Any Interarms Luger experts here?

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rocketdog said:
I have a 6" 9mm Mauser Parabellum (Interarms) but am not an expert.

Check here La Luger Artiglieria - The Luger Artillery or go to lugerforum where that author and the experts hang out.

What did you want to find out? Someone here might know the answer.
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How do they compare to WW2 or pre War guns. Compare as a gun , not a collectors item. I know that the others are more collectible.
 
I read reviews of the Mauser items made on the former Swiss machinery in the 1970's. The defunct, "Gunfacts" had a major writeup on them, more objective than most gun mags are. That may be why they went out of business. They were more honest than some advertisers liked!

The Mauser-made ones seemed to be well crafted, but had the grip safety and the staiight foregrip like the Swiss '06/29 examples. I've only seen maybe three, and they looked good. I'd guess they shoot about as well as originals, but may function no better. Most interest has been from collectors.

Lugers are fussy about ammo, and the magazines make even more difference than on most autos. If you're thinking of a modern defensive gun, there are better choices. However, if you are set on a Luger, you might look for the stainless ones made by Mitchell (?), some for Stoeger. These were made in Houston, I think, and replicate the German ones better than the Mauser-made ones from the '70's. The work is very good, but not up to the old ones, of course.
 
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They are finished much better than the military guns I have seen. I think the machining is very good and I believe I would have more confidence in modern metallurgy than I would in earlier production, especially during WW II.

As to function, I am not aware of widespread troubles of any kind. My own experience is limited but has been good. Mec Gar makes Luger magazines. I have tried a couple in my gun and they seem to work fine. The only fault I find with my gun is that the stocks are a little loose. This could easily be fixed with a little epoxy. I like my gun and wouldn't mind having another one someday.

Since I only have one and have seen just a couple others, I don't have much of a knowledge base.
 
The Lugers made by DWM, Erfurt, Simson, Mauser, Krieghoff, Bern Arsenal (Spandau, Vickers ?) are the real deal. Still, you might buy one that works well, or is a stinker needing a lot of work and parts to shoot reliably.

There are mixed reviews on the Mauser Parabellums made from about 1970-1986. I like them. Mine looks good and is a nice shooter. Some say they are poorly made and inferior quality.

My friendly advice is don't buy any stainless steel Luger. If you do, chances are good that you will regret buying.

More advice, if you want a nice Luger that you can shoot, and is the real deal, take your time looking and buy a WW II era Mauser Luger. If money is no concern buy a nice condition matching number Luger for probably $1500-2500 or more. If money is a concern buy a nice condition non-matching number Mauser Luger for probably $800-1200, and you'll have an interesting piece of history that will look good, shoot, and be the real thing.
 
Mauser obtained the Swiss Luger 06/29 tooling in the mid 60's. It is on that original machinery most agree they produced at least the first of the 'new' Lugers in the early 1970's.

In the end, several different styles were made, the original 'Swiss' style pistol being the first. The market wanted the P08 German look and that followed a couple years later. Lots of small changes in specs to get the cosmetic looks they wanted but eccentially all the same pistol.

AFAIK and have seen, they appear to be all machined from forgings or stock. The final finish & fit doesn't compare IMHO to an original.
The polish is less than crisp in most cases.
Small differences in parts shapes & contours slowly breaks down the classic Luger profile IMHO.
That seems to happen often when a company tried to 'bring back a classic'. Modern labor costs just don't allow for it to happen.
They have become a collectors firearm in themselves.
Not as many made as expected originally. Most collectors seem to need one to fill out their wall.

A shooter grade will undoubtedly do good service should you happen accross one.
To be honest I've seen few that have been used a great deal. Those that have been shot at all have only the same complaints as the originals. Ammo being the main culprit in functioning.

The Mitchell & Stoegers came later. Those I have seen quite few of. They seem to run hot and cold in quality. I believe they were made of machine finished investment cast parts. The Mitchell Luger I'd give a couple points more to above the Stoeger marked one in fit and finish.

I did have one Mitchell Luger with a cracked frame brought to me. I suspect the owner (and his reloads) to blame for that problem. Sorry, factory all gone. I did buy it for parts and those were quickly purchased by another Mitchell owner.
He liked his and wanted the extra parts just in case. But no problems to that point.

I'd buy a WW2 mfg original for a shooter.

..and that's what I've seen..
 
I had a 4" Interarms Luger in .30 cal. it had the grip safety and the curved backstap not the strait Swiss style it also had the Amrican Eagle stamped on the chamber . It was a high quality firearm and shot well but I sold it as ammo was not common and not cheap.
 
if you don't have to have a military gun,buy a nice 1920 commercial. they are one of the most common and run less money than a like condition military. if you don't know about lugers,try to deal with someone who knows something about them and what you intended use is. the7 work better with 124-5 gr. rn. bullets,in either factory loads or handloads from the middle to top loads in the reloading manuals.
 
If you want a shooter Luger look for a Nazi era Mauser built 9mm,with matching numbers or as many matching as you can find that someone reblued or nickle plated where the collector value has been taken away.
 
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