I was privileged recently to view and handle many Luger pistols in the incredible collection of a good friend of mine. He's been collecting for over 50 years, and he has some of the rarest Lugers known, most in excellent or better condition. While I was visiting with him, I asked to photograph some representative specimens. As I once dabbled in Lugers but got out of them due to the enormous expense, I had a great appreciation for what he had. Here are just a few of the dozens of guns I examined. If you have any knowledge of the Luger collecting field, just these few will be enough to get your heart pounding. I've posted larger versions of these photos in the "Pictures & Albums" section of the forum. Enjoy!
John
First up, this is the predecessor to the Luger, a Model 1893 Borchardt pistol, one of the first successful semiautomatics. It's complete with a leather case for the gun and accessories bearing the date 1893 and Hugo Borchardt's initials.
The U.S. Army tested Luger pistols - here are a consecutively numbered pair of the test trial Lugers. What are the odds of this???
Few know that the Luger was once produced in .45 ACP caliber. Only a handful were made, and they are untouchable, value-wise. This is a rare and perfect reproduction, one of just a few, made on CNC milling equipment and crafted with a lot of careful hand labor. It's exact, even down to the entwined "GL" initials on the back of the rear toggle link. That was Georg Luger's personal stamp.
While this may at first glance appear to be a standard Artillery Model Luger, check this again. It's equipped with UBER-rare period radium sights. These are almost never seen today.
This is a very rare and valuable Luger carbine, designed to be used with a matching shoulder stock, which was also in the collection. Kaiser Wilhelm, who had only one useable arm, liked to use a Luger carbine for hunting. This is a beautiful piece.
I think one of the most graceful, practical and accurate Lugers was the Navy Model. Here is one of these, with its adjustable rear sight fully extended. Nice, huh?
DWM made a few "cartridge counter" pistols that allowed the user to determine how many shots remained in the magazine. This is one of those rarities.
Again, these are just a few of the dozens of fine Lugers in the collection - I thought I'd share these pics with you. Look for larger pictures in the Pictures and Albums section. I think you will agree that even just these few are indeed fabulous.
John
John
First up, this is the predecessor to the Luger, a Model 1893 Borchardt pistol, one of the first successful semiautomatics. It's complete with a leather case for the gun and accessories bearing the date 1893 and Hugo Borchardt's initials.
The U.S. Army tested Luger pistols - here are a consecutively numbered pair of the test trial Lugers. What are the odds of this???
Few know that the Luger was once produced in .45 ACP caliber. Only a handful were made, and they are untouchable, value-wise. This is a rare and perfect reproduction, one of just a few, made on CNC milling equipment and crafted with a lot of careful hand labor. It's exact, even down to the entwined "GL" initials on the back of the rear toggle link. That was Georg Luger's personal stamp.
While this may at first glance appear to be a standard Artillery Model Luger, check this again. It's equipped with UBER-rare period radium sights. These are almost never seen today.
This is a very rare and valuable Luger carbine, designed to be used with a matching shoulder stock, which was also in the collection. Kaiser Wilhelm, who had only one useable arm, liked to use a Luger carbine for hunting. This is a beautiful piece.
I think one of the most graceful, practical and accurate Lugers was the Navy Model. Here is one of these, with its adjustable rear sight fully extended. Nice, huh?
DWM made a few "cartridge counter" pistols that allowed the user to determine how many shots remained in the magazine. This is one of those rarities.
Again, these are just a few of the dozens of fine Lugers in the collection - I thought I'd share these pics with you. Look for larger pictures in the Pictures and Albums section. I think you will agree that even just these few are indeed fabulous.
John
