Erma "luger"

[opr1945]

On a impulse, years ago, I purchased an Erma BP22 .22 Luger pistol. The story was that after world war II Erma purchased the machinery, changed the caliber to .22LR, and started making pistols that were identical to Luger's except in caliber. They made 3 models, and mine is the more "better" of the three. It says made in Germany on the side.

I think I bought the story more than the pistol. It feels and looks nice. I have never held a"real Luger" so what do I know?

I have never shot it.

I am thinking about getting it out and shooting it.

Does anyone know if story above is correct? is it junk? Didn't cost much though.

thanks

 

[opr1945]

here are some pictures

 

[glenwolde]

Sorry but the "bought the machinery" story is bunk. The Erma's are blowback designs, fundamentally different mechanically from the Luger. Erma did make .22 conversion units for Lugers before they came out with their own blowback adaptation of the design.

Not junk, shoot it!

 

[A10]

Yup they are not real Lugers. I had one for a while, sold it recently. I can't say I had the best of luck with it....

 

[deadin]

If you get frustrated by malfunctions, just leave it unfired.....

 

[kaveman]

They're neat guns(but they are junk). If you're going to fire it, treat it gently and keep the round count down. They're made completely of a zinc/aluminum alloy and parts wear and breakage is high. Very little handling in necessary before edge wear becomes severe and once the base metal peaks through the finish it starts to .'grow' I see more Erma's as parts kits than as operating pistols.

Still, they really are nice lookers and very fun to shoot. They just don't hold up at all once you start loading them with ammo. I miss mine(but then again,....I don't).

 

[lebomm]

I don't miss the one I had. Complete jam-o-matic.

Larry

 

[Old Corp]

I sorta recall when they were at the peak of their popularity, the 1970's. I was working at an LGS that sold them occasionally.
Had so many come back with issues that the owner decided to stop carrying them.
Recall cleaning several of them to help with ever-present feeding problems. They were made like a 'replica gun', zinc pot-metal. What was amazing was that every now and then, one would work perfectly fine - but that was not the rule.

 

[robertrwalsh]

I saw a used one at a good price a while back and asked my gunsmith about it. He said they were of mediocre quality and are impossible to get parts for now. He did say, however, that they make a really cool looking paperweight. I didn't buy it. Since you already own it I would shoot it for fun until it breaks. It is a blowback gun (as noted above) and certainly not a real Luger, but that does not mean it will not be fun to shoot. You can find spare magazines from time to time on Ebay or Gun Broker.

 

[jdlii]

My Dad wanted one to shoot in order to avoid shooting the two German Lugers that he had acquired. I found one and bought it for him and it functioned flawlessly.

Please keep in mind that this was back in the late 70's. The one he had preferred Winchester Super X high velocity ammo. Accuracy was acceptable and while not a "target" pistol, it was great fun. It could walk a "tin" can out of sight!

Enjoy!

 

[Stan W]

the erma .22 was the first pistol I bought when I got home from military service in mid 60's. I called it my jam'o'matic. didn't keep it long. my next was a 4" heavy barrel colt metropolitan. bought that one in 1968. cost was $88. it was my first centerfire. I gave it to my daughter a couple years ago.

 

[Brian in Oregon]

They're neat guns(but they are junk). If you're going to fire it, treat it gently and keep the round count down. They're made completely of a zinc/aluminum alloy and parts wear and breakage is high. Very little handling in necessary before edge wear becomes severe and once the base metal peaks through the finish it starts to .'grow' I see more Erma's as parts kits than as operating pistols.

Still, they really are nice lookers and very fun to shoot. They just don't hold up at all once you start loading them with ammo. I miss mine(but then again,....I don't).

^ This ^

I had the Erma Luger Carbine (actually just long barreled pistol with a wood forend). It shot reliably with round nose ammo, but the gun was prematurely worn out due to being made from pot metal.

It was a lot of fun while it lasted and more accurate because of the better sights than the base model.

Eventually the safety went south, and parts were made from unobtanium. Even if parts were available, it's doubtful a parts swap would fix problems aggravated by frame wear.

Eventually sold it to a trusted friend who was well aware of the safety issue. When not actually shooting it, the chamber had to be cleared.

 

[BC38]

FWIW, if you want a 22 cal Luger replica, I think a Stoeger is a better alternative. I have one and it is a little picky about ammo, seems to prefer loads with heavier bullets (like 40 gr), but it seems to be holding up just fine.

 

[Brian in Oregon]

A "little picky" about loads? That's an understatement. Always wanted a Stoeger Luger as a kid. Then a friend got one. What a jamomatic.

 

[BC38]

Always wanted a Stoeger Luger as a kid.

Yeah, me too...

A "little picky" about loads? That's an understatement... a friend got one. What a jamomatic.

As with many guns, especially semi-auto 22 pistols, some are worse than others. Mine works quite well with the right ammo. Maybe I just got lucky....