests the magazine hasn't been removed/inserted very often.
Glad I missed those on GB now. 🙂