A downrange mic would be a nice addition to these suppressed shoots just so we can hear what the target doesn't

Someone once wrote to Ian Fleming about the "unrealistic" portrayal of suppressed firearms in the James Bond books. Fleming responded by writing that he had seen one of these Sten guns firing and it made "barely a whisper." I always thought that was an exaggeration but it apparently it wasn't.

Kudos to the consigner for allowing Ian to shoot it, though probably a calculated risk, the chances of something going wrong, compared to the exposure the gun gets before it's sale on this channel and people get to see it works properly.

Agreed. The bolt slamming forward is the loudest part. My old Craftsman stapler is probably louder.

"Are you going to do a mag dump, Ian?" "Yes. I've loaded the magazine with one round."

Gun’s way more silent than Ian tramping trough the woods! Just poking fun…great video!

"K-thunk! Hehehe" - Ian McCollum 2021

Ian, your enthusiasm for weapons and the history/engineering behind them is totally captivating.

This is the first time a suppressed gun in real life actually sounds like the ones in video games.

not only is it 80 years old, being one of the only registered ones in the US also means this one has probably been shot more than almost any other. amazed its as functional as it is

Ian giggling with excitement never gets old. Hats off to the consigner to allow this rare piece of military history get shot. It won't happen, but I am kinda curious how much difference there will be in the sound of this gun shooting after the suppressor has been cleaned. I'm sure there's a lot of crud in it which reduces the expansion room.

I'd heard the received wisdom about the bolt being the loudest part (from memory that's in the book "Six Days of the Condor) with this Sten but to hear it is something else, thanks Ian

So my insanely careful 1-3 round bursts with the Sten in Return to Castle Wolfenstein were actually historically accurate?! Bully!

4:24 best sounding laugh from Ian to date?

If a Sten is a pipe gun, a silent Sten is a muffler gun. And the muffler works)

I like how the 'kla-klack' of the bolt slamming twice is louder than the shot itself, and the camera actually picks up on it.

Mag dumps are cool, but the way that thing manages to be so quiet, and the fact that you actually got to shoot it, is even cooler. Thank you!

There is a story of Otto Skorzeny firing off a whole magazine into the air from a captured one just behind a group of Nazi bigwigs and none of them realised what was going on. He wanted the Germans to make their own suppressed Stens and used that as a demonstrator. Not 100% sure on veracity of story, but it is a remarkably quiet gun!

When the bolt is actually louder than the bullet firing, you know that it’s a really silent gun.

With one round only , technically that was the most mag dumps Ian's ever done in a video. Wonder how much better it would be if the baffles weren't all carboned in , guess we'll never know.

The cyclic rate is insane! The speed it emptied that last mag is unmatched.

That is incredible. To think they were able to make a gun THAT quiet back then is astounding. Also if you're needing full auto on that thing, you've fucked up massively, and at that point I don't think a suppressor would make any difference.

The *spring* cycling is louder than the report. I can literally pick out the sound of the spring.

A book about suppressors I have in my repertoire talks about some suppressed sten guns having the bolt face recessed for a rubber washer to quiet the metallic clap the gun makes going into battery.

Some 35-40 years ago I was lucky enough to fire a silenced Uzi at a range in the UK. I don't think it was as quiet as this beautiful old weapon!

Ian’s sneakers were the loudest thing in this video.

Best Mag-Dump ever.

In the Lindybeige video on silencers/suppressors, Lloyd brought up that the Sten was reported to be virtually silent except for the sound of the bolt. According to an account from a German official trying to convince other brass the value of cloning the Sten, these other officials didn’t notice a soldier doing a mag dump from a Sten into the air while out walking in a park. It’s super cool to see it in practice.

"Hans, I think I heard someone typing....... Hans......Hans?" So glad we got to see this one on the range! Thanks Ian and Morphy.

Who’s here after “The ministry of ungentlemanly warfare”. ?

I don’t think I’ve ever heard him giggle like that before. 🤣

The fact that the action is louder than the shot and you can clearly hear it on video makes me smile for some reason :)

The Sten MkII(S), incredibly expensive. The smile on Ians face whe he only hears a bolt slaming back, Absolutely priceless!

No wonder why Steiner was handed this for the operation. Studley Constable was a perfect battleground for the MkIIS.

As I mentioned in the other video, the recoil spring is closed ended so it was not trimmed down so perhaps it is not the original sporing if it likes to run away.

That was the best mag dump yet. Sometimes it’s not about the flashy but respect for what you’re working with.

That Sten would be even quieter with one of Mitch Werbel's "Sionic" suppressors (the ones that were used with MAC 11 guns). But for 80 year-old technology, it's pretty quiet.

I had the opportunity to fire a Mark-6 years ago. This was non-suppressed and I was still amazed on how loud the report was. This is an amazing piece of history and I would have loved to had bid on this.

Ian's Hawaiian shirt is louder than this Sten...

Used to fire standard Sterlings in the 80s in Nr Ireland (we had 6 in the armoury - Ulster Defence Regiment - but they were too dangerous to tak on patrol). On the range, with ear defenders on, all you could hear was the clunk of the bolt - there was always this stupid desire to put your hand in front of the barrel to see if anything was actually coming out!

I'm still sad that there wasn't a shooting video with that wee Taiwanese STEN copy...

As entertaining as these videos are, I still find myself watching as much for the educational value. Ian, your breakdown of the engineering, mechanics, politics, and business aspects behind a particular firearm is phenomenal.

That opening footage was one of the best recorded examples of effective suppression I’ve ever seen! Quality mic, low background noise, and hearing the bolt cycle over the round was awesome.

Whenever Ian has the giggles after firing a gun, you know it’s good. 😅 Also: sad MP5SD groans.

I recall reading a section in a book some years ago (cannot for the life of me recall which book,) stating the developers found that, at 75 yards, the only sound that could be discerned was the bolt going over. Seems that’s absolutely right 👍 (Edit; Book might, maybe, have been Modern Small Arms by Major Frederick Myatt? I don’t have it to hand to check)

Holy crap they let you shoot this thing? Given how fragile the silencers are I'm surprised. ROFL! I just knew there would be some variant on the classic Buggs line coming up there! Now, I will deny it all but I can tell you these were used not up to the 60s but saw field use right up into the late 80s early 90s in certain parts of the world (tho mainly later marks) and I would not at all be surprised if a few were still out there. One thing, I have bever seen one with a cut spring, all the ones I have used have a standard weight "light" spring and indeed the example in your hands has a factory finished spring a fact that should, sir, TBh, be obvious to you. I have however seen them with the gas vent holes brazed up and redrilled to adjust the gas bleed into the expansion chamber. That is the only adjustment I have seen for various loads to ensure they don't run away or go supersonic. Oh, and that is asbestos in the foregrip, not horsehair. I seriously suggest that if the buyer is reading this and intends to use the weapon rather than just let it collect dust on a shelf (a fate as one who has used a MK VI in the field can attest, it does not deserve) that he or she replaces it with woven glass exhaust wrap which looks identical but won't potentially adversely affect your health.

Wow that’s awesome how quiet it is, you can clearly hear in the video the action and spring working over the sound of the round going off. I’m glad you got to run some rounds through it for us 👍🏻🔥🤘🏻

I remember hearing about how quiet it was, but, man, I'm impressed.

That thing just looks so cool. Sure mp40, Suomi and MP5 are Works of art but Sten has always seemed a real weapon of war. Crude and nasty Also, My father carried and shot a Sten when he was in Finnish Air forces in The 80's. While he was serving stens were pulled off The service when some conscript got burning hot gunpowder blown straight into his eyes from Sten. Or so My father heard

Having heard about this weapon and now seeing and hearing it ……. Thank You .

Awsome to see mate and glad to see how your being safe and thank you for the lesson on testing old full auto firearms and hownto be safe about it awsome video and awsome gun

Ian, thats a complete wow, what a gun and so so quiet, no wonder they were still kept in potential use for so long. thanks jj

i never would have believed the stories of how quiet this thing is till today you can only hear the mechanism how do silent guns today not do this

4:23 That moment when your inner 12 year old takes control of your adult self! 😂 We all have these moments! Especially with very cool "toys". 😎👍

Great to watch someone enjoying their workday. Thanks Ian !

I have been curious to hear that gun for a long time. Love the video!

Ian we love you, but you wouldn't have much luck hunting Nazis with those stealth skills 😂

I was completely surprised as to how well that worked, especially considering the age!! I really wish you could have shot through a chronograph. I’m really curious just how much that vented barrel slowed both types of bullets down. Love your vids, can’t wait to see what you show us next!!

That is amazingly quiet. Damn good engineering.

I love Ian’s enthusiasm about just how quiet this gun is

Assuming this would be standard issue for SOE or commando type operations

Ian deserves a oscar for the start of this video lol brilliant stuff 🍻

Hey Ian, Thanks for another great video. With that scene at the start, it think your feet crunching the twigs and leaves was louder than shooting the Gun. Thanks again. Cheers.

That is one of the coolest things on this channel so far. And I do not say that lightly, because in general the channel is excellent.

I think the Silenced shot was balanced by the cumbersome approach!😊

Military use, there is dedicated , extremely high pressure ammo for subguns. Like +p++ level 124 grain ball. 148 grain for subsonic. Maybe that is part of the cycling issue? It would seem like a faster burn rate would be the handloading solution. To get as much velocity as possible and make as much rearward energy as possible with the setup. That first silencer chamber , combined with fast burn rate , would allow for more back pressure sooner ,allowing for the case pressure to drop to almost zero by the time it clears the chamber once a load is worked out using data from a reputable reloading manual. There are A TON of loads listed in the major books , they are not all designed to make the fastest bullet possible. Many are tweaked for accuracy potential, reliable cycling in old auto loading designs that are far less forgiving than modern designs are. Some are to simply allow for safe use in antiques , with enough velocity and energy to go hunting in most cases...point is, there will be a loading ,that operates this gun reliably and without risking to blow it up with responsible loading practices Lol.

Really digging the tabletop videos followed by a range video. MOAR!!!

It's so much fun watching you have so much fun. Thank's for all the episodes... they're amazing

I love how it just goes *click*, but it makes me wonder, could something be done about that sound too (other than going full bolt-action), like some rubber buffer between bolt and chamber built in such way as not to mess up the headspace?

C'mon guys, when you work in a museum or auction house and Ian appears at your doors you automatically will let him shoot every gun he wants to shoot. It works just like the rule "if something interesting revolving around firearms is happening, a wild Gun Jesus will materialize"

Thanks for the demonstration Ion 👍👍

4:24 that laugh says it all. awesome video and awesome gun!

I think the problem with these silencer demos is Ian is wearing a microphone right beside the gun so it's very hard to hear what someone standing to the side or 10m away would. On the video it still sounds like a loud clack. I think for these sorts of demonstrations it would be a good idea to turn the mike off, or use the camera mike and put the camera at a distance where an observer might be. Maybe even compare the silenced shot with a shot of the same ammo through an unsilenced weapon in similar conditions.

I was wondering if you were going to have feeding issues with that; the standard issue 9x19mm round in British service after the war was designated 2Z, and issued for both pistol and SMG (Sterling) is roughly equivalent to a 125g FMJ +P round, in todays money. Hope that helps :)

Amazing! so much joy listening and watching! thank you for your efforts!

I love silencing those darn jerries with this in Wolfenstein.

Hes been shooting some wonderful guns lately. The only other silenced wwii gun i would want to see him shoot is a De Lisle Carbine, but whos ever seen one of those guns?

If Ian McCollum is going to be quoting Elmer Fudd, just once I'd love to hear him say "Hi I'm Ian McCullom and you're watching Forgotten Weapons Wild Kingdom!!!" 🤠👍 P.s. Maybe even add "Today we will watch Karl wrestling a gun through another mud test while I stand back drinking tea and chuckled politely!" 😏

Amazing how an almost octogenarian gun and suppressor being quiet enough for the bolt to be the loudest part, even after all this time. The owner is a lucky person (and probably with a big amount of change)

Thanks to the consigner. Very cool!

You could've called this video "Shooting the Sneakily Silent Sten" to really go all in on the alliteration. :V

Not bad for how old it is and the fact that they were knocked together for a fiver, a couple of bags of fish and chips and all the tea they could drink (within rations, of course). Is it possible to recreate/clone them?

Amazing. Was hoping there was a shooting vid after yesterday. And it really is true: the bolt cycling is far & away the loudest sound the gun makes.

Totally excellent. I live just down the road from Theale and this is new to me. Super excellent.

I was truely amazed by how quiet that sten was, then i realized i had not turned my computer speakers on !

What a slice of history! You'd only get issued one of these if you were the best of the best, a ghost man on an operation of utmost importance and with the odds stacked against you. It must have been difficult for them to fire this gun on the move, while also dragging their huge balls with them as well.

That intro >< Awesome stuff. Great to see this great piece of British history, if that gun could talk imagine the stories it could tell us.

Thanks for brightening my day ✌

Hi Ian, is it quieter than the Valkrie Arms De Lisle carbine that you shot? Charles

I'm not one to second guess the designers but I figure "utmost emergency" would be pretty much every time it was used. Kind of like Emergency War Power.

Wow, when watching yesterday, I did NOT think they'd let you out to shoot that rare old thing. Thanks.

That shot at 3:33 made absolutely no noise lmaooo. It was just the bolt sound, that's really cool.

It's adorable when Ian goes "KaDunk!" after each shot.

Viewers: "ian, can we have a video of shooting miniature sten?" Ian: "I do have a video of shooting sten" The video:

Very nice piece. Thanks for sharing.

This guy is so knowledgeable, explaining everything really clearly without any hype. Great stuff.

My air rifle is louder, hell of a piece of kit.

I listened to this video and compared it to the MP5 SD video, it's difficult to say which gun is quieter. The sten has a more drawn out mechanical sound, compared to the MP5's sharp hiss.

Such an iconic gun. One of my favorites from history.

That was really quiet in a very cool gun thanks for sharing