Smithwesson91
Member
Hi I purchased a sterling model 302 22lr it is stainless with black grips in very good condition with one mag I paid 129 plus tax.what is the quality of these like?will they hold up very well and did I over pay thanks kaleb
Sterling 302 22lr
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bannockburn
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Smithwesson91
I had one probably thirty years ago. While fairly well made I had so many problems with getting mine to work right (as in reliably), that I eventually sold it. I hope you have better success with your Sterling.
I had one probably thirty years ago. While fairly well made I had so many problems with getting mine to work right (as in reliably), that I eventually sold it. I hope you have better success with your Sterling.
Smithwesson91
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So the quality is about like a raven or jennings?
Smithwesson91
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The more I hear makes me think I shoulda done my home work first lol
bannockburn
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Smithwesson91
It's not that the Sterling was a bad design or that it was poorly constructed using low quality materials. I think the biggest problem for a .22LR that small is that there's not a lot of room for error in terms of tolerances and functionality. Everything has been downsized and unless all the parts have been designed, constructed, and assembled properly, and are working in perfect harmony, you're bound to have problems. And when you add in rimfire ammo which can have inconsistent quality in and of itself, you're only adding to the potential for having problems getting it to work right.
It's not that the Sterling was a bad design or that it was poorly constructed using low quality materials. I think the biggest problem for a .22LR that small is that there's not a lot of room for error in terms of tolerances and functionality. Everything has been downsized and unless all the parts have been designed, constructed, and assembled properly, and are working in perfect harmony, you're bound to have problems. And when you add in rimfire ammo which can have inconsistent quality in and of itself, you're only adding to the potential for having problems getting it to work right.
Smithwesson91
Member
I had a jennings j-22 (proably shouldn't admit lol)I tweaked it and it would feed about anything I put a good 5 or 6 bricks of 22lr threw it and never broke it I kinda regret selling it but I'm goin to take the sterling out tomnarow with some fedral lightings,cci mini mags and stingers and some Remington yellow jackets and golden bullets ill post a range report.
Tomac
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Had a couple of Sterlings back in my college days. Took some experimenting but I finally found .22 ammo that they liked after which they were very reliable.
Tomac
Tomac
VA27
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I had several over the years with never a problem. Keep it clean and lubed and it should be fine. $129 for one is an ok price. Much nicer gun than the current crop of inexpensive guns.
Smithwesson91
Member
I went to the range and brought the sterling and the old Smith&wesson model 64,I fired 200 rounds and had about 4 jams all fte is not accurate by any means but it's better then nothing I am going to polish the feed ramp and get all the rough edges out of the slide overall I'm satisfied not as good as my smith but then again u get what u pay for.
loose noose
Member
I had one about umpteen years ago, I don't believe it was SS, but a nickel finish. It shot well with the Hi-Velocity ammo as long as it was copper jacketed and I kept it well lubed. Traded it in on a Ruger Standard pistol with a 4" barrel, much more accurate. All though I did shoot some cottontail rabbits with it at close range.
Penoe Hunter
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Two different Sterlings did this in our locker room in the seventies Guys bought them for BUG using Stingers and Yellowjackets.
Smithwesson91
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Is it something I should keep or trade off?
Only you can determine if you should keep it and that depends how it runs for you. I didn't have good luckwith my Sterling but I have a Raven and a Jennings that run 100%. All of these guns I'm talking about seem to be jewels or junk. You just have to find out which you have.
bannockburn
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Smithwesson91
I got rid of mine because I just grew tired of trying to get it to be even half way reliable. I think I sold it and bought a Beretta Jetfire in .25ACP and never looked back.
I got rid of mine because I just grew tired of trying to get it to be even half way reliable. I think I sold it and bought a Beretta Jetfire in .25ACP and never looked back.
The Sterling is all steel and is a pretty tight little pistol tolerance wise. It'll probably only feed high velocity ammo reliably, which means expensive ammo when it comes to .22lr. Look at it this way, even the most expensive .22lr is still cheaper than the cheapest centerfire ammo.
351 WINCHESTER
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Penoe Hunter
Were they really back up guns or ham sandwiches?
Were they really back up guns or ham sandwiches?
SleazyRider
Member
The Model 302 Sterling has an "extra" spring that presses on the sear cam, called the sear cam spring. When the gun cycles, the blowback has to compress not only the barrel spring and the firing pin spring, but this spring as well. There's a delicate balance between the combination of these three springs and the power of the ammo you selected. Remove the sear cam spring and put it in your extra parts box. It is a flat spring that runs in a crudely machined channel and seems to cause more drag than spring action. The pistol will function perfectly well without it. Ninety percent of the time the pistol is not fully cycling, and this is where the problem lies.
While it's on the bench, remove the extractor and gently lap its sides on a stone or 360 Wet paper. Clean up the detent and spring hole and sharpen the extractor hook if you deem it neccessary. Lap the sides of the sear cam, and take the curse of the slide rails with a fine, single cut jeweler's file. Scrupulously clean the firing pin well, and polish the sides of the firing pin so it slides effortlessly in the slide. Polish the ramp if you're so inclined, and lube everything with Remoil.
Put the barrel spring on a mandrel such as a Phillips head screwdriver and gently weaken it on the belt sander. Also, the lips of the magazine should be symetrical and properly spaced; if you'd like, I can measure one of my four Sterling 302s and give you this dimension. I opened up the ejection port on one of my Sterlings with the milling machine to help it digest hollow points a bit easier, but this is usually unneccessary.
My Sterling 302s are 100% reliable, and digest just about anything with the possible exception of Remington Thunderbolts, which foul the barrel after a dozen or so shots. The thumb safety, by the way, is a weakness of these models, so I'd advise against carrying them with a chambered round.
Although these pistols bear an unfortunate resemblance to the Jennings and other cheap handguns, they are anything but. All steel and built like a tank, you'll not find a better and more reliable .22 pocket pistol in this price range---if you're willing to tune it up.
While it's on the bench, remove the extractor and gently lap its sides on a stone or 360 Wet paper. Clean up the detent and spring hole and sharpen the extractor hook if you deem it neccessary. Lap the sides of the sear cam, and take the curse of the slide rails with a fine, single cut jeweler's file. Scrupulously clean the firing pin well, and polish the sides of the firing pin so it slides effortlessly in the slide. Polish the ramp if you're so inclined, and lube everything with Remoil.
Put the barrel spring on a mandrel such as a Phillips head screwdriver and gently weaken it on the belt sander. Also, the lips of the magazine should be symetrical and properly spaced; if you'd like, I can measure one of my four Sterling 302s and give you this dimension. I opened up the ejection port on one of my Sterlings with the milling machine to help it digest hollow points a bit easier, but this is usually unneccessary.
My Sterling 302s are 100% reliable, and digest just about anything with the possible exception of Remington Thunderbolts, which foul the barrel after a dozen or so shots. The thumb safety, by the way, is a weakness of these models, so I'd advise against carrying them with a chambered round.
Although these pistols bear an unfortunate resemblance to the Jennings and other cheap handguns, they are anything but. All steel and built like a tank, you'll not find a better and more reliable .22 pocket pistol in this price range---if you're willing to tune it up.
The Sterling 302 is a hit and miss kind of thing. Not all of them were bad, but a lot were. If you get one that was put together properly, it will work flawlessly. I owned one back in the 80's ( prior to the good old internet and all the information available now ) and my only regret is that I didn't keep it, put it out in my back yard and pee on it every day just to watch it corrode. Later I found out some information on them. Now I am going on memory, so don't ask me what I'm using for reference OK. If you want more precise info go the Numrich forum and ask for " ZEKE " and ask him abut his work on them, he can give you first hand info. It seems that that Sterling had a disgruntled employee who was sabotaging the guns on purpose ( the 302's ) why, don't know. They caught him using a hidden cameral and of course fired him. However the damage was done. Sterling sent out fact sheets on how to quickly repair the guns if they were brought back and even sent parts kits out. Because of the bad reputation ( When you buy a bad product, every other product that company makes is bad in your eyes ) and the number of lawsuits, well it caused Sterling to go under. Again it was only the 302 series and not all of them were bad. The one I had was bad and I sold it at a big loss.
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