The Canadian Military’s Brittle Animal: the C1 Sterling SMG

[I Dont Care About You]

I've not shot a Sterling, but I have shot a Sten a few times and found it much better than its reputation had me expecting. I expect the Sterling would be more polished and even better.

Keep in mind the functioning Stens today have had many decades of vetting that ensures they work properly. When they were originally made there were certainly problems with mass produced parts not always working well together.

The Sterling has a different feel from the Sten because the pistol grip is located in the middle of the gun rather than at the back end.

While this is true, remember that the push-through safety was a retrofit. I don't know what year it was adopted but the majority of Sten guns were made without that feature, and it was added later by field armourers. It wasn't always available, and many men trained before it was there.

I highly doubt the forward bolt lock was installed by field armourers. It required a new cocking handle as well as a hole to be drilled into the receiver in a specific spot. That would require a jig and a drill press.

 

[I Dont Care About You]

My dad spoke of several guys in his battalion in Normandy having negligent discharge when their Sten guns fired when they jumped into a trench under fire , round went into their foot , there was a rumour of a SIW , Self Inflicted Wound charge & a court martial

I call BS on this story. The means by which a Sten fires when dropped is the bolt has to be forward on an empty chamber and a loaded mag installed. The gun has to be dropped HARD on its butt which drives the bolt backwards far enough to strip, load and fire a live round.

There is NO possibility of that occurring AND shooting one's self in the foot. A guy jumping into a trench and shooting himself in the foot, is the result of a finger on the trigger.

The sear on a Sten is quite robust and has a large engagement surface. They don't slip. Also, the forward bolt lock was specifically designed to prevent the scenario described above.

 

[Claven2]

I call BS on this story. The means by which a Sten fires when dropped is the bolt has to be forward on an empty chamber and a loaded mag installed. The gun has to be dropped HARD on its butt which drives the bolt backwards far enough to strip, load and fire a live round.

There is NO possibility of that occurring AND shooting one's self in the foot. A guy jumping into a trench and shooting himself in the foot, is the result of a finger on the trigger.

The sear on a Sten is quite robust and has a large engagement surface. They don't slip. Also, the forward bolt lock was specifically designed to prevent the scenario described above.

Jumping into a trench under fire is a stressful situation at the best of times, and such soldiers would be likely to have the sten loaded and not on safe.

I think trigger control is, by a very vast margin, the most likely culprit for any bullet wound to the feet or legs when maneuvering around with a loaded smg, including the sten.

 

[ipscgraz]

The issue with guns like the C1 SMG is usually operator error. My dad told me about one guy in training who got confused and decided to try and close the bolt on it with a round in the magazine and had a negligent discharge because of it.

Some people could NOT understand what "open bolt" meant.

Carefully exiting a truck quietly at night in Wainwright to go for a quiet walk in the woods and the guy beside you lets off a 9mm blank. No sense being quiet any more.