Pre 1995 Uk De-acc Regulations For Mk2 Sten

[Flying10uk]

Does any-one know if the fire selector on a mk2 Sten has to be welded to the frame to semi auto position to be legal for a U.K. old spec ( pre 1995) de-activation, please?

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[peregrinvs]

IIRC the fire selector was fully functional on my old-spec MkII Sten. However, if that was how your one was originally certified then it would be unwise to cut any welds to release it.

[Time Bandit]

Not got a Sten but the auto/semi auto button still works on my old spec MP44.

[Peter Laidler]

I have a very old one and it still works. I understand that it really was down to the dealer. Some did the very basics/all that was required of them. While others went over the top and cut this that and the other, roughly welded here and there, pinned here and there etc. I saw an old Sterling where even the butt had been welded open at the return spring cap.

I would half, sort-of, advisedly and most respectfully slightly disagree with Peregrine (thread 2) about UN welding. Because if the spec says, say that the butt doesn't have to be welded to the return spring cap or the selector didn't have to be welded solid, then in law, as defined, it needn't be. After all, democratic law tells you what you CANNOT do whereas only in a dictatorship do they tell you what you CAN do. A bit like the MoT garage (the annual roadworthiness test for cars in the UK) telling you that the interior and glovebox lights must work before he'll MoT your car. You can fix them if you like, but if you UNfix them afterwards, it ain't an offence. Just my take on things I have to say on this rainy Sunday morning in Oxfordshire. Forget that....., the sun has started to shine

[Time Bandit]

I've just had a look at my Sterling and that was deact in 2004 and is therefore a new spec (well the older version of new spec as they seem to keep changing things) and it still has a moving selector switch (though the trigger is welded up) so I guess the fire selector must be ok to move otherwise I presume the proof House wouldn't of given it a certificate? That said I also have a L1A1 which was deact in 2008 and that has the trigger and safety switch welded up solid. I'd say Peter has got it correct when he says it depended on who the dealer etc was and how they interpreted what they needed to do? I'd be tempted to do as Peter kinda hinted at and free the bugger off...if someone had already freed it off prior to you getting it you'd be none the wiser anyhow to what had happened...

A bit like the MoT garage (the annual roadworthiness test for cars in the UK) telling you that the interior and glovebox lights must work before he'll MoT your car. You can fix them if you like, but if you UNfix them afterwards, it ain't an offence.

I have a SIII 1/2 ton Lightweight Land Rover, it's a 1983 build so therefore is required to run on the modern reflective number plates...which basically look crap, so I don't and use the older black and silver types instead. Anyhow come MoT time I used to just put the reflective plates on, do the MoT, drive out and then swop them back. One year I forgot to change them but I still had the newer plates lying in the back so I said to the MoT man do you want me to swop the plates, he just said no, what's the point, first thing you are gonna do is drive out the gates and swap them back again! Another one of the UK's stupid rules...

[peregrinvs]

I agree that nothing is likely to ever come of it if the OP cuts the weld to release the fire selector. However, I would still maintain that it is 'best practice' not to interfere with the deactivation work - especially in the case of a gun done to a previous specification. Deactivation standards aren't retroactive, but only if there are no alterations to the original deactivation work. (i.e. it is still as originally certified)

[Brit plumber]

It may have been welded in foreign service, did the Indians not do a semi only version for Police? Perhaps also it was a UK permissible semi before the ban.

[peregrinvs]

Good point. That would make more sense than the RFD randomly deciding to weld the selector during deactivation.

[Flying10uk]

Thank-you for your views on the matter chaps. I did hear or read some-where that there were a few semi auto Stens produced/converted at some point but I don't know any details. Seems a bit strange to want a semi auto only sten. Was it the French S.O.E.??? The Sten in question is a Long Branch example; I did wonder if it was originally a foreign spec de-acc, perhaps Canadian spec, but was then brought up to U.K. spec when imported to the U.K. Perhaps one of our Canadian cousins can tell us if a Canadian spec de-acc Sten has to have a welded fire selector, please?

[Beerhunter]

I have a SIII 1/2 ton Lightweight Land Rover, it's a 1983 build so therefore is required to run on the modern reflective number plates...which basically look crap, so I don't and use the older black and silver types instead. Anyhow come MoT time I used to just put the reflective plates on, do the MoT, drive out and then swop them back. One year I forgot to change them but I still had the newer plates lying in the back so I said to the MoT man do you want me to swop the plates, he just said no, what's the point, first thing you are gonna do is drive out the gates and swap them back again! Another one of the UK's stupid rules...

You are obviously ware that it is offence to use those plates and so please don't moan when you get nicked by a switched on Traffic cop. I'll be up to about £200 and three points. He/she may cut you some slack as long as you promise to fix them and don't use expressions like "stupid rules" when saying sorry.