sterling L2A3

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can14

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Didn't see any place to start this. How many people collect Sterling L2A3 smgs? How many people
have accessories for them etc.
I think there are more original sterling guns in Canada than America. There are forums there for
sterling, but not much real information on Canadian ones
 
I saw a semi auto only police sterling for sale on the EE several months ago, I think it flip flopped on price for between like 11,000 and 7,000 bucks. Way too rich for my blood but still pretty cool. I've also seen dewats at gun shows as well for about 1500 bucks.

They don't seem all that prevalent though. I've seen more live full auto thompsons than I have sterlings, functional or otherwise...
 
parts still come about. the leme testing ground in ottawa used to be a dump site of old weapon parts. A buddy of mine used to walk his dog through there an come across parts littered in the woods. mostly mags and other bits and bobs.
 
I thought I saw a semi-auto police sterling for sale at the last Calgary gun show priced at $4500?
 
There was a time when C1 and C2 rifles and C1 smgs could be purchased direct from CAL.
I am unaware of any functional British L2A3s being sold. No doubt there are dewats.
 
My favourite 9mm sub gun, of the handful I have tried. There are a good number in the hands of Canada's 12(2) collectors (I have seen both Canadian C1s and the crinkle-painted export versions of the British L2A3), but I don't think I have seen any as converted autos, and the semi-auto variants were rare and expensive. This is a design that sadly will largely disappear along with the grandfathered MG owners.
 
amateurs- the stirling was my primary for years and your left hand was always gloved , but you did NOT hang on to it by the mag as that put rearward pressure on the mag and changed the feed angle- or so I was told- you don't argue with rsms- and that bolt should have been held and locked to the rear in the first place, so it's ready for a new mag- by removing the mag it allowed the bolt to come forward and then had to insert and charge on an empty chamber- to tell the truth I was waiting for an a/d due to the way these guys were handling the gun
 
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Yep, left hand on the shroud, butt into your hip-bone, controlled short bursts, was how I was taught it. Same day, one of the MPs in the butts raised a target with his beret jammed on its head. Not very many high-scoring hits on that target, but he didn't have much to wear on his head, the ride home. Minor charge parade and a fine for the MP, for his poor decision making, but all in good fun.

Edit - Looking back on a long civilian hobby of shooting, I have no idea why in the limited time we had, they chose to have us shoot from the hip, instead of aimed shots... maybe the more experienced folks can suggest a technical reason.
 
sulisa said:
Yep, left hand on the shroud, butt into your hip-bone, controlled short bursts, was how I was taught it. Same day, one of the MPs in the butts raised a target with his beret jammed on its head. Not very many high-scoring hits on that target, but he didn't have much to wear on his head, the ride home. Minor charge parade and a fine for the MP, for his poor decision making, but all in good fun.

Edit - Looking back on a long civilian hobby of shooting, I have no idea why in the limited time we had, they chose to have us shoot from the hip, instead of aimed shots... maybe the more experienced folks can suggest a technical reason.
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the idea was to shoot your way out of a surrounded situation or to defend against multiple hostiles- that's why hip shots- with the shoulder stock closed- ie centre of mass hits centre of mass- you don't care how accurate , just as long as your target goes down- that's also why the boys that carried that as a primary practiced at ranges of 100 and less there were both 10 and 30 round mags issued- if I remember correctly, the first 2 rounds were blank and then hardball- all on full auto- those 2 blanks gave you time to deescalate the situation- exp at pay parade- some of the payees would get the idea to rob pay roll even though it was all cheques
remember this was before body armour
 
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Use a smg as a carbine, up to the shoulder, and using the sights - or at least looking over them, and you realize that they have a much longer effective range than often assumed. Hosing from the hip is all very well, but is certainly a very specialized use.
 
Hillbilly said:
I have one :) And it works when i hold the mag
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u weren't taught right= this infection on the proper way to hold the smg goes all the way back to the ww2 days- ie the marquis were given the sten, shown the proper way to hold and fire it- well being the marquis, they had to find a different way to do things- and with sloppy feedways there might be instances where it would misfeed- if you look at the later versions of the sten, and the early PATCHETTE you will indeed find forward handgrips on the cooling jacket- the same effect was accomplished by wearing a glove
 
There are 3 CA Canadian Arsenals Limited C1 SMGs in private hands in Canada. They all originated from a military assistance sale to the Congo in the 1960s that was resold as surplus to SIDEM, a large British surplus arms dealer. They were imported jnto Canada as part of a large batch of CA L2A3 Brit Sterlings by Ontario Gun & Tackle back in the early 1980s. The C1 SMGs were misidentified on the shipping manifest as L2A3s. I know this because I have a copy of the Manifest to go with my C1 SMG, which is listed therein. Last I had knowledge of their whereabouts, I had one and the other 2 were in Calgary. That may have changed since. My C1 SMG goes nicely with my FN C1A1 and Inglis Hi-Power. There are days I regret selling my FN C2, as it completed the the old "pre-SARP" family of Canadian small arms. Hindsight is always 20/20.....

Anyhow, all of that to say that there are (were?) quite a few CA Sterlings floating around in Canada, but only the 3 registered, genuine CA C1 SMGs to be had for the collectors of Canadian small arms. They are genuine unicorns - I just wish the govt would let me use it on the frigging range where it belongs!!!
 
Bartok5 said:
There are 3 CA Canadian Arsenals Limited C1 SMGs in private hands in Canada. They all originated from a military assistance sale to the Congo in the 1960s that was resold as surplus to SIDEM, a large British surplus arms dealer. They were imported jnto Canada as part of a large batch of CA L2A3 Brit Sterlings by Ontario Gun & Tackle back in the early 1980s. The C1 SMGs were misidentified on the shipping manifest as L2A3s. I know this because I have a copy of the Manifest to go with my C1 SMG, which is listed therein. Last I had knowledge of their whereabouts, I had one and the other 2 were in Calgary. That may have changed since. My C1 SMG goes nicely with my FN C1A1 and Inglis Hi-Power. There are days I regret selling my FN C2, as it completed the the old "pre-SARP" family of Canadian small arms. Hindsight is always 20/20.....

Anyhow, all of that to say that there are (were?) quite a few CA Sterlings floating around in Canada, but only the 3 registered, genuine CA C1 SMGs to be had for the collectors of Canadian small arms. They are genuine unicorns - I just wish the govt would let me use it on the frigging range where it belongs!!!
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There may have only been 3 C1 SMGs IMPORTED (by OGT), but there were approx. 200 C1 SMGs sold to DCRA and PRA members directly by CAL between 1958 and 1978.

The ones I have seen were all still selective, and not neutered to "CA".

I suppose that some may have been converted to "CA" between 1979 & the mid 1990s.
 
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I have had one Police Carbine pass through my hands years ago in the UK! I purchased her at a London gun show, paid cash and took her home wrapped in newspaper, on the "tube" my buddies delighted in trying to tear the newspaper so she was real hard to conceal by the time I reached home.

I have had three pass through my hands in Canada, all we're mint and the first two sold for under $1,000 each.

I still have a few new in the wrap Brish mags ( the best!) pinned to five if any one is looking for some send me an e-mail, $95 each I think.
 
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