Harley Fan
Member
I know this is a Smith forum... I joined to share and learn after I bought my 686, my very first handgun purchase. But I am curious about what follows, and I know there are many, many folks here that can weigh in. I'm a beginner in both owning and shooting handguns, and have discovered how much fun (along with my son) range shooting is.
I inherited my Dad's "bringback" from WW-II when he passed away in 2001- a Walther P-38, the standard 9mm issue German army sidearm. It was basically kept in his sock drawer from after the war, until he passed. (Dad was a rifle marksman before the war, and knew firearms, and kept this oiled. But never fired it, or anything else after the war. A combat veteran and Silver Star receipient from the Battle of the Bulge, he just wanted nothing to do with firearms)
I began range shooting my Smith in December, I got curious about Dad's P-38. I downloaded a .pdf file of the Walther P-38 and P-1 manual from a biker friend, read up on it, examined the slide, then asked my son for 5 rounds of target 9mm (he has a Glock) to take with me to the range. Now, bearing in mind I never fired a semi auto pistol in my life, I was startled by the mini-mule kick (compared to the only frame of reference I have- the silky smooth predictable recoil of my 686) and of the brass flying around. Oh, and I couldn't hit a barn with it either.
Well, son Aaron and I went to the range last Saturday; he mentioned taking it. I said, "Sure! You ought to put 6 through it and compare it to your Glock 17."
We did. And we put way more than 6 rounds through it. More like 60 or 70. It performed flawlessly. Although 70 years old, I'm re-thinking the whole "lock it up in the save it until I croak and will it to Aaron" thing. I watched a Youtube vid by Hickock45 where he put a wartime Walther through it's paces, then field stripped it along with his new Baretta, and showed the barrel lockup and slide design similarities.
This weapon is coded "cyq" and was made by Spreewerk under license in 1944, and are the least collectable of the three manufacturers, the others being Mauser, and of course, Walther. The slide is silky smooth to my uneducated opinion. We both really enjoyed shooting it. I'm sure Dad wouldn't mind... and I'm thinking the long dead German army dude that had it on his hip for a while wouldn't have minded, either.
I said all that to say (or ask) this- Is this pistol a shooter?
Or should I let it sleep?
I'll never sell it.
The finishes on this wartime pistol ware not what a commercial manufacturer would produce, but the slide seems silky smooth, the lockup pad mechanism is burnished but not worn, and the barrel is a mirror.
It is a pleasure to shoot.
Appreciate the comments.
I inherited my Dad's "bringback" from WW-II when he passed away in 2001- a Walther P-38, the standard 9mm issue German army sidearm. It was basically kept in his sock drawer from after the war, until he passed. (Dad was a rifle marksman before the war, and knew firearms, and kept this oiled. But never fired it, or anything else after the war. A combat veteran and Silver Star receipient from the Battle of the Bulge, he just wanted nothing to do with firearms)
I began range shooting my Smith in December, I got curious about Dad's P-38. I downloaded a .pdf file of the Walther P-38 and P-1 manual from a biker friend, read up on it, examined the slide, then asked my son for 5 rounds of target 9mm (he has a Glock) to take with me to the range. Now, bearing in mind I never fired a semi auto pistol in my life, I was startled by the mini-mule kick (compared to the only frame of reference I have- the silky smooth predictable recoil of my 686) and of the brass flying around. Oh, and I couldn't hit a barn with it either.
Well, son Aaron and I went to the range last Saturday; he mentioned taking it. I said, "Sure! You ought to put 6 through it and compare it to your Glock 17."
We did. And we put way more than 6 rounds through it. More like 60 or 70. It performed flawlessly. Although 70 years old, I'm re-thinking the whole "lock it up in the save it until I croak and will it to Aaron" thing. I watched a Youtube vid by Hickock45 where he put a wartime Walther through it's paces, then field stripped it along with his new Baretta, and showed the barrel lockup and slide design similarities.
This weapon is coded "cyq" and was made by Spreewerk under license in 1944, and are the least collectable of the three manufacturers, the others being Mauser, and of course, Walther. The slide is silky smooth to my uneducated opinion. We both really enjoyed shooting it. I'm sure Dad wouldn't mind... and I'm thinking the long dead German army dude that had it on his hip for a while wouldn't have minded, either.
I said all that to say (or ask) this- Is this pistol a shooter?
Or should I let it sleep?
I'll never sell it.
The finishes on this wartime pistol ware not what a commercial manufacturer would produce, but the slide seems silky smooth, the lockup pad mechanism is burnished but not worn, and the barrel is a mirror.
It is a pleasure to shoot.
Appreciate the comments.
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