I just saw this thing.

Lavan

New member
Had to Google to make sure it was real.

img_1209917334_19024_1290189812.jpg


It is. or WAS...

Sheesh.

Sterling PPL .22 auto. :D

Wait...wait.. WAIT.... it's a .380 :eek:
 

Forte S+W

New member
Personally, I like the PPK a bit better when it comes to compact, all metal, straight blowback .380 pistols. ;)

It's a neat-looking gun though, reminds me of the Ruger Mark I. A snubnose Mark I, that is.
 

Carmady

New member
It also resembles the H&R self-loading .25 ACP.

Edit: The H&R doesn't even pretend to have sights.
 

Attachments

  • H&R self-loading .25.jpg
    H&R self-loading .25.jpg
    64.9 KB · Views: 104
  • H&R self-loading .25 c.jpg
    H&R self-loading .25 c.jpg
    66.3 KB · Views: 61
  • H&R self-loading .25 b.jpg
    H&R self-loading .25 b.jpg
    72.5 KB · Views: 55
Last edited:

Kemikos

New member
Huh. I kind of dig it, although it doesn't look even remotely like a practical design. How much effective length does that barrel have, exactly?
 

Bill DeShivs

New member
Sterling pistols of this type were copies of the Hi Standard pistols.
These were made after GCA-68, when there was a dearth of pocket pistols.
 

burrhead

New member
Never seen such a thing but I like it. Certainly High Standardesque. So weird looking if I saw one at a reasonable price I'd buy it just for fun.
 

10-96

New member
How much effective length does that barrel have, exactly?
Good question. I'm betting it has less than an inch of rifling engagement area. I don't remember where, but I recall reading that it was thought (or assumed?) that lower pressured revolver rounds such as .38SPL, .38S&W, all the .32's of old only needed an inch of rifling to stabilize the bullet. I'm thinking a Sterling engineer said "Hmm, hold my beer, let's see what happens."
 

Kemikos

New member
I don't remember where, but I recall reading that it was thought (or assumed?) that lower pressured revolver rounds such as .38SPL, .38S&W, all the .32's of old only needed an inch of rifling to stabilize the bullet.

Yeah, well, clearly that doesn't apply to the .380. having been intrigued, I found an old, archived review of a Sterling. It was evidently having massive keyhole problems...
 

SGW Gunsmith

Moderator
Had to Google to make sure it was real.

img_1209917334_19024_1290189812.jpg


It is. or WAS...

Sheesh.

Sterling PPL .22 auto. :D

Wait...wait.. WAIT.... it's a .380 :eek:
Pocket pistol eh? Wonder how long it takes to unsnag the hammer, rear sight and most likely the front sight, from the pockets liner? By the time one were to get it out, you'd probably have three or four holes in your shirt from the bad guy.
Yah! "Zero" seems appropriate.
 

HisSoldier

New member
If the riflings were in good shape I'd expect it would not keyhole, it only takes a few hundredths of an inch to get the bullet rotating.
Which reminds me of something someone said, I'd like to know where it's in print if it is, that Walther engineers responded to a statement that pistol barrels had to be perfectly straight to be accurate, so they made a pistol with a barrel like a corkscrew that was accurate. I assume the spiral was very slight but it makes sense assuming the sights were set up to the exit direction.
 

Hal

New member
I know your joking but - don't discount not using sights.

People like - t Dwight D. Eisenhower, Henry Ford II, John Wayne, Audie Murphy, all learned point shooting under the instruction of one Bobby Lamar "Lucky" McDaniel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_McDaniel

Excellent read - about both a largely forgotten technique and man
 

Sgt127

New member
I suppose little .22’s were a thing. That has a lot of High Standard in its genetics. It looks like a .22. I would not have guessed it’s a .380.

First gun I ever took off a bad guy. 1985 or so. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was stolen. It was.

S&W Escort.


SW_Escort.jpg
 
Top