Post by Claymore THE STEN
HISTORY
The sten gun derives its name from the designers (R.V. Shepard and H.J. Turpin) so the S and the T, then the EN from Enfield the location of the Royal small arms factory at Enfield lock in London.
Ten sten came to existance due to the British not having an adequate machine gun in the second world war. It was developed in mid 1941 and was a blowback operated weapon that fired from an open bolt. It was of crude design and notorious for accidental discharge.
There were in total 5 varients of the sten and for all its problems stayed in service until the 1960's when the sterling took over.
THE HUDSON STEN
The Hudson model of the sten is an all metal version and from what i can make out a pretty accurate model.
Mine was supplied by the one and only Francky and as with all his models, was in A1 condition.
The gun came boxed and as on the real sten the magazine housing can be moved so it covers and protects the chamber, so when you take the gun out of the box you first have to move the housing into position. this is simple to do and the housing locks into position by means of a spring loaded pin.
The stock which is also separate is then clipped into place, again easy to do. The chamber/detonator housing also has to be fitted again easy to do as it is simply place in the barrel and the pin that locks the mag housing also locks this into place.
The advantage of all this is not just protection for the gun but means the sten can be broken down and hidden in small places, a good thing for some during the war.
LOOKS
Lets be honest the sten is an ugly gun and it is one i had no intention of buying but the more i looked at pics of it saw some vid of it firing and the fact that it is full metal, i decided i had to get one.
In the flesh it is still ugly, it definatly is of a crude and simplistic design but then it was made in a hurry and very cheaply, however the looks grow on you.
Hudson, over the years, has made 2 stens, an old and a new one and there are a few slight differences which i will talk about later.
FIRING
Well this is an all metal model so you can lube it with gun oil, you only need to oil the bolt and spray a bit in the bolt and recoil spring housing and thats that. The barrel is blocked on this model so no smoke out of it i am afraid.
The rounds are cp style and take a 7mm cap, so fill the mag with 32 rounds although i rarely put in more than 25, put the mag on and this loads from the left side, pull the bolt back and there you go.
This is a single and full auto gun and the selector is a push button above and to the front of the trigger.
So what happens when you pul the trigger, fun thats what. This gun may be ugly but man does it fire well, single shot works no problem but full auto is where the fun is, squeeze the trigger and the sten will fire until the maf is empty no problem. After about 3 mags you may get a jam but i reckon you could get a good amount through this model before it would get to dirty and fail to fire.
What is more impressive though is its burst fire capability. A lot of modelguns will fire fine when you keep the trigger depressed but dont work well on burst and tend to jam, not the sten burst fire is greatand very controllable, 2 shots 5, whatever you want and no jams and that makes for some great fun when firing.
But thats not all its loud not just in the cap noise but in the sound the bolt makes, thia is obviously due to the fact that it is a metal bolt hitting a metal chamber so you get that real gun sound, but it is also due to the bolt being large which gives a greater area to hit the chamber (the thompson has a very small area that hits the chamber) that makes the sound more impressive, also the size of the bolt gives it another plus, RECOIL! oh yes, you can feel the gun moving in your hands and this adds a big plus to the overall effect.
MODEL DIFFERENCES
Well i said Hudson had made 2 versions, the first sten had a barrel by-pass so smoke would vent through the barrel, the new model's barrel is blocked. The old model's barrel shroud (the metal vented hand gaurd around the barrel) is kept in place by 2 screws on the new model the shroud is threaded and screws to the body of the gun.
The new model also has a type of safety, the bolt cocking handle can be pushed in when the bolt is fully forward and this locks the bolt in place, the old model does not have this.
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/claymore/IMAG0012.jpg PROBLEMS
Well what model gun does not have a problem or two? well, this sten has some as well. But thankfully, minor ones.
At the rear of the gun, where the stock fits to the body of the gun there is a cap which retains the recoil spring. Inside the body, are 2 recessed lugs and the cap is pushed in and twisted round, 2 prongs on the cap then fit into the lugs and the recoil spring is retained.
Now, for some reason, the lugs break off which means the spring cannot be retained, this however is not a problem because when you fire the stock locks into place and so holds the cap into place, you just have to be careful when removing the stock so as not to let the spring jump out. The problem has absolutly no effect on the firing or performance of the gun.
The 2nd problem is the trigger spring, its is too long and so when you pull the tigger it does not pull the ser enough to release the bolt. Strangely enough, it only effects the trigger when full auto is selected, single shot is fine.
This is an easy problem to cure, either pull the spring up a bit so as to shorten it or find a better shorter spring and the problem is solved.
OVERALL
Well, i think you will be able to see that i love this model, it's metal, weighs a good amount, fires great, makes a good noise and you even get recoil, what more can you ask from a model gun. Its ugly yes, but the fact that firing it is so much fun i can ignore that. It does not seem to wreck rounds like some other full metal models which means those precious rounds last longer.
This has got to be a must for every collector who likes to fire their models regulary, i thought the MGC Thompson was the best but it only wins in the looks department for me the sten wins in all others.
The sten had mixed opinions in the real world and this "ode to the sten" i think covers why it was both hated and loved and lasted so long.
You wicked piece of vicious tin!
Call you a gun? Don't make me grin.
You're just a bloated piece of pipe.
You couldn't hit a hunk of tripe.
But when you're with me in the night,
I'll tell you pal, you're just alright!
Each day I wipe you free of dirt.
Your dratted corners tear my shirt.
I cuss at you and call you names,
You're much more trouble than my dames.
But boy, do I love to hear you yammer
When you 're spitting lead in a business manner.
You conceited pile of salvage junk.
I think this prowess talk is bunk.
Yet if I want a wall of lead
Thrown at some Jerry's head
It is to you I raise my hat;
You're a damn good pal...
You silly gat!
Click here for claymores Sten video:
http://www.mp40modelguns.com/sten_sequence.wmv 
Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:58 am
.....still...good review mate
besides, it was a pain to put up the video on my site. So watch the video! or else