WWII bring back by my late F-I-L's brother. The brother died in the Korean War. My F-I-L gave it to me as a wedding gift in '81.

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Bill - SWCA #2327

Wonderful example and great family history!

Who made it? I’d love to see good photos of the frame and top strap markings.

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"I also cook."

Looks very nice. A Post WW1 era Luger in very good condition. If you have pictures of the left side, the area where the frame meets the barrel, and the top of the toggle and frame we could tell you a lot more. Is it 9 mm or 7.65?

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Kind regards, Heinz

What a great gun, family heirloom, and piece of history!!!

Beautiful gun with minimal, honest wear and great provenance. Definitely a family heirloom.

Does look to be a beautiful specimen. Real collectors dream these days.

Great looking gun and a wonderful wedding gift.

I always liked the way they shoot. Nice gun you have there!

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Even older, even crankier....

Very nice specimen! Since I like sherlocking a bit:

From the presence of the Mauser hump, the acceptance stamps on the receiver, and the proofs on that and the side of the barrel, I would expect this to be a late 1930s or after Mauser (S/42) in 9mm.

Bootiful! A fellow ham radio op and WWll vet once offered me a Luger he brought back for $400.Heck, I probably could have gotten it for $250.Passed it up. Lol

Brother Absalon already "nailed it".

Mauser made coded S/42. Manufactured(and so marked over the chamber) mid 1937 to 1938.

Caliber will be 9mm like in any P.08 pistol.

All this valid if there was no "hanky panky" involved. But it does not appear so.

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Expect the unexpected

This 9mm appears to have been through a wartime German armory as all Nazi proof marks are intact.
The receiver is marked ‘1938’ and has serial #6354 on the left side.. The frame has serial #7031 on the front flat under the barrel. The extractor, forward ‘byf’ marked toggle link, and the toggle link all have the #42 marking. The locking bolt has a #47 marking. The trigger side plate has a #80 marking. Finally the trigger bar has the #54 as a match to the receiver. It is a typical mis-match but has been a fine shooter over many years and at least 4 owners.

Also the stock panels were added by me in '81 as the gun was gifted to me with hand carved solid wood (uncheckered) ones by my F-I-L. I would like to find better aftermarked checkered stocks. This pistol will go to my oldest grandson.

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Bill - SWCA #2327

If you could add one piece of info: What about the underbarrel serial? I think I see a 4 in your photo. Is it matching the receiver’s 6354?

That is a beauty. Got one from Dad he brought back from Japan in 1947.
Hey a Luger in Japan. Dad was a doctor who got it from a naval commander for services rendered, off the record. Apparently a shot of penicillin in the butt bought a clean medical record. Thanks Caption for a nice heirloom.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

And we have ourselves a "mongrel".

Frame is byf(Mauser code of course). Only byf code era(1941/42) had P.08 on the left side of the frame.

The receiver, marked 1938, is from an S/42 with the serial number 6354 that is probably repeated on the barrel. The frame is from a byf coded pistol (1941 or 1942 that should have 41 or 42 over the chamber) and from a pistol with the serial number 7031. All the parts with two digits should have either 54 or 31, because a "regular" pistol would have the full number 3 times(receiver, frame and barrel ) and the last 2 digits in the other numbered parts. That was the way they left the Mauser factory. But with a war going on a lot could have happened, swaps, broken parts, repairs, you name it, or even assembled from parts available from the Mauser works after capture.

Who knows.

Edit. The "toggle train" is yet from a third pistol(a byf) with a serial number ending in 42.

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Expect the unexpected

I believe the barrel is also 6354. Mainly because swaping a barrel is a royal pain in the... and the last digit is indeed a 4.

So we have.

One receiver and barrel from a 1938 S/42.
One frame(and whatnot) from a 1941 or 42 byf.
One toggle train from yet another byf.
A side plate completely unrelated.

Conclusion.

It is not just one Luger. It is at least four.

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Expect the unexpected

.... and unrelated grip panels.

Well, while there are some purists who sweat such things, I think that the bringback background and the general period cohesion make this a “legitimate” wartime rebuild.

The "purists" still have to be reminded that those were intended as weapons of war to be used in war, if "war were declared", not "objects d'art" to be admired and collected.

And... war were declared.

Edit. I know for a fact that the pistols of the Portuguese Navy contract of 1910/11(a little over 500 pistols) were completely "messed up" during their "service years". And it was the Commander that was "in charge" that had "the boys" put them back in order before they were sold as surplus. And our Navy almost never used them "in anger".

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Expect the unexpected

I remember reading somewhere that the last Lugers to be carried in combat by a major country‘s regular armed forces were Portuguese Lugers in Africa (Angola and Mozambique) in the 1970s. Did they really hold out that long?

Yes they did. Officially replaced by the P.38 in 1961. They soldiered on in our 3 front(Angola, Mozambique and Guiné ) Colonial War (1961-1975) until the very end. Those were byf 42 P.08 diverted from the Wehrmarcht.

Here is mine.

Attached Images

	IMG-20201225-WA0001.jpg (45.8 KB, 177 views)
	IMG-20201225-WA0003.jpg (58.7 KB, 175 views)

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Expect the unexpected

Yes, under barrel is marked 6354. Below that is: 8,81 in smaller size #s.

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Bill - SWCA #2327

8,81is the exact internal diameter of your barrel in mm. They only stopped doing that during the 1942 production.

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Expect the unexpected

A back story on this Luger. Before we got married my future bride asked me if I thought a Luger was a good self defense handgun for a woman that had no previous experience with owning any gun. She said her father would give her his late brother's P.08 so she could protect herself while living alone in her condo in Redmond, WA.
I said I thought that the Luger was NOT a good choice in her situation and steered her to two different paths. First she needed to take an NRA handgun safety course (and get her CWP) before anything else. Second I suggested going the revolver route. I showed her 2 different S&Ws I had;
a Model 64 2" and a Model 38. The 'heavy' 64 was a no go for her.
After 4 years of dating and 40 years of marriage (this year!) she still has my 10/72 Model 38 Bodyguard for personal protection.

(the stiletto is my B-I-L's... both he and my wife are Italian)

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Bill - SWCA #2327

Not my first choice for self defense carry. Mainly because I'd hate to see it disapear in an "evidence room" if it was ever used "for real".

But they are safe to carry with a chambered round, have a loaded chamber indicator and are very very accurate.

25 meters target.

A byf 41 being used.

Attached Images

target-50x-2011.jpg (66.9 KB, 162 views)

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Expect the unexpected

That is some great shooting.

I have a chrome plated Luger that I haven't shot yet. I need to take it out and play with it.

No pistol sits in your hand quite like a Luger. I have a matching, except for the magazines,1916 DWM.

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

Of course it CAN be used for self-defense if necessary.

I like how the film actually shows the somewhat awkward fumbling to get the safety off

He awkwardly fumbles with eveything.

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Expect the unexpected