century sterlings???

[kiki]

Is it worth it buying a century sterling???? Read some articles saying there great others saying not.........i bought a century uzi it runs fine ,but i did have to tweek it a little!!!and where would you buy replacement parts like sights,barrels, etc....

P.s. is it true you can use sten mags in sterlings???? or do u have to modify?
Reason for asking i have alot of sten mags....

 

[john_bud]

I looked at them, but bought a J&G sales sterling instead.

The J&G is made by WLA, the Century used to be made by them but rumor has it that it no longer is.

However, just checking the Century site it seems I bought too soon. The one there in 7.62x25 comes with two 25 round mags and is discounted down to $356 :jaw_drop!!

I'd buy that one if I still had change in my pocket.


Dang You, Kiki!

Your post forced me to poke around on the Century site and I had no choice but to order 4 sterling 9mm 34 round mags at $4.95 each (possibly incomplete or damaged) but still they should be a good starting point to convert to 7.62x25. Naturally, I had to buy more stuff to get the total over $75 or face the $27 surcharge.

Dang you! (and thanks )

 

[kiki]

You just made me remeber something, the serial # on the sterling i saw had wla in the beginning of #'s....is that mean wla made it?

 

[john_bud]

You just made me remeber something, the serial # on the sterling i saw had wla in the beginning of #'s....is that mean wla made it?

Yes, if it starts with WLA then it should be a wise lite arms product. I can't imagine that there is another company converting sterling weapons that has the same initials.

 

[kiki]

john, the only problem i see is that it is missing or broken front sight....not the protective ears, the (stick) front sight...are those hard to get..i beleieve there plasic or aluminuim??? not sure...but ill take a chance at $475,w/2 mags......

 

[sunnybean]

To my knowledge there are two companies (re)making the sterling. Wise Lite Arms makes the one with the skinny barrel sticking out of the front. Masterpiece Arms make the "type 2" that has the ventilated barrel shroud completely covering the 16" barrel.

I have never seen the type 2 myself, but the reports I've seen are good.

I have a couple WLA sterlings. Each is unique. When you are rebuilding from cut up kits, there will always be some differences. The first one I bought was nicely put together. I happy enough with it to buy a second. The second was pretty poor. The sights were off, the vent holes didn't line up well with the sights, the folding stock was off center, and the rear weld was pretty poor and not completely finished. Oh, and stock hinge was rather rusty and missing a washer on one side. I sent that back to WLA and they replaced it with another for free!!! The replacement gun is very nice and straight.

If there is a common problem with them, it is that they shoot low. Both of mine shot 12-16" low at 25 yards. I had to file the sight down in order to get the POA to the POI. Also, IIRC, they had some issues with the firing pins breaking with the first guns. I think the fixed this issue, however.

Yes, sten mags will work in the sterling. But, sterling mags won't work in a sten.

 

[kiki]

Sunnybean, can the front sight be replaced....the one i have is broken off...

 

[sunnybean]

Yes, they can be replaced. There is a member here, although I forget their username (I'll see what I can dig up) that made some nice fiber optic replacement onces. You might check Apex too. Do you just need the post or the sliding base (that the post screws into) too?

ETA...Here you go...

http://www.uzitalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49173&highlight=sterling+sight

or

https://www.apexgunparts.com/product_info.php/cPath/83/products_id/1181

 

[kiki]

Didnt buy it, front sight was broken and front of gun was canted...dam it looked good...gonna wait two weeks for local gun show and see what they have....

 

[sunnybean]

Good call. With these guns its good to be able to inspect it first hand before buying.

Good luck.

 

[kiki]

Thanks....

 

[turningfast]

FWIW I have a WLA type 1 That has been flawless with well over 1K rounds through it and is very accurite. It's put together strait and the welds are OK, but if you look for them you can see them. I luckily got to pick this gun out from 5-6 on the shelf at the time. some had canted stocks and sights, but this one was the best. I have used sten mags in this gun and they have worked perfect.
After my father loved this gun I bought him a Type2 for xmas. I ran a function check and sighted it in because I did not want to give him a dud. I put some rounds through it and it was perfect function and accurite. The welds are cleaner than the wla gun i have, it's painted flat black, not "sterling" crinkle. Edit: the type 2 is about 1lb heavier. Here's pics.....

 

[john_bud]

Didnt buy it, front sight was broken and front of gun was canted...dam it looked good...gonna wait two weeks for local gun show and see what they have....

Have you looked on the J&G sales web site for them? $379 for the 9mm and $399 for the 7.62x25 version. Shipping is like 20 bucks and around here at least you can get the FFL transfer for 20-25 bucks. The pawn shop I used was 20. The J&G sterling I got looks to be about perfect. If it had new grips you wouldn't be able to tell it wasn't all new.

The century site is selling them for under $360 right now (until 3/31), but you have to be registered with them as a dealer either C&R or FFL. If you have a C&R, register with them and get that one as it does come with 2 mags. If you don't have one, you can probably work with a FFL transfer agent to order it for you. If you go to gunbroker.com and look in the FAQ area there is a link to FFL transfer agents and what they charge. I would offer one 50 bucks to do the purchase and transfer. That's about what they get on new gun sales.

 

[STL/NERDS]

The Century's are nice, just got 2 in and out the door, they used my outdoor range and split a box of 9mm, both fired 25 rounds without fail and all looked straight, with sights and welds. That's lithium grease you see around the receiver end cap.

 

[kiki]

ok, gave in

Like i said gave in and bought a sterling, went back to shop where i saw the one with broken sights...and asked if they had anymore...guy pull (new) one off the shelf, everything looks good. Paint not so great, but 3 sterling mags and case and gun for $425....i said f--k it shes mine.....gonna clean her up and go shooting!

 

[john_bud]

"gave in" ha ha. The lure of the Sterling was too great for you . $425 for the gun, 3 real 34 round sterling mags and a case -- no doubt a real good price too. Sterling mags are in the $30 each range these days.

I'm assuming it's 9mm? I got the 7.62x25 tok version, but have a 9mm barrel coming to make it multi-caliber. The tok stuff is fantastically priced for now, but it will eventually go up. So having the ability to swap barrels and shoot 9mm is nice (at least in my opinion)!

Post up how yours shoots.

 

[kiki]

I will shoot her this weekend. i have a question, im assuming the smg grip will fit the semi and where can we get semi auto spare parts...like firing pin, trigger group..etc....

Ps, can we dry fire the sterlings since there striker fired, or does that harm it....

 

[kiki]

my sterling

pic

 

[john_bud]

I got some of these mags.
http://northridgeinc.com/store/index.cfm/c144/i647

20 round 9mm sten that are Israeli surplus. 2 mags for 9.95. I got 8 total. They are used, packed with cosmo, but look decent under the gunk. Certainly worth the $$

I got some real sterling 34 round 9mm mags from numrich sales. They are ordered and not here yet.

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/Detail.aspx?pid=1136640&filter=sterling+smg&catid=0


These folks carry some of the WLA parts. And have some sterling parts too.
https://www.apexgunparts.com/

I think if you have a broken part, you can buy from WLA, but they will probably provide them free during the warranty period.

 

[kiki]

Anyone hear about problems with the firing pin breaking on sterlings..read somewhere online.......if this is true, maybe buy one or two for extras now....any word on this???