Nickel plate jobs usually done for show such as on war souveniers don't take close tolerances into consideration.
Generally not much of a problem on most military weapons, but the Luger and a few others are close fitted and the build up on part to part tolerance can cause some problems.

Check those mating surfaces closely and you'll probably see the nickel worn from them as it is pushed off those surfaces so the parts can work as they should. Other parts may still be loaded with nickel plate and causing some sluggish action.

Good advise given to replace the springs.
Including the mainspring which isn't as easy as most. But take your time and walk thru it. Wear eye protection. Get standard weight springs. No xtra power stuff needed.
Perhaps the Happy Plating Co did the springs as well,,who knows.

Switch out and replace the firing pin spring, trigger spring and the extractor spring.,,all coil.

The ejector is it's own flat spring and already nickeled.
It's probably fine as-is.
Taking that out involves flexing it outward beyond the outside of the right side of the frame and then tapping it forward out of it's dovetail socket. Many have been broken being flexed too far/farther than needed to remove.
You are not going to replace it anyway if it's working and a 'spring kit' isn't going to supply you with a new one.
It would be removed only if already broken, if the pistol was being restored, or if the nickel finish was to be removed from it's surface for appearance sake.

Same for the small flat spring inside that powers the hold open.
It comes out easily enough but a slight twist when doing so can break it.
If it works fine,,I'd leave it alone,,nickeled or not unless you get into a restoration.

MegGar magazines work nicely and are very affordable. I use them in most all my Lugers and keep the originals aside.
They have plastic bases in them but you can buy repro wooden Luger magazine bases and switch them. That'll give the mag the correct look at least when inserted.

For $400 , looks like a lot of matching #'s and an excl't bore,,that one would have been on the way home with me too!

BTW, if you want to leave the firing pin down on the empty chamber and relieve the F-P spring tension,,,
*** on an Empty Chamber Only....Magazine removed ***
Pull the toggle all the way back,,then still holding on to the toggle,,let it go forward slowly to a point about 1/8" just before the breech block is closed.
You will feel a slight resistance to letting the toggle down at that near closing point (that is the sear engaging the firing pin to hold it in the cocked position).
At that point of resistance,,pull and hold back on the trigger while still holding on to the toggle and then allow the toggle and breech block to close gently all the way down.
The firing pin will now be down/uncocked and it's spring relaxed.

Thanks for the tips.
The toggle axle is numbered to the gun (38) though the 8 is so faint it is barely visible in person and you can only see traces of the lower edge of it in the photo below. It operates smoothly and doesn't appear to have any significant sloppiness or looseness at the axle.

I am also posting pictures of the stock mounting lug, just for giggles since BB57 asked about it earlier.

Attached Images

	ToggleAxle.jpg (47.9 KB, 11 views)
	ButtLeft.jpg (67.9 KB, 8 views)
	ButtRear.jpg (79.8 KB, 7 views)
	ButtRight.jpg (89.8 KB, 7 views)

I can't tell if the nickel job was just done by someone who knew their stuff or if it has worn off the mating friction surfaces, but everything seems to work smoothly with good solid spring resistance but no appreciable drag.

I'm going to shoot it and see how it functions with a variety of light target ammo - including some powder puff reloads - before I start doing any tinkering with it, including replacing any of the springs. I'm a big believer in the old "if it ain't broke" philosophy.

From your directions on how to take the tension of the FP spring, I take it that this design is one that is not OK to be dry fired?

No,you should never dry fire a Luger. It’s a good idea to release the pressure from the FP. And when it comes to springs for these, it may function fine with the old ones in it, until It doesn’t, and the firing pins breaks because of the old springs. And if it’s all matching numbers, the firing pin will be numbered too (and a hand fitted part IIRC). You can’t go wrong replacing the springs.

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Sorry, I left out the word NOT - as in NOT OK to dry fire. I corrected my post...

The FIRING PIN is numbered? Seriously? Holy Moly! Is there anything they DIDN'T number on these guns? LOL...
Guess I'm going to have to get a set of instructions on disassembly/assembly and order a set of springs. What is the best source for a spring set? Wolff?

Well, actually, they didn't number the coil springs!

I used to get spring sets from Wolff.

The firing pin comes out very easily. TD the pistol and remove the breechblock and toggle assembly from the upper.
You can see the rear of the firing pin guide in the back of the breech block. It has a screwdriver type slot in it.
Take a screw driver that fits that slot (the orig Luger disassembly & loading tool was made for this, nicknamed a 'Skate key' by some for it's shape)) and engage the slot,,push in on the firing pin guide against it's spring tension and rotate it 1/4 turn.
That will unlock the pin guide from the breech block and allow it to back out of the block along with the FP itself & it's coil spring.

The FP will be ser#'d. Check it over. The flat edge that lays to the left side when installed is the sear edge. Make sure it's clean and sharp,,no gunsmith alterations for a 'hair trigger' ect.
Check the tip for damage,,the normal stuff. Clean to pin off and clean out the breech. Reinstall with the new spring in place. Insert, push in and turn the guide 1/4 turn to lock it in place. .All set for battle,.

Dry firing a Luger isn't a real good idea. I don't recommend dry firing any firearm if you can avoid it.

You can check over the sear bar on the left side of the upper. It has the opposing sear edge that engages the firing pin and holds it in the cocked position. It comes out of the upper easily by slipping it out from under the sear bar spring.

The side plate with it's L shaped sideplate bar is what transfers the rearward motion of the trigger pull to the left side of the pistol then upward,, and then to the right,, to press the sear bar to release the firing pin.
Not a real good set up for getting a target gun pull, but many Lugers have been tuned to get a nice pull. Others have been ruined in attempts to do so.
You quite often find the L shaped sideplate bar altered, filed on, bent, ect in attempts to better the trigger pull.
It's a service pistol,,accept it for what it is. Trying to make it into a Woodsman can make it dangerous to handle as well as expensive to make right again.

Trigger, safety, safety bar, sear bar, sideplate, TD lever, FP, mag release ect,,they are all ser#d

Have fun exploring your Luger..

Someone mentioned not dry firing a Luger and also that it's a good idea to de cock it for storage. What I didn't see was a description of 'how".

You can do that by carefully clearing the pistol first, and then while pointing it in a safe direction, lift the toggle up slightly to the "pause" you'll feel, and then pull the trigger, at which point the toggle will get pushed back into battery.

In effect, you are putting the firing pin in its full forward position and resting it against the striker, so when it is released by the trigger it just pushes the firing pin and toggle closed with no impact on the toggle or the firing pin.

See post #51, although I do it like you described, but I go just a touch past the pause you mention.

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