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After market Sten mags & will AR 9mm colt mags fit in Sten


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I am in need of magazines, i have bought original and original "refurbished" so far my success rate is 50%. Out of the 6 i have bought three worked. I have tried to mess with the feed lips on one wont work i wrote it off, the other i got working. I look for aftermarket mags and can't find any in stock. I read that sten mags work in ar's with an adapter block, is the same true for ar mags in sten? Would it need a block to go the other way?

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STEN Guns need STEN mags or Lanchester mags. The STEN and Lanchester feed from a single feed position where as the Colt AR is a dual feed position. Add in the fact that the overal dimensions are completely off to fit.
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I am in need of magazines, i have bought original and original "refurbished" so far my success rate is 50%. Out of the 6 i have bought three worked. I have tried to mess with the feed lips on one wont work i wrote it off, the other i got working. I look for aftermarket mags and can't find any in stock. I read that sten mags work in ar's with an adapter block, is the same true for ar mags in sten? Would it need a block to go the other way?

The angle of the top cartridge must be at 8-degrees to function reliably.

Check out these two articles for more info on Sten Mags

 

https://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=3018

 

https://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=1974

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I am in need of magazines, i have bought original and original "refurbished" so far my success rate is 50%. Out of the 6 i have bought three worked. I have tried to mess with the feed lips on one wont work i wrote it off, the other i got working. I look for aftermarket mags and can't find any in stock. I read that sten mags work in ar's with an adapter block, is the same true for ar mags in sten? Would it need a block to go the other way?

The angle of the top cartridge must be at 8-degrees to function reliably.

Check out these two articles for more info on Sten Mags

 

https://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=3018

 

https://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=1974

Yeah I know that much, the problem is the sides of the feed lip walls have been flattened in I got the angle and everything right but I don't have the tool to recurve the sides if that makes sense. looking at the mag from the front the lips look like this ) ( not as dramatic of a curve but enough to notice.

Edited by JohnnyRingo12
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Apex and BRP both have Sten mags in stock. Apex rates their better ones as good, BRP has some that look to be VG to excellent. BRP also has original British mag repair tools which might be what you need to fix your feed lips

Edited by StrangeRanger
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I bought 15 from brp 1.5 years ago

 

They are nos condition And he threw in 2 mag loaders for free.

 

They still are hit or miss as far as function

 

Buy 20. Resell the ones that dont work in your gun. They are only $20ish each

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I am in need of magazines, i have bought original and original "refurbished" so far my success rate is 50%. Out of the 6 i have bought three worked. I have tried to mess with the feed lips on one wont work i wrote it off, the other i got working. I look for aftermarket mags and can't find any in stock. I read that sten mags work in ar's with an adapter block, is the same true for ar mags in sten? Would it need a block to go the other way?

 

Yes,

I have an AR-15 that uses sten mags and others that use the Colt AR mags, however you probably wouldn't want to convert a sten over to use $60+ hard to find magazines over $10 common magazines? So far no one has adapted that I know of to switch out the conversion you are asking about. I thought I heard of someone modding a sten to take sterling magazines which would be the more logical choice for several reasons. If you have a 50% failure rate in using nice sten mags, you might want to take a look at the gun? I have several guns and don't ever recall one magazine not functioning, but admittedly I probably have 75 mags and only actively use a small amount of them. Most of my guns are original British issue, not reworked tube guns which may be a part of your issues? It's not always the magazine!

 

When you say your success rate is only 50%, a description of the actual problems may help guys here pin down the causes since it may not necessarily be 100% magazine related? HTH

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I am in need of magazines, i have bought original and original "refurbished" so far my success rate is 50%. Out of the 6 i have bought three worked. I have tried to mess with the feed lips on one wont work i wrote it off, the other i got working. I look for aftermarket mags and can't find any in stock. I read that sten mags work in ar's with an adapter block, is the same true for ar mags in sten? Would it need a block to go the other way?

 

Yes,

I have an AR-15 that uses sten mags and others that use the Colt AR mags, however you probably wouldn't want to convert a sten over to use $60+ hard to find magazines over $10 common magazines? So far no one has adapted that I know of to switch out the conversion you are asking about. I thought I heard of someone modding a sten to take sterling magazines which would be the more logical choice for several reasons. If you have a 50% failure rate in using nice sten mags, you might want to take a look at the gun? I have several guns and don't ever recall one magazine not functioning, but admittedly I probably have 75 mags and only actively use a small amount of them. Most of my guns are original British issue, not reworked tube guns which may be a part of your issues? It's not always the magazine!

 

When you say your success rate is only 50%, a description of the actual problems may help guys here pin down the causes since it may not necessarily be 100% magazine related? HTH

Yeah I am rather new to the sten world. Just got one and I have only bought 10 mags so far lol. I bought 15 from apex that arrived today, out of them only two so far I am having issues with.

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Yeah i saw that, coming from someone who is novice with stens, i'll ask your opinion. Are sten mags problematic enough that it would be good to spend the $250 i have seen the tools go for? Would i get the use out of it or would it just be cheaper to buy $250 worth of mags and find ones that work.

Apex and BRP both have Sten mags in stock. Apex rates their better ones as good, BRP has some that look to be VG to excellent. BRP also has original British mag repair tools which might be what you need to fix your feed lips

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  • 4 months later...

Hi,

 

My experience.

 

I've had no luck with the surplus mags that were set-up for single stack with wires. Best use for them IMHO is tent stakes.

 

Buy good quality magazines for your Sten. Don't go cheap. Buying a mag that doesn't work trying to save money is like paying for a magazine w/o getting one! Mine came with some good mags 20 years ago. Fast forward to your question: I've had no mag related problems with the gun. As a matter of fact I've had no problems with the gun at all. I've only put about 15,000 rounds through it.

 

Gun is a Form 1 gun put together by a tool and die maker. Very nice for a non-factory Sten.

 

As usual, YYMV.

 

Enjoy,

 

Grasshopper

Edited by Grasshopper
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I bought 15 from brp 1.5 years ago

 

They are nos condition And he threw in 2 mag loaders for free.

 

They still are hit or miss as far as function

 

Buy 20. Resell the ones that dont work in your gun. They are only $20ish each

Yes and then I buy them on gunbroker and they won't work for me either and I am stuck with junk.

Edited by NFA amnesty
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Plan B: After hearing enough grousing, my machinist uncle (who loves anything that goes zoom or bang) put the barrel in a lathe, changed the contour ever so slightly, then polished it bright. That did the trick. Same for my formerly-finicky Uzi. That might be an easier option than a revolving door of magazines.

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Also, common issues with STEn magazines include old grease and gunk on interior walls, and old springs that fail to feed cartridges quickly enough. I use the cheap STEn mags with my Sterling and found that I have a 80% success rate if I clean then thoroughly, replace the old springs, and check feed lip angle. If you buy the ones with the brass wires to restrict capacity, removing the wires is a quick job with Dremel and drill press.

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You will notice more people have more problems with a Mk2 or 5 STEN than they do with a Mk1 or 3. Not all feed problems are directly attributable to the magazine. The 8 presentation angle of the top round is in relation to a perfectly presented magazine. I own 6 Mk2 guns and they all behave differently. Tolerances and ware mean that on some, the mag housing is worn or loose, or the locking pin is worn, or the hole in the trunnion has elongated. Sometimes the way you hold the gun can play its part, holding the mag in your left hand Hollywood style will inevitably end up with an opened mag well, damaged mag and ware. The left hand should grasp the barrel nut on the underside and the forearm should support the magazine. The right hand should put a slight rotational pressure anti clockwise onto the butt.
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