Sterling Mk6 trigger

[Brian Dick]

Both original Mk.6 guns I have are equipped with the bayonet standard. One has the studs for the telescope base. The Mk.6 didn't have a standard nose piece as shown in Vince's picture. They have a screw on nose cap that screws to the 16" barrel. An SBR is an NFA registered rifle/carbine with a barrel shorter than 16". The 16" barreled Mk.6 carbines imported to the USA had a dummy display barrel that bolts to the front giving it the look of a Mk.4 and also making it easy to display with bayonet fixed. Is yours a Wiselite conversion Vince? I ironed a few bugs from one several years ago for a customer. I thought they were nicely done and they were fairly inexpensive if memory serve.

[browningautorifle]

the box guns.

I've had my share. One was when I was a training NCO at our Regimental Depot, I spied two Sargents walking down the street in front of my house with a fire pail between them and a gun barrel sticking out. They'd tried to strip a '94 Winchester carbine with a screw driver, hammer and a nail for a punch. It took me an hour to straighten out the damages and finish stripping it so I could assemble it again. I didn't get so much as a scotch at happy hour for that... Too bad, it was a nice older example.

[Vincent]

Is yours a Wiselite conversion Vince? I ironed a few bugs from one several years ago for a customer. I thought they were nicely done and they were fairly inexpensive if memory serve.

Yes, it’s a Wise Lite. They are not bad, but nothing like the quality of a read Sterling.

I was given a large handful of those front Mk6 type bolt-on nose pieces (shown at front of casing).

I have only seen pictures of those Sterling made nose caps for the Mk6. It’s a very hard item to find over here. The one on this gun is barrel support that has been turned down.

Did the Mk6 have a bayonet standard on the side of the casing Vince?

The real Sterling Mk6 has a bayonet standard. These guns were made by a company called Wise Lite Arms, here in Texas. They took Mk4 parts kits and made Mk6 guns from them. They didn’t install the bayonet standard for several reasons. I think it would be nice to add one to this gun, but there’s a problem.

If a bayonet standard is installed, the Mk4 barrel has to rotate to clear the back plate on the standard as it slides forward into position. The Mk6 has a blocking bar welded inside the receiver to prevent a full-auto breech block from being installed. The problem is, once the flat on the Mk4 barrel flange is over the blocking bar it prevents the barrel from rotating. Since the barrel cannot rotate, it hits against the plate on the back of the bayonet standard and stops there.

It’s verboten to remove or alter blocking bar. I have a few bayonet standards.

Any thoughts on how to work around the problem?

I didn't get so much as a scotch at happy hour for that...

I think that’s why box guns show up at parties. The reassembly is free.

[Peter Laidler]

Maybe you could simply braze or tig the bayonet standard directly onto the casing as opposed to inserting the thick strengthening support plate inside the casing and rivetting the bayonet standard to it (it's rivetted from/through the opposite hole.....) and then induction copper brazing it. That support plate etc etc was just to strengthen the rear bayonet fitting in order to pass the UK Military trials of the time. And in reality, yours isn't going down to the bayonet fighting gallows for training any time soon.

As a matter of interest, the Sterling barrel only has a rear flange because it is a reminder of its Lanchester ancestry where the first 4,000 guns used up the remaining Lanchester barrels - albeit slightly modified at the muzzle end. That large diameter really serves no mechanical purpose as the barrel is pulled firmly forwards and squarely from the muzzle. On that basis you could simply machine away a portion of the outer radius. That would clear the blocking bar and leave you to install the correct bayonet bits.

During the last days we had Sterlings in Malaya - before AR15's, local Far East EMER's stated that we did not ZF guns with broken or missing bayonet standards as we used to because they were pretty well redundant there in any case

[Vincent]

Thanks, Peter. Since you think the support plate is not necessary, I will try TIG welding the standard on without it.

[mrclark303]

I would guess new build body Peter. If it is a new body Vincent, (assuming it's not Class 3), have any specific body mods been made to ensure it can't easily be converted to full auto?

[Vincent]

Yes, it’s a mostly new body. The front and rear sections of the original cut up body are welded to a new center section. It is semi-auto only and a class 3 item, an SBR (Short Barreled Rifle).

It has the same features as the Mk6 to block a full-auto bolt and trigger en bloc. There is bar welded inside the body to prevent a full-auto bolt from going in and pad is welded to the outside of the body that prevents an unmodified Mk4 trigger en bloc from being installed.

[mrclark303]

Thanks for that Vincent, it's a great boys toy. I would love a live example..