Questions for Luger owners.... I got my 1st Luger!!! PICS ADDED

[robertrwalsh]

I currently own one Luger, a 1920 commercial, which is about the most dirt-common Luger you can own. I have in the past owned a Mitchell 6" (which I had a LOT of trouble with) and a mismatched 9mm with a very dark bore which shot well and which I wish I had kept. They are really cool guns that will do pretty much nothing but go UP in price. If you do get a .30 cal you will either spend a lot for ammo or have to start reloading.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Are there any decent Luger 9mm reproductions?

 

[policerevolvercollector]

My search has begun in earnest..... as stated earlier ,there is a LOT of info available. I am going to some serious research before I decide which one. The late '30s /early '40s Mausers sound like I what want at least for now.

Thanks for the advice & suggestions!

Charles

 

[BUFF]

Are there any decent Luger 9mm reproductions?

The stainless Mitchell/AIMCO guns. A lot of Luger collectors refer to the Interarms Mausers as reproductions.

I have one of the AIMCO guns, 4 inch. It's nicely finished and a good looking gun, as all Lugers are. I haven't shot it yet. I wanted one I could shoot without damaging any collector value if a part broke. I'm going to thin out my herd soon, and it will probably go on the block, so I may never shoot it.

 

[Andyd]

VOPO and Russian captured guns are still cheaper and usually good shooters. The parts have often been force matched after fitting, which is more important for a shooter than matching numbers.

Most VOPO guns have been fitted with Czech made barrels and I was told that those came from the same factory that made P.38 barrels during WWII. I have one of my VOPO P.08s with such a replacement barrel and the spend brass has a nice "Mauser ring" impressed on it, just as it should be. Since I shoot my Lugers, I have been buying small spare parts for them, as I have for most of my guns.

That 1942-made Luger pistol that has only been dipped and the barrel replaced is one of my best shooting handguns, in performance very close to my P210-4.

 

[CZU]

I've gotten some pretty good deals at Cabelas, this is one of them. It showed up at my local store and was priced reasonably cheap because of the missing sideplate. I found a sideplate on ebay that closely matched the finish of the gun and now have an excellent shooter. It's a Mauser BYF42 that is all matching other than the replaced sideplate.

This all matching 23 DWM was also found at Cabelas, I had this one shipped to my local store so that I could take a closer look at it. It was worth the 25 bucks to take a peek.

Don't discount the Interarms Mausers, I have 5 of them and this one is my favorite. It apparently came back over here via a returning serviceman from Germany as evidenced by the lack of Interarms markings and the American Eagle over the chamber. It is known as the 06/73 version and is dated '86.

There are a lot to choose from, just do your homework first.

 

[nutsforsmiths]

I have a 1939 Mauser with all matching numbers, except for the magazine. Finish is about 90%. It also came with a WWI black leather holster and an extra magazine. I have shot it some since I bought it some 25 years ago, but not a lot. I have also never had any problems with FTF or FTE with any of the ammo I have used over the years. The only thing I have encountered is that sometimes on the last shot, the toggle does not stay open because of the less powerful ammo.

I would agree with robertrwalsh that the 1920 commercial models might be the most inexpensive Lugers around. They don't have all the markings of WWI or 1930s WWII Lugers, but they do work just fine and can be a good starting point.

Good luck!

 

[policerevolvercollector]

What is the significance of a double date stamp? I saw a nice shooter grade DWM marked w/ the date 1918 & 1920. Would $900 be overpriced?

 

[HARDWARE]

It's a ww1 gun that had been refurbished in 1920.

Value... I dunno.

 

[Penmon]

Gun was made in 1918 and register so to speak in 1920,something to do with too many floating around after the war.

Here a quote from Edward Tinker of Luger forum fame.
"In short, a 'double date' almost always means that it received the 1920 'date' as a gov't acceptance marking, to show it belonged to the gov't and was to keep them from being stolen and resold."
At 900.00 I would be asking why? mismatched, Russian capture (has an X mark). Poor finish, rust pits, barrel shoot out or pitted,converted to 30 cal (very unlikely).

In my experience a 900.00 luger will be re-bluded and have some non matching serial numbers and perhaps replacement grips.
or be a nicer or rarer Russian capture,these are almost always re-dipped over the original finish. or just beat to hell.

 

[2152hq]

The '1920' marking was the property mark of the new post WW1 German Weimar Republic. The Versailles Treaty allowed them only a limited number of small arms for internal security, police, ect.
They were designated to be marked '1920' as a way of keeping track of the number allowed by the treaty.
Most of the Luger pistols were simply battlefield recycled arms that underwent a rebuilding process and others were new, near new arms that were simply stamped with the additional yr/date.
A '1920' marked pistol is one that was property of the German Post WW1 govt (Weimar Gov't)
It could have been issued to anyone from town, city, German States police depts, border security, railway police, postal police, ect, ect.
Some are marked as such as well as the holsters.

 

[policerevolvercollector]

Another question.....

What does the marking "S/42" represent on a later (1936) Mauser Luger?

 

[HARDWARE]

S/42 is the code for "mauser" . they used these codes to conceal the manufacturers identity

 

[CZU]

Coded chamber dates:
K=1934
G=1935
Toggle Markings for 1934 and up:
S/42=Mauser
42=Mauser
byf=Mauser

 

[nutsforsmiths]

My 1939 Luger is marked S/42 on the toggle.

I have seen what is called a 1923 Commercial Luger. They have no date stamp and the toggle has just the DWM cursive mark. The front part of the frame is the only place that carries the full serial number. I have read that these were assembled with left over or newly manufactured parts and were for sale in both Europe and the U.S.A.

They are also on the lower end of the Luger price range.

 

[policerevolvercollector]

I just got this 9mm :





It is a DWM pistol with the double date 1918/1920 and mismatched numbers. At just under $1000, I think I did OK. The trigger is very nice. Reminds me of my HK P7.

Best ,
Charles

 

[2152hq]

Is there a stock attachment lug on the rear grip strap? It doesn't appear to be one from the picture.
If not, and if the ser# on the front of the frame is a 5 digit # w/o a letter suffix, the frame is from a Commercial or perhaps a Contract sale Luger.
Makes no difference really, just an observation. Mixed serial #'d pieces end up with just that,,mixed assortment of parts.
That they function and shoot well is what we are after for a 'shooter Luger'. Some of my best shooter Lugers have been mismatched #'d guns.

The double date on the recv'r ring ,,1918 is the yr of mfg of the original upper component. The 1920 marking was added when the pistol was accepted into the post WW1 German Weimar Republic arms stockpile under the Treaty of Versailles limitations quotas.

I had an Erfurt 1918/1920 at one time about the same condition and mismatched. The stock lug had been crudely ground off, or nearly so. MAny were done like that as people thought it was illegal to own the pistol w/a stock lug in place.
I finished off the crude grinding and restored the pistol, leaving only the frame ser# and Erfurt markings and proofs in place. A rust blue & straw coloring completed the job.
I gave the pistol to my brother who always wanted a Luger.
Still shoots it regularly and it functions just fine as a mismatched #'d gun,,even with his questionable quality cast bullet reloads!

 

[Andyd]

Btw, it may be worth noting that only Americans refer to these as "Lugers"

The Luger has a very stiff mainspring that was designed to function with the hot 30's era 9mm loads that were shared with the the mp38 and mp40 submachine guns.

The modern NATO ammo approximates that load.

There are many unsubstantiated rumors of 9mm Parabellum having been loaded hotter for subguns but there is no proof that the Wehrmacht used special subgun ammo. Fact is that the old Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken, Berlin, manual lists the velocity of the 9mm at 310 m/sec with an 8 gram projectile. That is a 124 gr bullet at 1017 fps.

My remaining Lugers work very reliable with reloads that are in that power range and slightly below. They also shoot very well with 124 gr TC hard cast lead.

 

[HARDWARE]

am I spreading disinformation again?

that's interesting. I have not seen actual load velocity listed anywhere for wermacht ammo.

that's not far below NATO is it,... 1,100 fps or so.

that being said, ive used cheap Remington 115 gr. range ammo without malfunction.

 

[moralem]

Here is my 1936 and 1918......