sterling

[the green man]

i have read bits and bobs on the English sterling even when it came out not much was written about it looks like it was ignored I have one in ,22 for some time now and apart from the underlever catch I like it in all the years I have had it I have never put a scope on it to seen how accurate it is I have a shoot coming up this Halloween at a old feed barn so I am going to scope up and go for it I tune it my self spring guide and top hat ptf piston head worked on the trigger smooth and little recoil and the weight absorbs it if you got one what do you think of sterling what pellets do you use and why so little about the sterling

[45flint]

I have been intrigued with the Sterling, one of the only bolt action springers. Benjamin here in the States bought the rights and made then for a short time and then they were bought out by Crosman who ended it. Pretty rare gun need to see pics? Read mixed reviews, I want one just because. Benjamin changed a few things but they are essentially the same gun.

[Gareth W-B]

I've owned two British Dagenham Sterlings (a mod 81 and a mod 83), both were in .22, and I have to say they were both superbly over engineered, and very well finished off and made (esp my walnut stocked mod 81). But to shoot? Due to the aforementioned over engineering, at best they were lack lustre, and at worst, very poor. Still, they are a worthy addition to any generic air rifle collection, and I for one sincerely wish I'd kept my 81 ... Pellet wise, both loved blue tin 5.6 Ely Wasps (that's how long ago it was). Atb: G.

[45flint]

When I think about it, is this the only British Airgun ever to be brought to the US for manufacture? The Hy-Score was the exact opposite, US gun brought to U.K. for manufacture. May be other example but adds to intrigue to me. I think Benjamin used Walther barrels should be accurate?

[Geezer]

Very high build quality from a proper firearms manufacturer.

Some dodgy bits of design. The trigger for one (worse on the 83, which led to the 81 deluxe, which was, as I recall, an 83 with an 81 trigger). Fundamentally, the action has oodles of unswept volume, and is slammy.

Bolt action is/was cool, and safe, but does not compensate for poor performance compared to, say, an HW77.

Top-heavy. Not a naturally good-handling rifle.

It would have been (in the UK, not the US) highly competitive in 1975, marginally so in 1980. By 1982 (at a premium price), it could not compete well against the established then-modern springers.

A nice thing to own. But as an interesting curiosity, not as a serious field or target rifle. An FWB Sport or HW80 beats it in performance. Actually, a Webley Vulcan probably does.

[45flint]

Very high build quality from a proper firearms manufacturer.

Some dodgy bits of design. The trigger for one (worse on the 83, which led to the 81 deluxe, which was, as I recall, an 83 with an 81 trigger). Fundamentally, the action has oodles of unswept volume, and is slammy.

Bolt action is/was cool, and safe, but does not compensate for poor performance compared to, say, an HW77.

Top-heavy. Not a naturally good-handling rifle.

It would have been (in the UK, not the US) highly competitive in 1975, marginally so in 1980. By 1982 (at a premium price), it could not compete well against the established then-modern springers.

A nice thing to own. But as an interesting curiosity, not as a serious field or target rifle. An FWB Sport or HW80 beats it in performance. Actually, a Webley Vulcan probably does.

It’s somewhat reminds me of a gun like the Ruttens, well made but odd and never caught on. Makes for a fun collectable. The HW80 is superb but not as collectable.

[Hsing-ee]

an fwb sport or hw80 beats it in performance. Actually, a webley hawk probably does.

fify :d:d:d

[jonnyone]

i have read bits and bobs on the English sterling even when it came out not much was written about it looks like it was ignored I have one in ,22 for some time now and apart from the underlever catch I like it in all the years I have had it I have never put a scope on it to seen how accurate it is I have a shoot coming up this Halloween at a old feed barn so I am going to scope up and go for it I tune it my self spring guide and top hat ptf piston head worked on the trigger smooth and little recoil and the weight absorbs it if you got one what do you think of sterling what pellets do you use and why so little about the sterling

I bought a .22 Sterling here a couple of years ago and its in extremely good order cosmetically and power wise its all there at around 11.5.
To be honest I haven't done much with it. I has considered them pug ugly for many years and still do to a degree. But as has been said bluing wise they are top notch.
Its interesting that some here have improved them with modern methods and materials no doubt improving consistency, smoothness and power.
Interesting stuff. I haven't scoped mine just yet but hope to do so at some stage. The rails don't seem that deep on the gun though?
Dave

[Jimny4x4]

Wasn't there a strange underlever catch on these - fitted to the forend muzzle of the barrel ? And it wobbles a lot ?

[Gareth W-B]

Wasn't there a strange underlever catch on these - fitted to the forend muzzle of the barrel ? And it wobbles a lot ?

Yes, it is a little unique as catches go, but imho, this is due more to the aforementioned over engineering, rather than being sub standard? I have no recollection of the wobble you detail, however, although my models were virtually brand new, so no working wear would have been obvious during their time with me. Maybe someone reading this with a more used model could ad their opinion on this?

[the green man]

I did some work to cut down the lock time a shorter spring that sits on a new guide longer and pack out at the back which works and with the trigger that's about well under 2 lb top hat a spring sleeve always wanted one in .177 mines fully blued which has stood the test of time still looks like new just if I scope it up and at 25 yards it shoots like a shot gun it will end up like my beloved airsporter of the time I made it in to a lamp l with open sights out to 10 to 15 yards its ok the Benjamin rifles had walter barrels I know they are basically the same gun

[Geezer]

A little reading around suggests that the Benjamin ones may have had some significant improvements. Better front sight/lever catch, LW barrel. The Pyramydair blog features one (suitably fettled) grouping modern pellets into less than 1/2" at 25 yards, and a thread on the GTA includes a guy getting 50 yard groups around an inch.