This weekend I picked up a couple interesting pieces , one of which is a bit historical. On Friday night, I picked up a first model Beretta 948. The 948 is a aluminum alloy frame copy of the Beretta 1934/35 model pistols, however is chambered in 22LR. She's a great shooter made in 1952. The defining characteristic that determines that this example is a first model is the placement of the front sight, which like it's larger caliber siblings is integral to the slide. The second model, an example of which I also had a while back, moved the front sight to the barrel assembly, and the slide was in turn slotted for the sight to slide through. This was done to incorporate an interchangable barrel set, which included the standard 3" barrel as the first model did, but also a 6" barrel as well. Both are fun little shooter, but I might like this version a little better than the other, due to much deeper, and sharper rifling compared to the later model.
Next, on Sunday I picked up a 1944 Mauser produced Walther P.38. She's all numbers matching with no import marks, so I suspect she was a war bring-back. There's the initials GWF lightly scribed into the right grip as well, adding further suspicion, as the Mauser 1914 that my grandad brought home with him from the war, along with practically everything else he had, was adorned with his initials. The only non-matching parts were the magazines, one of which had a non-matching serial number and Walther factory inspection stamp, the other just the Walther factory inspection stamp.
This P.38, I suspect, has probably not been fired in quite a long time. She was pretty filthy with gunk and dust built up in the exposed nooks and crannies throughout, but was well cared for. I took her home for a detailed cleaning and inspection prior to a short trip to the range to see how she shoots. On that end of things, I will say, I'm not disappointed at all. She's a beautiful shooter, hitting point of aim at 10 yards or maybe a hair low with factory loaded 124gr 9mm Luger loads (not NATO spec ammo). She groups beautifully, and is a joy to shoot.
Honestly, it's apparent as to why Beretta, and Smith and Wesson (I think, in the develoent of the 39) borrowed elements from Walther's design, it's absolutely fantastic, albeit a little more complicated than necessary.
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Next, on Sunday I picked up a 1944 Mauser produced Walther P.38. She's all numbers matching with no import marks, so I suspect she was a war bring-back. There's the initials GWF lightly scribed into the right grip as well, adding further suspicion, as the Mauser 1914 that my grandad brought home with him from the war, along with practically everything else he had, was adorned with his initials. The only non-matching parts were the magazines, one of which had a non-matching serial number and Walther factory inspection stamp, the other just the Walther factory inspection stamp.
This P.38, I suspect, has probably not been fired in quite a long time. She was pretty filthy with gunk and dust built up in the exposed nooks and crannies throughout, but was well cared for. I took her home for a detailed cleaning and inspection prior to a short trip to the range to see how she shoots. On that end of things, I will say, I'm not disappointed at all. She's a beautiful shooter, hitting point of aim at 10 yards or maybe a hair low with factory loaded 124gr 9mm Luger loads (not NATO spec ammo). She groups beautifully, and is a joy to shoot.
Honestly, it's apparent as to why Beretta, and Smith and Wesson (I think, in the develoent of the 39) borrowed elements from Walther's design, it's absolutely fantastic, albeit a little more complicated than necessary.
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