Good morning everyone,
I have a very strange request and I'm not certain where to post it but want a place that reaches lots of readers so I'm hoping the moderators don't ding this. I am looking for a Luger (a shooter...not collection piece). It doesn't matter how it looks but needs to very functional. This is for a friend. He wants to spend in the $600.00 to $900.00 range. I have no knowledge regarding Lugers, if a working one can be purchased for the above amount and where to begin looking and can I trust the person who has one for sale?

So whenever I have a handgun question I come to this forum. Does any here know something about Lugers or have a trusted friend who could help me? Any information will be greatly appreciated. Pm me here or I can be reached at [email protected]
Thanks,
WP/Bill

As it so happens, I have one for sale. I bought it directly from the original owner. She was an old German lady that carried it in her purse to church and had only shot it maybe a half box of shells or so......

You should be able to find a mixmaster and/or import marked gun in that price range. I actually do have a couple, but they aren't for sale. Neither one of mine are high dollar guns, but I still won't shoot them for fear of breaking a part. I'd never be able to replace an original numbered part, so they sit in the safe with the other collectibles. Sorry I can't recommend a honest seller, there are a number of respected dealers like Simpson's Ltd and others, but you'll more likely to find one in his price range off an auction site or in a local gun shop.

Bill, are you looking for a 9MM or 30 cal.? For under $900, it will probably
not have matching numbers. Try and make sure you get a period magazine.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

Check out the Luger Forum. They always have Lugers on their for sale page, plus they have a Want to Buy page. Most of their Lugers are higher end ones but every now and then you see a shooter.

Thanks everyone,
As usual you've all given me good info and I have some places to start now. I'm looking for a 9mm. The parts can be mismatched. It just has to function well and be "reasonably accurate". This will be a gift for a friend who just wants a "shooter". He's big into 1911's, H&K squeeze cockers and S&W revolvers. he wants a change of pace and since he's been super good to me over the years I thought I'd try to find one.
Again, thanks everyone.
WP/Bill

I'm sure there are many for sale on Gunbroker.

Simpson Ltd. Galesburg IL, largest Luger dealer in the United States. Simpson Ltd

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Hi again,
Sorry folks...I don't want to keep posting but a number of you have contacted me off line suggesting places to purchase a Luger and I truly appreciate the information. My problem..I think..is that i know nothing, nada about Lugers and I know most people are honest but I would prefer to buy from someone i know or one of you knows and trusts. I think my chances of finding a good "functional" pistol is higher when I take that route.
WP/Bill

I would look at the interarms imported mausers that were made in the '70s. Although prices have increased quite a bit over the past 18 months, they are still reasonable. They are neat guns, built on Swiss tooling that Mauser brought back to Germany.

Not as collectible as a imperial or wwii, but more shootable and you don't have to worry about faked stuff.

These Interarms and the Mitchell examples as well are now in the collectible category with rising prices. If I had one of these NIB as most are I'd think twice about shooting it.
Jim

Saw a couple in the local Cabela's Gun Library this weekend. Far from pristine, and in the $2000 range. Their library is searchable nationally, on-line. P38 is another option in that genre.

I have one of the Interarms/Mauser made Lugers, and it is fun and different. My poor son will just have to get even less money when I depart:



I don't shoot it a lot, but I like it. They imported more than just the Swiss version, but it was the first and by far the most common type of the "reissues",

She only drove it to church on Sunday

My Dad had 2 he took from German officers in North Africa. They were in his duffle bag coming home. Someone, presumably folks with keys to the storage area in the hold cut the locks off all the duffle bags and took everyone's WW2 bring backs.

Throughout Dad's life if the word "luger" came up he remembered a sailor or 2 he wanted to harm.

If you run across them let me know. Either the Lugers or the sailors.

If you don't know Lugers very well and don't want to spend a few years in research, you'd better buy from a famous dealer who gives detailed descriptions and a return policy if it's not as described. That'll probably prove costly, but is your best bet. The only one near me is Jackson Armory, in University Park, a Dallas suburb. Find them Online and ask about current stock and prices. I've seen quite a few there, in varying condition. The dealer seems honest and knowledgeable. Another member shops there and seems pleased. They are a treasure trove of collectible and modern guns and books. But you ALWAYS need to know a lot before buying any old military guns, wherever you get them.

How much are the stainless Mitchell Lugers now, in both four and six-inch barrel versions?

Like double-barreled shotguns, Lugers are now mainly luxury items, for the wealthy. You can find one in your price range, but it'd be pure blind luck and you MUST know how to check it out before purchase. One thing that Luger purists stress is getting high quality magazines. And you need to use 9mm ammo of just the right length. That precludes many modern JHP loads.

The only place where you might find a cheap Luger may be the Czech Republic. I've read that German guns still aren't liked there, due to WWII memories. Seriously. Someone posted here about that after a recent trip to the CR. I think it was one of our Swiss members. He was told to speak English there, not German, to get along better with the Czech people. They remember Lidice and other atrocities.

The only Luger in my family is my DIL's. Her grandfather brought it back from WWII. He was a Colonel, so that might have kept sticky-fingered thieves from accessing his baggage. He also kept a swagger stick/riding crop that he took from the German officer who had the Luger. These and other items are much prized in the family. Not for sale.

You have to know the right person at the right time. I lucked out, and an old friend of my fathers sold me a WWII vintage parts gun with a newish rebarrel on it, for $425.00 a few years before he consigned his entire Luger collection to that Simpsons in IL. He made his children very very rich and me very thankful. Sadly he passed away not long afterwards at age 93. So now I have something to remember my friend Ralph by, and will never sell it. And I enjoy shooting it usually a couple times a year. Don't let a parts gun scare you. Mine has never jammed, or hiccuped and shoots like a laser. I have fed it all kinds of 9mm including some Hornady 115gr xtps. Yes having an original mag is very important.

I'm a collector/accumulator of the Luger and have been a member of the LugerForum for about 14 years. That's where I would look, join the forum and go down to the bottom of the forum page and put in a WTB. Tell them what you are looking for, a functioning shooter. You'll
get some responses.

This was a very good deal for a 70's era Mauser, actually an excellent deal.
Gun Library: Mauser Parabellum : Cabela's

What was the price on that one? The ad now says pending.

It was $899..last night it didn't show a pending status.

Don't those late Mauser Lugers have just 100mm/four-inch barrels? If you're a Canadian, how can you own one with a barrel under 4.2 inches? Is there a special provision to allow Canadians to buy collectible/historical pistols with barrels under four inches? Were wartime guns already in Canada at the time the 4.2-inch law was passed "grandfathered in" and allowed?

Do many Canadians have Lugers rebarreled with barrels over 4.2-inches? Is that legal? What might a really nice Naval Luger with original six-inch barrel and no grip safety sell for there?