Today at a gun show I traded into a Sterling Mk4 made by Wise Lite. Now while looking for spare magazines I'm finding that many places are selling Sten magazines and saying they are for the Sterling. I'm new to this weapon and have a couple questions maybe those who are in the know can help me with. Are the two interchangeable? And where can I get some of the magazines without being charged an outrageous price? Thanks for helping me with this.
Sterling, Sten, Sten, Sterling?? Oy Vey!!
- Thread starter sharps_74
- Start date
The Sterling can take STEN Mags
The STEN cannot use Sterling Mags
I see mags, but nothing cheap. If you find some, please let me know.
I also have a Wiselite. I love it, plan to SBR &Silence when I get funds.
The STEN cannot use Sterling Mags
I see mags, but nothing cheap. If you find some, please let me know.
I also have a Wiselite. I love it, plan to SBR &Silence when I get funds.
thunderdawg
UZI Talk Life Member
All of the extra magazines I have bought for my Sterlings I have gotten from Apex (https://apexgunparts.com/product_info.php/cPath/83/products_id/2825)
Each magazine I have tried has worked without fail though fair to state that I dismantled all of them for cleaning and re-oiling. You can certainly pay more, but may not be able to get a better deal. HTH.
Each magazine I have tried has worked without fail though fair to state that I dismantled all of them for cleaning and re-oiling. You can certainly pay more, but may not be able to get a better deal. HTH.
Super Dak©
Well-known member
+1 for Apex. 10 Sterling mags for $200 is pretty a good deal. Haven't seen $20 a mag any place else. Don't know about the Sten mags, but Sterling mags are so good I think they are worth any price difference IMHO.
booger hooker
Well-known member
Apex has been the best deal for a while but who knows how long their supply will last so buy now. The absolute best deal was last year about this time when Century Arms had a sale on Sterling mags for $10/each...it only lasted for a short time and I loaded up on them.
AmEngRifles
Well-known member
Sharps,
Congrats on scoring a Wiselite. They are fine shooters and I enjoy mine very much. You can indeed use those cheaper Sten mags, but they are a bear to load. Plan on ordering one of the loading spoons that are available on the surplus market. You should be able to get a loading tool for $10 to $20 bucks.
There are two types of Sterling mags on the market. Those that are below $40 bucks each and will probably take refinishing. Finish doesn't equal function, but if they look too badly beaten up, keep looking at the gun shows or on line. Sooner or later, someone will have one or two and not know what they are really, so will have them at a decent price. If you assemble enough mags with no finish left, you could send them out for ceracoating. Just make sure they are good functioning mags before spending the money on them. Black is the right color.
Then there are the pristine Sterling mags that are going to be $75 or more. That seems outrageous, but considering the last of the reasonably priced ($35.00) Sterling mags were probably sold 5 years ago, that is just what happens. Keep your eyes peeled and learn the difference between the Dagenham "Magazine Sterling 9mm 34 rds" and the L1A2 government contract mag. (I know, get's confusing) Both excellent mags.
By the way, if you get a mag that seems to be giving you mis-feds, check for parallel feed lips. The lips do get bent and are fairly easy to bring back into position.
Included are a few pics to illustrate differences. You will even see my 20 round Sten mag, which works just fine. Enjoy. You got a great little rifle.
View attachment 29274View attachment 29275View attachment 29273
Congrats on scoring a Wiselite. They are fine shooters and I enjoy mine very much. You can indeed use those cheaper Sten mags, but they are a bear to load. Plan on ordering one of the loading spoons that are available on the surplus market. You should be able to get a loading tool for $10 to $20 bucks.
There are two types of Sterling mags on the market. Those that are below $40 bucks each and will probably take refinishing. Finish doesn't equal function, but if they look too badly beaten up, keep looking at the gun shows or on line. Sooner or later, someone will have one or two and not know what they are really, so will have them at a decent price. If you assemble enough mags with no finish left, you could send them out for ceracoating. Just make sure they are good functioning mags before spending the money on them. Black is the right color.
Then there are the pristine Sterling mags that are going to be $75 or more. That seems outrageous, but considering the last of the reasonably priced ($35.00) Sterling mags were probably sold 5 years ago, that is just what happens. Keep your eyes peeled and learn the difference between the Dagenham "Magazine Sterling 9mm 34 rds" and the L1A2 government contract mag. (I know, get's confusing) Both excellent mags.
By the way, if you get a mag that seems to be giving you mis-feds, check for parallel feed lips. The lips do get bent and are fairly easy to bring back into position.
Included are a few pics to illustrate differences. You will even see my 20 round Sten mag, which works just fine. Enjoy. You got a great little rifle.
View attachment 29274View attachment 29275View attachment 29273
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AmEngRifles
Well-known member
AmEngRifles
Well-known member
AmEngRifles
Well-known member
Thanks, brother. This is a wealth of information. Mine came with a Dagenham magazine. Two rounds into shooting it it hiccupped. After that, it never gave me a problem. I took it apart and it was bone dry. It appears that the previous owner got it and possibly never fired it. Something I intend to do a lot of.
AmEngRifles
Well-known member
May have been due to sitting and a small corrosive action on the rollers. Maybe not. Just a little smutz as they say. lol. Bone dry is ok, as you wouldn't want a lot of lubrication in the mag. I have never seen an MOD pamphlet on maintenance of magazines. Most folks do not recommend lubricants in a mag, as it will bind debris. I suspect you could get away with just a drop at the axles for each roller, nothing more.
I forgot to mention, when Wiselite or CAI sold these rifles, they usually came with one original finish, fairly nice mag and one re-parkerized gray phosphate mag. I suspect they had a whole bunch of very worn mags and sent them off for refinishing. Unfortunately they paid no attention to historical detail in that they could have had them black cercoated, which would have looked more "original", but the gray parkerizing was probably cheaper.
I forgot to mention, when Wiselite or CAI sold these rifles, they usually came with one original finish, fairly nice mag and one re-parkerized gray phosphate mag. I suspect they had a whole bunch of very worn mags and sent them off for refinishing. Unfortunately they paid no attention to historical detail in that they could have had them black cercoated, which would have looked more "original", but the gray parkerizing was probably cheaper.
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