need help with ID and review of Sterling .22LR

[kermit315]

Hey guys,

I saw a little Sterling .22LR pistol in the gunshop the other day. They want 137 out the door (cali prices). I cant find a picture of it on the internet though. I was wondering if somebody has a picture of one and a review of it if possible.

It had a little safety on the left side of the frame, just below the slide, right above the trigger. Heel mag release, and no exposed hammer. reminded me of a Jennings .22 kinda. also, it had no sights to speak of, just a channel along the top of the slide.

If the review is favorable on here I might go in and pick it up in the morning for the wife. She wants a little .22 like that, but I am very leery of the Jennings.

Thanks in advance guys.

Edit to Add: My wife is way more observent than I and said it was a Sterling (dont know where I came up with Astra, except that there might have been one in the case that I had looked at and it stuck in my mind. Anywho, would still like a review of the pistol if anybody has one.

Jamie.

 

[sig226]

I had one of those. I got it for free and gave it to someone with cash for a Beretta Tomcat. It surprised me in two ways:

1) It functioned

2) It was reasonably accurate

Since the safety engaged positively, I carried it as a pocket pistol for a while until this trade presented itself. I wouldn't pay $137 for one, but that's me. If you can afford it and it interests you, they do work.

 

[kermit315]

I normally wouldnt either, however that is on the cheap in Cali and the wife wants a small pocket pistol exactly like this. Thanks for the review sig, and everybody else, please chime in. gotta keep the wife happy.

Jamie

 

[GaryP]

Jamie,

I bought one New back in the late 1970's. It was a Sterling model 302 .22LR in stainless steel.

My son and I put thousands of rounds through it over a 5 year period.

My observations:

Pros

1. Functionality good as long as pistol cleaned every 100 to 150 rounds.
2. Ammo readily available and cheap
3. easily concealed

Cons

1. Poor sights
2. Parts availability -- Manufacturer out of business many years ago

You will need an instruction booklet for disassembly instructions in order to clean this little jewel. Ask here on the THR as I believe this issue came up a while back and someone had assembly / dissasembly instructions they were willing to share. I see these little jewels at gun shops and gun shows every now and then in both blue & SS models. See if you can get the seller to take $85 to $100 for it.

 

[kermit315]

well, the 137 includes the Cali DROS fee of 25 dollars, the mandatory lock, and tax, so it is really less than 137. sounds good. thanks guys.

jamie

 

[Logan5]

I have a local gunshop that collects all the Sterlings, Lorcins, Ravens, etc, etc, that come through the door and auction all of them off as a grab bag every six months. They typically get less than $200 for five or six of them in a sack, plus transfer fee and shipping.

 

[GaryP]

Jamie,

I just did a google search and found this url;

Take a look at a brand new Sterling .22lr model 302
Bottom one is M302

http://www.rifletech.com/cgi-bin/ap.cgi?itemno=28

 

[kermit315]

thanks for the link garyP.

Logan, are these similar to the Jennings .22's, and if so, is it something that I should be worried about?

 

[kermit315]

well, I am heading in to town to see if it is still there soon, pending any bad reviews from fellow THR members.

thanks,

Jamie

 

[GaryP]

Jamie,

The Sterling model 302 is stainless Steel and holds up very well to a lot of shooting. Reliability is very good if attention is paid to keeping them clean. The Sterlings are not cheap pot metal guns and are much better pistols than the Ravins, Lorcins, Jennings, etc.

Having said all that, beware - you are considering a pistol that is at least 25 years or more old and no longer manufactured. Due to possible abuse or whatever, it could be a piece of junk or in excellent shape. Also, you will not find many folks around that have experience with these which adds to your problem. If it were me I would not purchase it unless I could shoot it first, but now-a-days the possibility of that is Slim to none!
It all boils down to is it worth $137 to find out.

 

[kermit315]

well, I will never know. Went back in today and somebody had already bought it up. He tried to sell me a Phoenix for the same price, but I wasnt buying...lol.

thanks for the info guys.

jamie

 

[Macmac]

Phew.... I think you did yourself a favor.... I had a .25acp Sterling and it was a paper weight at best. In a defensive mode I would have had to throw it like a rock..

If it is old you are after and no longer made, a Iver Johnson TP-22 in .22 lr might do...

If you want small and reliable as all get out, NAA Mini Mag or a convertable would do better IMO... I run a convertable with a 1 and 1/8th" barrel, and it goes everywhere with me as a back up, and sometimes the only piece I might have.. it is a little more than $137, but I get the idea yer wife is worth a little more than $137.00....

 

[kermit315]

definately. it was in the case and she was interested, so I figured "keep 'er happy". she likes her walther, but wanted it because it was small and like the first handgun she shot.

oh well, another gun, another time.

jamie

 

[Macmac]

What sort of Walther? If it was like a ppk the Iver Johnson is right up the ally, but finding one will take a bit of hunting. When made and new they were 99 bucks.. I had one, and sold it. I discovered that was an error, and after these were no more I found a used one for $110! Go figure?

I have that one and it's MINE!

I think the NAA offerings are under estimated, as I bought one last Sept 1st. It is no sort of target gun, not at all!

A 22 mag set off is more like a bomb, and the fire ball beats the fire ball from any Ar-15 with ease! This little piece will cause sheer terror to any thug even if she missed! I carry one in my jeans pocket every day all day, in a little holster I sewwed up.

When, and this gets hard to talk about somewhat, but when I must use this little gun as deep concealed the holster has a belt loop, made in such a way, as the holster can dangle deep inside my pants... um take a wild guess where.

Sometimes when my wife hugs and kisses me she gets an odd look on her face and a very big grin too. I am not yet so sure this is good for my ego.

 

[kermit315]

so that really is a gun in your pocket. haha

she has a walther P22

 

[Macmac]

My son has one of the new pattern walther, and a silencer for it as well. He oaid that TAX! yikes!

 

[kermit315]

she likes hers. glad we didnt get the target model. hers has (knock on wood) over 1100 rounds through it, all federal bulk pak from wally world, with one fail to fire that i attribute to a dud round because it two primer strikes on it and wouldnt fire (once from the first trigger pull, once from the second chance, then I gave up on it.).

 

[bannockburn]

kermit315

I had a Sterling .22 many years ago; while it made for a fun little plinker, I would never consider it as any sort of CCW. Two problems: one, the safety is just not secure enough for a striker fired gun like this; and two, reliability was not it's strong suit. Okay for plinking, like a Walther P22, but nothing I would want to bet on when it really counts.

 

[kermit315]

agree on the CCW part of it, on both counts. She just likes it to take out when I go shoot as something that doesnt beat her up. She is still kinda new to guns and I am trying to work her in slowly, although now she is saying she wants to try a .38 revolver to see what it is like.

thanks for all the info guys.

Jamie

 

[Average Joe]

I think somebody did u a favor. I had one of those, it wouldn't fire more than two rounds without jamming. I sent it back three times, and each time they said it was something else they fixed. It never worked since day one. I finally gave up, and traded it in on a revolver.