.45 ACP Lugers being produced in PA?

[oldbrownhat]

Still "out there somewhere" is one of the (only) two .45 ACP Lugers submitted by Georg Luger for US Army trials.

But I just came across this article about a guy in PA who is making .45 ACP Lugers (as well as in 9x25 Dillon & 10mm) based on the original DWM blueprints, as well as some other variants of famous pistols.

 

[Telecaster]

A small part of me wants one.

 

[StrawHat]

I remember when there was a fellow building these during the last century. He would split two P08s and weld them together to create the necessary width for the ACP round. He also did the same with the P38.

Kevin

 

[DWalt]

That seems like a great deal of work with little likelihood of getting much return.

 

[oldbrownhat]

A small part of me wants one.

Presumably not the part that would have to fork over the $3800+

 

[Heinz]

The twentieth century builder was John V Martz. He made a lot of custom guns and was a specialist in Luger toggle type actions and also converted P38s to 45 ACP. I believe some of the early Martz 45 Lugers loaded from the top rather than a removable magazine. He also made some awesome small 7 shot Lugers.

Luger Man has been working on his CNC produced models for a while. They are the traditional Luger design, CNC'd from scratch.

The mechanism is very complex compared to a Browning design. The originals required a great deal of hand fitting.

I have 3 DWM models currently, 1 7.65 and two 9s. Reluctant to shoot the 1916 and 1918 Imperial accepted Lugers anymore due to age and value. I do shoot the 7.65 from time to time.

 

[DWalt]

At various times, I owned six Lugers, all being the ordinary WWII models. I sort of lost interest many years ago and all are gone. I do wish I had kept at least one of them, given the prices some of them command today.

As purely users and shooters, I found the Lugers to be somewhat unreliable and none of those I had were close to 100% jam-free. The only similar background pistol I still own is a fairly nice 1944 P-38 which, unlike the Lugers, is highly reliable and will handle any ammunition. Had I been a Wehrmacht soldier, I know which handgun I would have chosen.

 

[oldbrownhat]

The twentieth century builder was John V Martz....

That was one name I was trying to remember. Passed away in 2013 in Roseville CA, age 88.

I seem to recall there was a guy in Germany as well. Also made some nice Luger carbines (?)

 

[.357magger]

Eugene Galobsatov aka Lugerman is the person currently making 45 acp Lugers. He also offers them in 10mm, both in a variety of models from "Baby" to Carbine (with shoulder stocks).

Additionally, he offers OUTSTANDING restoration work on Lugers, P38s, early Colts, etc.

I had a 1917 Artillery Luger restored by him years ago. It was indistinguishable from factory new. Only one of many bought and sold over the years that I wish I'd have held onto.

 

[jc2721]

This is my Martz .45:





The 2 magazines were hand-made by Martz for the pistol and are numbered 1 and 2 on the base. They are not modified 1911 magazines.

Martz's preferred finish was in the white--supposedly to show off his skill at welding. This gun has a few scratches and freckles but I can't tell where the 2 frames were welded together.

It is undoubtedly the most highly customized pistol I own.

 

[oldbrownhat]

This is my Martz .45: ...Martz's preferred finish was in the white--supposedly to show off his skill at welding....

I fear that my drooling on the keyboard might induce corrosion on that

 

[Kinman]

This is my Martz .45:





The 2 magazines were hand-made by Martz for the pistol and are numbered 1 and 2 on the base. They are not modified 1911 magazines.

Martz's preferred finish was in the white--supposedly to show off his skill at welding. This gun has a few scratches and freckles but I can't tell where the 2 frames were welded together.

It is undoubtedly the most highly customized pistol I own.

I can appreciate him showing off his work, one of the reasons so many highly restored or original aluminum bodied automobiles are left unpainted, I remember when the all new GT-40 repo was touring the car shows in its polished aluminum beauty. People would comment, "why didn't they paint it?" Not the same reason they didn't paint war planes due to a time factor but just to show off that wonderful bodywork.

 

[swagmeister]

One of the .45 Lugers submitted by Georg Luger for the military trials is on display in the Norton Art Gallery, Shreveport, Louisiana, about 12 miles from my residence. They have an excellent collection of many very expensive and rare guns, including several engraved models by E.C. "Jack" Prudhomme, who had his shop located in downtown Shreveport for several years in the mid 40's to the early 70's. One of the most beautiful guns there is a Colt Single Action Army engraved by A.A. White.