C&r Sten Mk Ii / Mk Iii Or Sterling Which To Buy

[littlejoe]

Greetings,

 

I'm in the market for a new C3 weapon and am considering either a C&R STen MK II / MK III or a Sterling. Both of the STens are in near perfect original condition in the $7000 range and a new or like new Sterling can be had for alittle more.

 

This gun will just be used for recreational shooting.

 

Thoughts, shooting impressions, owner satisfaction, facts, problems ( I know the STen mags are a PITA to load ), value, parts availability,durability, reliability etc would be greatly appreciated.

 

PS I really like the MKIII with the fixed magazine well, but wonder about replacing the barrel if needed. Any MK III owners with your thoughts would be very helpful.

 

Thanks

Edited August 21, 2009 by littlejoe

[RoscoeTurner]

Greetings,

 

I'm in the market for a new C3 weapon and am considering either a C&R STen MK II / MK III or a Sterling. Both of the STens are in near perfect original condition in the $7000 range and a new or like new Sterling can be had for alittle more.

 

This gun will just be used for recreational shooting.

 

Thoughts, shooting impressions, owner satisfaction, facts, problems ( I know the STen mags are a PITA to load ), value, parts availability,durability, reliability etc would be greatly appreciated.

 

PS I really like the MKIII with the fixed magazine well, but wonder about replacing the barrel if needed. Any MK III owners with your thoughts would be very helpful.

 

Thanks

 

You will probably get some of the same answers here that you got on Subguns. Personally I would go with the Sten MKII, much more history with those than the Sterling. I have two Stens. As for shooting and this may be blasphemy to say on a predominately Thompson board, I prefer my MKII over either of my Thompsons.

 

Sten magazines hard to load? Not if you use the loader that was designed to be used with them for that purpose.

 

The fixed magazine well is way over rated, I have not had problems with my MKII in that regard. The main thing to watch for when buying is to buy a Sten that is in good condition and not worn out to start with.

 

The MKIII was designed for the barrel not to be replaced. If you study its use by the British when the war was over it was one of the firearms not retained for continued long term use where the MKII and MK5 were. As far as I am concerned, the only good use for a MKIII is to strip it of parts that can be used on a MKII or MK5.

[littlejoe]

Thanks for taking the time to reply Roscoe Turner,

 

I am now trying to decide between a C&R MK III in excellent condition or a new, unfired DLO built MK II with about $ 2800 left over.

 

Any thoughts on this choice....?

 

Thanks again. Joe