Sten mags do sort of fit into a Sterling. It's just that the mag catch in the Sterling is positioned differently so that when the Sten mag is secured, it intrudes into the bolt-way. If you actually hold the Sten mag in the correct position, it'll work........... until it jambs-up or misfeeds.
The reason why a single stack feed position mag works in a a two stack feed Sterling is that the ingenious design of the front face of the Sterling mag has a deflector built into the front top and bottom of the magazine. Have a look at one when you have a chance. These top and bottom deflectors tip or direct the round up (or down) directly into the mouth of the chamber. Because the face of the magazine is sooooooo close to the opening of the chamber, there is no 'twilight zone' (as we Armourers call it) where the round is not under positive control. The round is a) In the magazine or b) under the control of the magazine but heading forwards, tipping up or down, c) nose in the chamber or d) nose positively in the chamber, cannot go anywhere else or do anything else (like stub onto the barrel face) and free of control from the magazine.
If you thought Patchetts SMG was good, his magazines were absolutely superb.
Sorry to go off at a tangent. But have a look at those punched out deflectors when you see a magazine next time. The ADE at Marribyong (? spelling.....) and Lithgow appreciated Patchetts design too. Incidentally, the last cost price for a Sterling SMG magazine in 1988 was £3.50 with a selling price of £11.
Just can't imagine why the Sten mags didn't fit the Sterling...
Jim, I explained why in my Earlier post Buddy.
without a special adaptor, the Sterling mags will NOT fit directly into a Sten!..
This was a cunning built in design by Sterling when Marketing these SMGs. As if you had an Army that used the Sten, you would have to replace the entire 'Fleet' to use the VERY reliable Sterling Magazines! That meant, you could NOT get away with the cheaper expedient of purchasing just Magazines. To upgrade the reliability factor of your Sten 'Fleet'!
Yes, I understand that...what I sort of eluded to was that they did fit the SMG C1 9mm...as I recall. Unless I'm just remembering it wrong. Anyway it makes no matter...
Magazines..... One old soldier who fought in Korea and Suez and one whom I respected greatly - even more so, because he knew the Army quartermaster paperwork system inside-out - told me that when he was an Infantry training instructor at Sutton Coldfield, one of the main Infantry Training Centres in the 60's he used teach recruits and the would-be training instructors who came through on courses these wise words. When you are issued with a Sten gun, make sure that you are able to select and test it then keep 10 magazines that you KNOW operate jamb-free in YOUR gun. Keep those magazines in your pouches and keep them clean. Then you'll have a SMG that's as good as anything other SMG.
The difference in the training regime between the Stens and the Sterlings that slowly replaced it was that generally speaking, all the Sterling magazines worked well in all of the Sterling guns.
Maybe DRP can tell us when the Infantry Barracks at Sutton Coldfield closed?
Magazines..... One old soldier who fought in Korea and Suez and one whom I respected greatly - even more so, because he knew the Army quartermaster paperwork system inside-out - told me that when he was an Infantry training instructor at Sutton Coldfield, one of the main Infantry Training Centres in the 60's he used teach recruits and the would-be training instructors who came through on courses these wise words. When you are issued with a Sten gun, make sure that you are able to select and test it then keep 10 magazines that you KNOW operate jamb-free in YOUR gun. Keep those magazines in your pouches and keep them clean. Then you'll have a SMG that's as good as anything other SMG.
Yes, I had occasion to use a C1 breech block, trigger mech and mags in a L2A3 myself...I suspect the UK mags and breech block will work in C1. Just can't imagine why the Sten mags didn't fit the Sterling...
PL misspoke and reversed the facts, Sten mags work in sterlings, and you just have to Re grind a single feed sten bolt slightly wider to clear the wider sterling mags double feed lips.
As I remember it, the:
Sten magazines have a narrow 'U' shaped opening at the rear to accommodate the narrower rounded feed horns of the breech block whereas the;
Sterling magazines have a slightly wider squared recess to accommodate the squared-off, wider and more efficient feed horns.
Surely, with the availability of Sten and Sterling magazines this is all academic. Just use the right magazines for the right gun...... Like using petrol in a petrol car and diesel in your old works diesel van
People would much rather use the superb Sterling magazine in their Sten guns if it was possible. Since they can’t, some have had their Stens converted to “Stenlings.” It’s basically just the registered part of the Sten body (tube) and everything else is replaced with Sterling parts.
It’s an interesting conversion because the Sten cocking slot cannot legally be narrowed to the size of the Sterling’s slot and the cocking handle can only be widened so much and still fit through the hole in the body.
To prevent the cocking handle from rotating in the wider slot, a hole is drilled through the detent for the fouling pin in the cocking handle block and a corresponding hole is drilled in the cocking handle. This allows the fouling pin to pass through the forward part of cocking handle block and into the new hole in the cocking handle to prevent it from rotating.
The new hole in the cocking handle block goes through all the way from front to back. That allows the fouling pin to be pushed back with a tool so the cocking handle can be removed.
PM
Originally Posted by Vincent
