Sterling Arms Corp - Model 302 .22LR

Mike97124 · Sep 20, 2018

I was at my mom's house today picking up some of the guns I inherited from when my dad died several years ago. One of the guns is a tiny semi-automatic Model 302 in .22LR from the short lived (from what I read) Sterling Arms Corp. It evidently came in .25 and .22LR and when I looked at the manual in the box I only saw the .25 and thought it was that version. I told my wife we could use it to kneecap the mosquitos next spring but then she noticed .22lr on the barrel. It's not much bigger than my hand and it's probably only good for about 15 feet but I'm looking forward to shooting it. It's my first semi-auto pistol as well. I just got back from my trip to pick up some stuff from my mom's house since she has sold it and we need to clean it out so I don't have pictures of it yet but will post some soon.

Does anyone else have a Model 302 in either .25 or .22?

Mike

po18guy · Sep 20, 2018

I bought a 302 in 1974. Still have it. As with most 22 LR semis, they are picky on the ammo you feed them. Pick up a variety of different brands and it'll find one it likes. Ballistics are not going to be all that impressive out of the short barrel. Long ago, I shot mine prone at 25 yards, using a small bore rifle target. 4 out of 5 were on the paper and in about a 3"-4" group.

Sterling was basically sued out of business because a stuuuuupid babysitter's stuuuuupid boyfriend was let into the child's house. BF found a Sterling in a drawer, pulled the mag out, then pointed it at the child and pulled the trigger. idiot! The child died. So many things wrong here, but Sterling took the fall.

As compared with more recent tiny pistols, the 300 and 302 are all steel. No zinc, aluminum or any other pot metal in them. Even the trigger. Tons of spares on eBay. It may not be tremendous protection, but it is better than an empty hand. At the least, you can mark the perp for later identification.

Ura-Ki · Sep 20, 2018

STUKA · Sep 21, 2018

My Grandpa has the .25 version.
It's the only one he could hide when my uncles went and looted his house while he was temporarily in a nursing home.
He has it stashed, and supposedly I'm the only one who knows where it is-he told me to retrieve it when he passes before the vultures find it.
I was 1/2 tempted to let them have it until I just researched them a bit,and found that they aren't on par with Bryco, Jennings,Raven,etc.

Mike97124 · Sep 21, 2018

Ok, I got some pictures tonight so the thread isn't quite so worthless.

I haven't had a chance to take it apart yet and clean it, but I can tell that it needs it in the barrel. I did pull out the pocket lint that was probably from my dad's jeans. It was about 3 times longer than the .22 bullet. LOL!

Mike

po18guy · Sep 21, 2018

A stainless 302S. Dad had good taste, huh? Have the manual? If not, just clear it, push that little round button on the left rear of the frame. The "slide guide" pops out to the rear and you can lift the rear of the slide up and off to the front. Very simple little guns, and relaible if fed the right ammo. For some reason, mine loves the long-gone lead bullet Sears brand, but I still have a brick or two from the 70s laid up.

Mike97124 · Sep 21, 2018

Yea, it seems to be in good shape. I've watched several UTube videos on taking it apart and I've already pushed the button on the end that caused the little prong to pop out, but I didn't want to get into taking it apart and cleaning until I can spread it all out. I'll do that tomorrow.

Mike

Mike97124 · Sep 21, 2018

I meant to add that I have the box and manual that came with it.

po18guy · Sep 21, 2018

They're pretty simple - which is good. Only spare you'd ever likely need is a firing pin. There are little round locating pegs on the grips that always break and then the grip rotates forward. Since they are ABS plastic, they are easy enough to fix with a small chunk of black ABS drain pipe and some ABS cement.