Sterling 302: Do You Have One?

Cold Steel · Feb 24, 2019

Years ago, I bought several of these guns. Alas, they all jammed and none of them worked. It was unfortunate because they had models made of stainless steel. I bought three one time, but all jammed. I returned them (I had an FFL at the time) and about two or three years later, I read an article that declared that the little Sterlings (both .22LR and .25ACP) were finally working. The company opened the ejection port a bit on the.22LR model. So I bought two of the new ones and guess what. Both jammed after two or three rounds.

This time I sent them back to Sterling. But no luck. Neither gun worked. :mad54:

They were nice looking little guns, and I hoped they would work. Now it's difficult to find any "budget" handguns.

But I wondered if anyone on this forum had one of these little guns and if they worked?

Jake4U · Feb 24, 2019

I had one back in the late 70's. It functioned well for me, but I wanted something smaller so sold it and picked up a Bauer .25. I later sold the Bauer, something I still regret, though my Seecamp .32 is a fine replacement.

I didn't completely trust the safety on the Sterling.

Cold Steel · Feb 28, 2019

Jake4U said:
I had one back in the late 70's. It functioned well for me, but I wanted something smaller so sold it and picked up a Bauer .25. I later sold the Bauer, something I still regret, though my Seecamp .32 is a fine replacement. I didn't completely trust the safety on the Sterling.

Most of us with Ravens and Jennings didn't trust the safeties on such guns. We carried them in the event we'd have time to jack a round into the chamber. (Even today I don't trust any striker fired pistol not to fire unless the trigger is covered by the holster.)

Which caliber did you have in the Sterling? They had .25ACP and .22LRs, and I never saw one that worked. But the Ravens sold for about fifty bucks, and Jennings J-22s came in at seventy-five bucks. The stainless Sterlings went for about $125 and a stainless steel Ruger Security-Six .357 came in for about $169. So you can see why, for just forty-five bucks more, one could get a really decent .357! For about $225, I could get a S&W 13 .357 Magnum. Anyone with enough money to buy a Sterling would be nuts not to pay the delta and get a much better gun! :thumbsup:

Ravens were a great little gun and I wish I'd bought two or three of them. They always fired. My little Jennings J-22 also fires. Mine has less than a hundred rounds through it, but it fires reliably for the first three magazines. After that, it gets dirty and will jam on occasion. But for at least three mags, it shoots reliably.

Sterling 302: Do You Have One?

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