SHOT Day 1- Century Sterling Carbines

[JShirley]

Century had their Sterling semi-auto carbines in 9mm and- much more interestingly- 7.62x25mm. One version had full-length heat shield. While I'm sure some folks think it looks cool, the full-length heat guard gave the carbine bad balance. The 7.x62, and the 9mm without the full-length guard, had very nice balance right around the support hand.

(The 9mm has the curved magazine.)

 

[InkEd]

I bet you $20 some web warrior still gripes about the poor quality like the do on the Century AK's (which actually are kinda crappy). It's a Sten! You can make them
in a metal shop. They all have poor finishing. Honestly, I think people would complain about the finish of a WWII Liberator if it was made by CAI. Rant over!

My only real issue with the Sten is that it is very awkward if you shoot lefty. That magazine sticks out and is annoying. Also, it amazes mr how people love the Sten but hate the MAC guns. Both are cheap bullet hoses made from sheet metal. Go figure.

 

[merlinfire]

looks cool. price point?

 

[Girodin]

Depending on the price point and a few other factors the 7.62x25 might be interesting. Although, I know I'd want to shorten the barrel by 8 inches or so.

 

[savage1r]

When the heck are they going to put out a PPsH-41 in carbine form?

 

[femoralis]

It's possible the sten suffers when converted from open to closed bolt like some guns.

We will see, hope it is great.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

The Century carbines are based on the Sterling -- the 1950s British "machine carbine" that replaced the 1940s Sten. The Sterling is a bit improved over the Sten. It was the basis of the Stormtrooper blasters in Star Wars. I have seen these off-and-on at a local gunshop. Have not had a chance to shoot one.

 

[ljnowell]

A friend bought one locally for 400 OTD this summer.. Very reliable, decently accurate. The sights absolutely suck. Other than that its a terrifically fun gun to shoot.

 

[bannockburn]

My brother has an older Sterling carbine that was made by Sterling Armaments before they went out of business. First rate gun that is a lot of fun to shoot, though it could make quick work out of a couple of boxes of WWB in very little time. The Sterling mags with their twin roller followers work great, though they are somewhat expensive. Decent Sten mags can still be found at a fraction of the cost. If you go this route, you should also consider getting a Sten mag loader to use with them as they can be difficult to load properly.

And while I have heard that Sten magazines shouldn't be used in Sterling carbines, I have found them to function just fine without any problems. Feeding reliability seemed best when 30 rounds were loaded in the mag.