Sten Gun assembly Video

Yes I am. In fact, I managed to purchase a SMG C1 about 3 weeks back from collectors source. Still live so it was shipped directly to my gunsmiths for neutering. Should be ready for pickup any day now I suspect.

What did you end up paying for the live gun and then the deac if you don't mind saying? I am particularly curious what a deac C1 is worth these days, as that is almost certainly how mine will end up..... ��
 
Bartok 5, you can blame that damned Photobucket for lack of pics posted from this moi. By the way TOTAL respect for C1 SMG and Sten they look like a fine pair . One thing I thought was a "sorta" good idea but totally stupid at the same time was the dinky ten round mag that was FAR to easy to loose if used. That and not proper issued mag carriers till the 82 pattern webbing came on issue. Towards the end of the 1980s we saw the issue of British 32 round mags with the rollers. What an interesting thread this has become and a real trip down memory lane.
 
Their price was just $3K. Deactivation on my end will be no more than a couple hundred. I have heard of them selling for around $4500 these days, and was ready to pay that if I could find one when this one came along. I only had to think about it for about 4 seconds. I sold off a lesser one that I had at that time.

When you consider the hundreds and hundreds of C1 rifles that are out there, and what they are starting to fetch, the few SMG C1s that are out there are considerably rarer. The SMG was the gun I normally carried as a 17 year old light recce militiaman.
 
I did some surfing re: the interchangeability of SMG mags. There is some conflicting info out there. Seems SOME mags will 'fit' but not function due to dimensional differences. One source said that the Sten mags were intentionally made so as to not fit the MP40. One site (Wehermacht-Awards.com) reported in Weaver's book "Desperate Measures" that the Brits intentionally made the Sten mags not fit the MP40. This was refuted by another poster whose experience was otherwise. Go figure .....

I envy those with operational FAs of any type. I missed the cut off date for "grandfathering". I had earlier parted with my MP40, was newly divorced and living on my credit card, so I missed out on a Thompson (the GI model) I could have had for $450. That was a lot of bucks for me back then.

I do remember turning down a SA Belgian FN/FAL HB for the same price. Those were the days when you could use it anywhere you could legally shoot.
 
I have a dewat Sten Mk2 and used to have a functioning BD38,of course we know what happened to the BD38's here in Canada. I still have a number of WWII MP40 magazines
Anyway,last year I bought from Wolverine the last deactivated BD38 they still had as a wall hanger with the Sten and the MP43.

The Sten mag does not fit the BD38,too large front to back,but the MP40 mags fit the Sten no problem,even latch in perfectly,just a little wobble back and forth and cycling the bolt it looks that they would feed no problem.
 
The "wobble" you mention may just be sufficient to prevent reliable feeding, according to the 'sperts on the net. Only one way to find out .....
 
Can anyone explain why the double-column, single-feed magazine design is always described as being a source of reliability problems with old SMG's, while the same system is considered completely reliable when used in most modern handguns?
 
Can anyone explain why the double-column, single-feed magazine design is always described as being a source of reliability problems with old SMG's, while the same system is considered completely reliable when used in most modern handguns?

Too much friction between the cartridges and the magazine walls when being pushed upward and then squeezing onto a follower which is single feed.

When Germany introduced the MP38 before the war all their magazines were slab(smooth) sided but they had feeding problems very soon especially if the mags were
not kept clean inside.
They did an update on the mags by pressing two ribs on each side lengthwise into the sides of the mags thus reducing the contact area and hopefully reducing friction.
It may not have totally eliminated the feeding problem but I'm sure it helped.

I have several WW2 MP38/40 mags that started out as slab sided but were later modified with ribs pressed in,they show the acceptance mark from the original
manufacturer and a second (different) acceptance mark from the company that did the update.
 
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Interesting video especially since I just bought a 12.3 STEN . Hopefully it wont take years to get it transferred to me
 
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That red dot makes me cry. C1 was the first gun I ever shot, as a kid, handed one by a member of the RCR on a base/school field trip. He looked very grumpy when I did a quick burst, followed by a mag dump... good times
 
That red dot makes me cry.

Don't worry Dosing - there is nothing permanent about that concession to aging eyes, so my SMG is still the way that the good Lord intended! Beside which, that set-up won me a trophy at one of Mr Wolverine's "gun games" bowling pin shoots back in the day!! You would be impressed at how much quicker it helps that little blaster to get on target.
 
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