sterling arms

J

joshmo91

Inactive
hello everyone I am new to this site and also to the world of handguns. I am the proud owner of several long guns and an avid hunter. As I said I know little to nothing about the value of pistols. I was offered a chance to purchase a pair of sterling arms mark ii model 400 .380's, one in stainless steel and one black. Both are in good condition, they have been used but not rusty or broken. I was wondering if anyone knew what they were worth as the fellow is asking $320 for the pair. Any help would be most appreciated.
 
I know nothing about them, but I do know if you can post pics it will great help the people who do know when they notice this post ...
 
Unfortunately anything from Sterling Arms does not have a good reputation. If you just want them as range toys, maybe I would buy them. The price isn't bad at all, but I would rather have a Ruger LCP and some ammo for that price.
 
Pretty sure they are junk, not worth it. You can get a decent gun for that much money

Star pistols
Tokarevs
Ruger LCP
Kel-tec PF9, P11, P32 etc
hi points, which are decent for the money

Plus many more decent guns for $300 or less
 
Thanks for the input. Any chance they will be valuable in a couple of decades because of the company no longer existing?
 
When they were in business they were down the street from my house about a quarter mile away. I knew a lot of the people who worked there and they were all mostly local house wives, not "gunsmith" types. They were absolute junk inside and out. The reason they didn't stay in business is that their warranty claims exceeded their sales. There are no parts available and no one works on them. Don't waste your money.
 
The price for the pair seems OK if they are in good condition. But I kind of wonder why you want them.

My only and extremely limited experience with a Sterling was at a gun shop in NJ when I was looking for my first handgun. I think it was a 22 or 25, and it struck me as similar to die-cast toys that were riveted together out of two frame halves. I remember the price was $125.

I told the fellow behind the counter: "too cheap", and I proceeded to buy a Ruger LCP instead. I have not regretted this decision.
 
Sterling guns were made of steel, not "pot metal."
Many were copies of Italian Galesi designs. The steel was investment cast, and quality control was not good.
 
Never said they were of pot metal, just that the 22 or 25 I looked at reminded me of the toy types I mentioned.

Perhaps I could have used a better comparison: The Sterling felt and looked cheap to me, like it wasn't made to last. I didn't want to expend a pain-to-obtain pistol-purchasing-permit on it.

The article posted above has several models pictured. The 380 model under discussion looks OK to me in those pictures, and not like the 22 or 25 I saw in person. I have no idea if they actually are OK.
 
I had a .22lr Sterling that I bought new ~35 years ago. it was fairly reliable when fed CCI Stingers, but key holed everyone of them at more than 10'.
It was my first pocket gun, slightly better than no pocket gun.
 
Hello, I joined this site when I came across this post. I have owned the Sterling Arms .380 mkII mod 400 for about 20 yrs. It has been a paperweight for about the last 17 yrs. I went to shoot it and the break-down screw broke and the darn thing came apart in my hand. I recently found the slide/barrel spring and take down block, screw and spring. I am now only missing the ejector and ejector spring to make it complete again. Why I kept it? I dunno. It is really a lousy designed gun. It has wear points that almost has a hammered effect because it appears the metal is softer that others. So in my opinion, you can buy a decent gun, maybe a taurus pt111 g2 for about $250 and have something much better.

Does anyone here have this sterling arms 380? If so.... would someone be able to take a few good pictures of the ejector? I am going to need to make one but can't find a good picture as a starting point. It's worth a shot, right?
 
My first gun was a Sterling 22 I got in 1973. It liked Remington 22 ammo and I shot the crap out of it. Even had to have the grip replaced as it held a part in place. Here it is

614086d1387627162-glimpse-my-little-collection-sa-pistols.jpg
 
That .22 in 1973 looks better made than the early 80's .380 mark II! Maybe it's just mine but the take down block gets beat to hell along with the slide where it makes contact. But it was one of my 1st handguns and I just want to make it functional again. Hopefully I can get my hands on the extractor or find one to at least use as a template.
 
If you collect them, any way you can help me out with the ejector? It's the piece on the left side after removing the slide. Maybe some good pictures or hell, I'd even pay for a trace of one on paper! I can make one but I just need something to work with. Anything... these are parts that cannot be found.
 
Not a fan of Sterling pistols.

I suggest that the OP and anyone else interested not depend on the sterling pistol to preserve their life. A personal experience
 
Sterling...some reality...

Sterling Arms began as a machinists shop, and made all-steel small striker-fired pocket pistols as their bread and butter...the M300 was a .25, and the M302 was 22LR. They were made in blue or stainless steel -NEVER "pot metal" - and generally were better quality than the small imported pocket pistols they were meant to replace after they were banned...

Sterling made .22 target and sporting pistols and a .380 DA pistol and others. Sterling's problems - too many designs sold before the bugs were worked out, bad financial decisions and a bad publicity lawsuit that killed the business.

The guns are very far from "junk" - they needed some refinement in the design, and maybe a bit of smoothing up, but they are decent pistols of their era...all US made, and all good quality steel.

http://weaponsman.com/?p=12351

It just amazes me how many people who know nothing are so free and quick with their "informed opinions"...

Have a good day.
 
Sterlings may have been made of steel, but they weren't high quality, either.
They wore out quickly, and had some major safety issues once the fire control parts got some wear.

The best use of a Sterling is as a target - and then as a decoration:

attachment.php

(That's a 302. ....And an old photo.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top