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School me on a STEN

Phydoux

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I'm considering getting a FA STEN, leaving price out of it, as I know I'll pay a lot $9,000 plus . What should I look for? I've seen a few online that come with 2-3 xtra barrels, and I prefer the wire stock. I believe that's a mk II ? And would like the barrel threaded, but I guess I can have that done separately if need be. How do they sound suppressed? School me!
 
Open bolt guns are usually terrible suppressor hosts. The combination of an open bolt, SHORT barrel, and spring weight do not lend themselves to quietness.
Combined with the general lack of ability to find heavier springs (to hold the bolt closed a bit longer/absorb the the increased recoil) also throw a wrench into the plan.
STEN's are fun guns, but not the most reliable from the get-go.

I'd get one as I do like them better than other MGs in their price range, but not for a suppressor host...

YMMV
 
I'm considering getting a FA STEN, leaving price out of it, as I know I'll pay a lot $9,000 plus . What should I look for? I've seen a few online that come with 2-3 xtra barrels, and I prefer the wire stock. I believe that's a mk II ? And would like the barrel threaded, but I guess I can have that done separately if need be. How do they sound suppressed? School me!

@sovietak474u
 
Sten's are great guns for the money. Spare parts / parts kits / mags and barrels are relatively cheap and available. MKII is going to be the way to go for the ease of swapping barrels. Like trading place said open bolt guns in general do not sound great suppressed but the sten is still comfortable to shoot with subs. @sovietak474u can elaborate more on running them suppressed as he does with his quite a bit. Two things to plan on doing, Buy an Austen mag loader and a modern milled sear.
 
Having had a Sten (I had to sell it for my son's college education) I would buy another if the opportunity arose. Get a Mk II, don't get a III. You can add some mark V components (stock and vertical grip) to a II to make it a better shooter. Mags can be a bit finicky, so you might have some mags that just don't want to work. If you can find them, the 50 round Lanchester mags worked well. I do like the feel and balance of a Sten in addition to the slow rate of fire. I purchased a 2nd front end and had the guys at Accurate Ordnance thread it and add a 3 lug. I agree its not MP5SD quiet, but its not that bad. Mine did not like weak ammo. I also like the historic aspect and collect Enfields and have a Semi Bren.

Stens can be had for about 7-8K if you look around and jump on a deal. Some folks will take a Sten and have it converted to a Stenling ( Sterling clone). I have a Sterling built by the god of all things Sterling, Andrewski. I inquired about a Stenling conversion and he stated that he could not do it with certain tubes as he would have to cut where the initial tube manufacturer put the serial numbers and he could not do that. So I purchased a DLO Sterling Tube, 2 kits and had him build a Sterling. Unfortunately, Sterlings are well over 10K now.

If you live in Metro Atlanta and want to shoot a Sterling, PM me.
 
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