How to de-cock striker-fired Sterling .22LR Auto?

[raftman]

Got one of these, the price seemed on par with with GB sells them for and I wanted to a mousegun to replace the IJ TP-22 that blew up on me. As far as I know, it's not a pot-metal gun such as the Jennings/Bryco and the like. It seems relatively well-made, also very easy to field strip. Quite worn on the outside but I've given it a good cleaning and oiling so the action is smooth as butter. They do have a controversial reputation, with some people saying they're perfectly reliable, while others characterize them as jam-o-matics. I've got a few different brands/kinds of .22LR ammo so I'll be testing it before too long.

But to get to the point, just how do I de-cock this gun? Will it tolerate dry-firing? The slide doesn't lock when you rack it (although maybe it's not designed to) when the mag is empty, so then will it dry-fire if I pull the trigger after the last round is spent? What say the wise sages?





Here's a pic.

 

[Sevens]

The gun will likely NOT tolerate a lot of dry firing. Even worse is that you really won't know how much it dislikes dry firing until something breaks or gets quite peened.

The only truly safe & smart way to keep these pistols loaded is to keep a magazine full, but the chamber EMPTY. And just let it go ahead and stay cocked, don't worry about de-cocking it.

If you've fired it empty and you don't keep count, I can't imagine the occasional click on an empty chamber will make it self destruct in short order. When I think "dry firing" I think of constant, repetitive dry firing like in practice.

 

[Dfariswheel]

The only way to de-cock is to pull the trigger on an empty chamber.

Since the slide doesn't lock open on the last round, unless you count the shots the striker will drop on the empty chamber.

I would not recommend dry firing this more than needed for normal operation and de-cocking before storage. This is an inexpensive gun, and it may wear excessively or break parts if dry fired too much.

 

[James K]

Ordinarily I just advise pulling the trigger to let the striker fall, since any well made modern firearm will be able to take dry firing with no problem. Note that "well made."

As to leaving it cocked, springs on a well made pistol won't take a set or weaken if left compressed. Again, note that "well made."

As to leaving the magazine loaded, any well made pistol magazine spring should be able to remain compressed for an indefinite period without taking a set. Again, note that "well made."

The words "well made" don't apply to the Sterling. Release the striker using a snap cap and don't keep the pistol cocked or the magazine loaded for any long period of time. That Sterling may be a cut above the Jennings line, but I would not depend on it for any serious purposes.

Jim

 

[TDodge7]

just pull the slide back a tiny bit and then pull the trigger , that way the firing pin doesn't hit the chamber .

 

[claymore1500]

decock the sterling

I have the same gun in .25auto, Pulling the slide back a tiny bit won't work due to the gun not being able to fire out of battery.

The best way I have found to decock it with minimal damage, 1. be sure it is empty 2. push the takedown button (this will release about 50% of the firing pin spring tension, then you can pull the trigger,let the pin fall and push the spring retainer back in.

The sterling mouse guns are famous for broken firing pins due to dry firing, and the pins are almost impossible to find, I have been doing mine as said above for going on 15 years with out any damage.

When I got mine, the dealer I bought it from said it was used but never fired, I brought it home and stripped it for the cleaning and inspection, and found a milling machine chip in the barrel (sure sign of never been fired), I looked it up in an old shooters bible, the company went out of bussiness in 1973 according to S.B., at that time the gun retailed for $180.00, So you ARE correct in saying they are not in the same class with jennings, bryco and the others, Are they Colts or brownings, NO, but they are not junk.

I don't recommend leaving a round in the chamber though, I seriously believe, if the gun were dropped with one in the chamber it COULD fire, the safety does not block the firing pin.

 

[Superhouse 15]

Actually, parts are available. Still, if you must decock it I'd use a snap cap or spent case.
http://www.e-gunparts.com/productschem.asp?chrMasterModel=2020z302

 

[Patch44]

I inherited a stainless one from my step father. He carried it all the time cocked and locked .. .scary.

After messing with it for quite awhile (it never fed more that three times in a row), I took it apart and tossed it in the river.

Counld not sell it with a clear conscience. I did pull the firing pin and saved the mags. I think there was an extra firing pin too.

Email me your address and I will send them to you no charge, if I can find them.

John

 

[Quentin2]

I do what Grunge Bag said, pull the slide back about 1/16th inch and pull the trigger. Figure it at least softens the firing pin striking the chamber. And try to count shots so I don't fire on an empty chamber.

I've had my Sterling 22 over 30 years and so far so good, no breakages. Admittedly there aren't that many rounds through it, it's just not that interesting to fire and is very picky with ammo. Odds are you'll have your work cut out finding ammo that doesn't have failure to feed issues.

The metal is good quality and holds up to the the years and neglect. It's a strong little gun. I wouldn't advise pulling out the safety to clean, it took a lot of thought to get it back in!

Edit:
Claymore's "dry fire" method makes a lot of sense.

 

[sholling]

Somebody stole mine 25 years ago and I don't miss it a bit. It's the only weapon that I've ever seen discharge from just racking the slide.

 

[raftman]

Tested it out today. First mag, loaded with Remington Thunderbolts (yes, I know, they're said to be crappy, but sometimes you gotta take what you can get) fired off the whole mag, not a single FTF or FTE.

The sights of the gun are tiny, virtually nonexistent, so precise shooting is near impossible. I forgot to bring any actual targets to the spot in the woods where I always shoot, so I shot at the empty little cardboard boxes the ammo came in, set atop of a tree stump, about 50 feet distance. The shots all came close, but few struck the boxes. There is very little felt recoil, basically none, it is reasonably loud however, enough to make me regret not having brought ear protection. It's easily accurate enough for a human-sized target at 50 feet, were it used is a BUG in an SD situation, assuming reliability could be established.

Next mag was loaded with Federal High Power ammo, one FTE, the rest were fine. After that tried Aguila high velocity hollow points, they were the worst of the bunch, either FTF or FTE like half of the time. Tried some of the previous types of ammo again, and the gun started to live up more to the jam-o-matic reputation, on the whole, could be counted on to do the right thing probably around 70% of the time, not nearly enough to be relied on for anything serious. Will have to try some more varieties of ammo to see if there's some variety it likes best and will go bang all the time when needed, otherwise it's a sell/trade.

 

[w_houle]

I took a brass rod that had been mangled and filled one end with JB Weld and use it for my .22
They look different, I looked at the diagram, and they look different than the usual fare of SA striker fired guns. I might just have to check one out.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

The Sterling .22 and .25 guns were US incarnations of the Italian Rigarmi (Rino Galesi) pistols. The Rigarmis were a later version of the Galesi model 9.
The model 9 was available in .25 acp, 22 long (not LR) and .22 short. The design does not adapt well to the .22 LR cartridge.