Any one ever do a sten build?

Discussion in 'Firearms' started by oil pan 4, Nov 21, 2020.


  1. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    I was thinking of doing a semi auto sten rifle build. A mark 5.
    The only accuracy testing I could find was with a mark 2 sub gun length barrel and was being fired open bolt.
    The mark 2 has bad eargo, sights are only on the tube reciever. It could hit a person sized target at 100 yards, call it 1 MAN accuracy. No surprise.
    The ATF approved sten gun rifle fires closed bolt and will have to have a 16 inch barrel to remain a title 1 gun.
    The sight attaches to the front of the barrel so I'm thinking it could hit 1/2 MAN at 100 yards or a midget.
    Anyone ever build one?
     
  2. Tully Mars

    Tully Mars Metal weldin' monkey

    Yes, several.
     
  3. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Hey you did more than one so you must not have hated them too much.
    We're they all 9mm or did you do any 30 mauser ones?
     
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  4. Tully Mars

    Tully Mars Metal weldin' monkey

    All of them have been 9mm.
    The STENs get kind of a bad rap IMHO. They are easy to build, still cheap(although going up quick) and honestly fun to shoot. In the NFA world a lot of guys Poopoo them but then there are gun snobs in every group. They will not be a tack driver but then they were never ment to be. They are a good kit to build to start out with or if a person is an experienced builder. Because the design is simple they are easy to troubleshoot if needed.

    Sten – StenParts.com

    STEN Parts

    Indianapolis Ordnance

    There are many more sites out there with a search but the above are good. The last carries semi auto conversion kits if you don't want to do the work yourself.
     
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  5. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Yeah I have eyeing that Indianapolis kit hard for a while now, they just got some back in stock.

    I have been loading a lot of glock safe 9mm. Glock safe being a load that spits out a 124gr bullet at around 1,100fps from a 4 inch barrel. Time to go completely the other direction and work up one that fires a 124gr bullet at more like 1,250 fps for the sten. (More like 1,500+ in a 16 inch barrel).
     
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  6. Tully Mars

    Tully Mars Metal weldin' monkey

    If it were me I would go a bit slow on that. The STEN bolt is heavy but the recoil spring isn't all that strong in comparison to some modern weapons. There isn't a buffer like in the Uzi and some other subs. Don't want to beat it up too much.

    The last MkV I built I turned into a MkVI, which is just a V that was suppressed. There are lots of pics on the net, but finding drawings of the actual internals took awhile. Anyways, it's a great little weapon that is cheap to shoot. Good luck with your build.
     
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  7. Ura-Ki

    Ura-Ki Grampa Monkey

    Not a Sten, but did do up a M-3 " Grease Gun" loads of fun, super easy to do, and pretty slick!
    Had to jump the hoops to NFA it, but it was worth the extra effort!
     
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2020
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  8. Gator 45/70

    Gator 45/70 Monkey+++

    [YD][worthless][beer]
     
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  9. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    I don't have anything for a sten build aside from 9mm ammo.
     
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  10. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Incase I make hot subgun ammo, which I'm pretty sure that I will I needed the ammo to be distinctive. So it doesn't accidently get loaded in a glock.
    I got to thinking about it, if we were in the before times I would just order 9mm nickel shell casings and a distinctive bullet.
    If I'm able to find some nickel 9mm and I can mark the primer with something like "purple pvc pipe primer" and maybe red lacquer around where the bullet meets the case.
    Idea from ww2 subgun ammo.

    So got on GB and found 500 sized and primed 1x fired FC head stamp nickel plated brass shipped for about 25 cents a shell.
    I don't need the small primers now that I found my small primer stash but I'll take them since there was dirty unprimed, unsized, mixed head stamp range trash on there for almost that much.
    I would like to load 147gr bullets but I loaded them all already and can't find more for a price I would like to pay.
    115s and 124s will work for now.
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2020
  11. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Pike arms sells nitride coated and 1/2x28 threaded barrels for under $100.
    Mine....
     
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  12. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    I was looking at ballistics by the inch dot com to decide how much 9mm bbl I need.
    Looks like 9mm runs out of steam (and CO2) at about 6 or 7 inches of barrel.
    There's some stupid hot 90gr 9mm+p ammo that doesn't run out of steam until about 11 or 12 inches but in the sten my dedicated SMG rounds are going to be 147s or 124s if I have to.
    I got the threaded 9.4 inch sten "M91" barrel, because they were all out of the standard 8 inch barrel.
     
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  13. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Check out this hunk of junk.
    Remember the antis and fuds want all your "scarry black guns" reconfigured with an acetylene torch too look like this one.
    The bbl bushing got torched, no saving that.

    20201128_013104.
     
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  14. Gator 45/70

    Gator 45/70 Monkey+++

    I hope you didn't pay for that scrap piece?
     
  15. Tully Mars

    Tully Mars Metal weldin' monkey

    They look bad but you're paying for FCG the end cap and normally the barrel bushing. In this case that part is bad. The above is just part of the entire kit he bought.
     
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  16. Tully Mars

    Tully Mars Metal weldin' monkey

    I think you'll be pleased with both. I usually run 147's but that's mainly because that's what I load for all the PPC's.
     
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  17. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Yeah the mk5 parts kits are about $200 now.
    Seems like a good deal since the only place that sells the trigger housing charges $200 just for that.
    The barrel bushing is only $35.
    A few years ago a kit was the only way to get a trigger housing.
    I can resell the stock, pistol grip and full auto bolt and get some of that $250 back.
    The full auto bolts and English wood stocks go for about $90 each.

    This is going to be a modernized sten.
    I cut the trigger guard off so I can move it back about 1/8 inch and cut the pistol grip block out. That way I can put an AR15 pistol grip on there which weighs nothing and a weld on AR buffer tube bung. I have a 1-3/16x16 tap for reasons all I need is a tube the correct ID to thread out.
     
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  18. Tully Mars

    Tully Mars Metal weldin' monkey

    If you come across a brass bolt or an exceptionally nice stock I'd be interested.
     
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  19. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    I don't know if my stock is very nice. I can clean it up and check. It has a nice brass but plate.
    Only brass bolt I have seen was like $250.
     
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  20. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    The semi auto sten fires closed bolt. To convert the gun you must use a semi auto bolt. The semi auto bolt doesn't use the original sten spring. I uses 2 long thin springs on a guide rod that looks like something you would find in a M1 carbine, mini14 or marlin camp carbine.
    The semi auto sten is also striker fired. So you have the bolt springs to overcome and the striker springs to over come.
    The barrel is really thick for the first 2 inches and appears to be thicker than any pistol barrel for the rest of its length. Should easily handle 40,000 psi ammo.
    Will the bolt mass and springs handle 40,000 psi ammo, I don't know.
     
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