Luger--1917 Artillery

[CZU]

My first Artillery, I had always stuck to the short barrel Lugers because in order to get a decent Artillery the cost was somewhat prohibitive. This one showed up at my LGS a few months ago with a price that I definitely could not afford. The consignor was firm and wasn't willing to come down so I had for the most part written it off. It came with a drum and with a homemade stock that utilized the original stock iron which unfortunately was mismatched to the Luger.

About three weeks ago I walked in to the shop and noticed that the Artillery was gone but the drum was still there and had been marked down $500. I asked had someone bought the Artillery and they said no, it was in the back getting a new price tag. They told me owner had called and said to reduce it by a thousand. I told 'em I'd take it along with the drum. I have since gotten a repro stock and have fitted the original stock iron to it. I haven't got to shoot it yet, was going to yesterday but I had forgotten to bring along a different toggle train. I would be real sad if I was to break a matching numbered part on this one or any all matching Luger for that matter.

This Artillery is in excellent condition, it still has all of the original blue remaining on the grip straps which is an indicator of how much it has or hasn't been handled. There is a high percentage of straw remaining and a lot of the fire blue is still evident. 1917 was a transitional year for these, this was the year that the fine tune front and rear sights were being eliminated. This one has both.

Now the hunt begins for an original stock, a drum loader/unloader, some decent leather, the tool for adjusting the fine tune sights..would seem like a never ending quest.

 

[BAM-BAM]

WOW.......... great find!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[leonardocarrillo]

Lo felicito,en mi pais (Argentina) es mas cara la culata que la pistola y el cargador redondo es muy dificil de conseguir.
Perdon que escribo en español pero no hablo ingles.
Gracias.

 

[mauser9]

Great find indeed. Tough to find and very tough to find at a decent price. Thanks for sharing.

 

[29aholic]

Lo felicito,en mi pais (Argentina) es mas cara la culata que la pistola y el cargador redondo es muy dificil de conseguir.
Perdon que escribo en español pero no hablo ingles.
Gracias.

I congratulate, in my country (Argentina) is more expensive the stock that the gun and the round loader is very difficult to achieve.
Sorry I write in Spanish but I do not speak English.
Thank you

 

[Drm50]

Very nice pistol. My dad got one on a deal to do some wiring for a guy in
1956. We didn't shoot it that much but it was deadly accurate. In the early 70s the guy he got it off of began to bug him to get it back. He said he was sorry he got rid of it because he wanted to give it to his boy as a heirloom since he had brought it home from WW2. My dad was WW2 vet also and GAVE the gun to him. I wasn't happy about it at all. A few weeks later it showed up in case at a LGS. Heirloom my butt.

 

[sheepdawg]

Lugers are works of art.

 

[2152hq]

Nice LP08!

Finding an orig shoulder stock will be difficult but not impossible.
FWIW,,the BATF now only recognizes these Artillery Lugers as exempt from NFA regulations IF they are fitted with an Original stock.

IIRC the regs used to recognize a repro detachable shoulder stock as long as it was the same spec as an original.
Apparently no more.
https://www.atf.gov/file/128116/download

Seems to be the same change for all(?) of the shoulder stocked pistols that are exempt from NFA regulations.

 

[Texas Star]

With that drum mag in place, you could start shooting one of those pythons in Florida from the snout all the way to the tip of the tail and never run out of ammo!

Of course, the big snake would be squirming from the first, so it'd be a difficult target...

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Very nice Luger collection. Someday, I may have one or two Lugers.

 

[Valmet]

That's an absolutely awesome rig OP. Love those snail-drums

 

[Sevens]

For years now I've read Luger discussions with interest and I continue to hear this term "original straw" and it never seems to get defined, even casually.

Also, am I to assume that the "additional toggle train" would be the pieces connected to the bolt (for lack of a proper Luger term if bolt is not that term?) that are most susceptible to breakage?

I mean to say... I certainly *DO* understand that much of a Luger's collectible value comes from the myriad of matching SN parts, but if one must pull & replace parts to actually shoot the pistol, and then pull & replace parts once again to restore it's originality... it seems to me that you really must question why you'd shoot it at all, if perhaps only to be able to punch your chest and yell at the room "I WON'T OWN ANYTHING I DON'T SHOOT!" which is typical fare in gun forum conversations.

Aren't there many, many parts on a Luger that are both serial numbered AND have a reputation for fragility?

It begs the question... does this one get the toggle train swapped in and out repeatedly and shot multiple times a year?

It sure is a gorgeous pistol!

 

[Richochet]

Dang that is beautiful. A real piece of history!
Congratulations! Being in the right spot at the right time is luck!

 

[handejector]

NICE Luger! Good for you.
Let's stick to discussing it.

If you guys want to practice your Spanish and discuss restaurants, start a thread in The Lounge.

 

[CZU]

For years now I've read Luger discussions with interest and I continue to hear this term "original straw" and it never seems to get defined, even casually.

Up until around mid 1937(there are exceptions) 5 parts, the trigger, ejector, take down lever, safety lever and magazine release all received the heat treating that would result in the yellow/golden finish we call "straw". When looking at these pistols you must consider the overall finish. A 75-80% finish will not have 95% straw. I have a 1942 commercial Mauser Banner in about 75-80% and the straw has mostly faded to maybe 10%.

Also, am I to assume that the "additional toggle train" would be the pieces connected to the bolt (for lack of a proper Luger term if bolt is not that term?) that are most susceptible to breakage?

Most of us who collect Lugers don't shoot our numbers matching pistols because we don't want to ruin a collectible. We have "shooters" that we use to get our satisfaction. This Artillery most likely will be shot a couple times at the most. It's been about 45 years since I shot one of these. I'll swap out the toggle train before I do this because this is where breakage will occur, the extractor, firing pin, and the bolt itself are most likely the area of failure.

I mean to say... I certainly *DO* understand that much of a Luger's collectible value comes from the myriad of matching SN parts, but if one must pull & replace parts to actually shoot the pistol, and then pull & replace parts once again to restore it's originality... it seems to me that you really must question why you'd shoot it at all, if perhaps only to be able to punch your chest and yell at the room "I WON'T OWN ANYTHING I DON'T SHOOT!" which is typical fare in gun forum conversations.

No chest beating here, I'm not one that has to shoot everything I own so I do end up with a few safe queens.

Aren't there many, many parts on a Luger that are both serial numbered AND have a reputation for fragility?

Yes, answered above.

It begs the question... does this one get the toggle train swapped in and out repeatedly and shot multiple times a year?

No.

It sure is a gorgeous pistol!

Thanks!