Stoeger Luger
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new find ... '94ish w/luger logo, new complete unfired
Wow, do not see many of those!-
schutzen-jager
Member
nice - is it one of the ones manufactured in Texas ?
I remember seeing one of those in the cabinet at a gun store back then. Didn't know anything about Lugers then, and still don't, but I wish I had bought it when I saw it. How do you like it?
Larry
Larry
Art Doc
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
I don't even recall this gun. My first pistol around 1970-71 was a Stoeger 22 Luger but I never even heard of a center fire model.
schutzen-jager
Member
they were produced by Mitchell Arms in early 90's - iirc some were branded + sold by Stoeger + could be had in blue or stainless - sales were not very successful + many parts did not interchange with originals -
Stoeger owned the rights to the Luger name , Mitchell could not call his Lugers -
Stoeger owned the rights to the Luger name , Mitchell could not call his Lugers -
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Who made the ones in late 70s, early 80s. I remember they had a heavy barrel target. I’m thinking it was Mauser or some Swiss manufacture. They were very nicely made and priced accordingly. The Stoger 22 Lugers were more of a novelty. They were not particularly durable especially the toggle assembly.
Mauser made imported by Interarms. The Swiss models are known as the 29/70 and the 06 pattern as the 06/73. Very few of the heavy barrel targets were made, they'll set you back a few thousand. The one pictured below is not Interarms marked, probably came back with someone that had been stationed in W. Germany.
schutzen-jager
Member
Mauser produced them - here is an original unused target that was enclosed with every pistol sold -
Attachments
Texas Star
US Veteran
Mauser bought the Swiss machinery.
Texas Star
US Veteran
Mauser bought the Swiss machinery.
I've heard of the center-fires, but when I saw the thread title the 22LR version is what came to mind.
I bought one a few years ago out of pure nostalgia. When I was 8-10 years old I can remember seeing them advertised in Popular Mechanics and wanting one SOOOOO bad!
When I saw one priced right a few years ago I had to have it.
I’m thinking before Stoger picked up the Luger 22 that Erma was selling them and I think they had one in 32auto/ 7.65 called Baby Luger. I don’t remember to much about them cause I was a Gun Snob in elementary school.
schutzen-jager
Member
the Erma's were cheap low quality zinc , pot metal construction - they also made a long barrel .22 in addition to .32 model -
schutzen-jager
Member
Swiss tooling only used in early production - one of Mausers tool + die makers moved here when he retired in late 90's - Mauser found it better to retool then use old methods - iirc Swiss tooling was only used on initial straight grip style frames -
I had a standard short barreled Mauser 29/70 in 9mm and found the quality to be excellent and comparable to early commercial Parabellum Pistolen. I replaced it recently with a long barreled one that I still did not receive but am very much looking forward to test against my 1942 Mauser at the range.
They also made a standard length barrel in 32 auto and 380 auto.
They made 2 different models of 22lr and they were a zymak frame, I can confirm this because I own one.
I assume that was also true for the 32 and 380, though I've never held one to know for sure.
Mitchell's Arms Lugers were made by a Huston Tx firm named Aimco.
Aimco was mainly in the oil rig and related machinery biz.
Michell Arms was the company that had the guns built and marketed them.
Aimco was the company that built the guns.
** The firm of 'Mitchell's Mauser's' has nothing to do with the production of the Mitchell Arms stainless steel Luger pistol nor the later Stoeger Luger pistol.
Entirely different company that dealt with the importation and 'restoration'/refinishing of mostly WW2 arms and reselling them.
That.s another story for another thread! ****
Mitchell Arms was staffed with a number of former High Standard employees.
H/S had gone thru a period of layoffs and changes in management. Lots of people left the company over disputes about where H/S was headed. Many of them were designers, R&D, lower managment, ect.
This Mitchell Arms Co & Luger project started in 1991 or '92 IIRC.
Mitchel also began making a few other stainless steel offerings that looked quite similar to pistols that High STandard made (hmmm..)
That's another story and lawsuit..
Mitchels lugers were primarily investment cast stainless steel parts,,that was 'the way' to built a firearm at the time.
There were some problems,,a Luger is not an easy handgun to make and be a reliable firearm.
Some complaints from collectors of course of it not being exactly like a 'Luger',,well of course it wasn't,,it was the 1990's not 1908. Labor and mfg' were a bit different now.
Making Oil Rig apparatus and making Lugers is quite different especially when it comes to the final finish collectors were looking for.
I recall that there were cracked and broken investment cast parts. Triggers especially for some reason. It wasn't hard to get replacements at the time. But for a new firearm, the word was that they were 'hot and cold' as far as quality.
These pistols were marked 'Mitchel Arms Co ,,mfg'rd by Aimco, Huston Tx',,no mention of it being a 'Luger'.
That Luger trademark name still being a copyright(?) of Stoeger Corp from back in the 1920's when they were sole US importer.
Well a couple yrs later,,maybe 1995?,,along comes said Stoeger Corp and buys the rights to market the pistol from Mitchell Corp.
Now Stoeger changes the markings and plants 'LUGER' proudly on the pistol.
It's still the same stainless steel investment cast pistol made by Aimco in Tx.
Planning on boosted sales from the Luger name alone, but quality now begins to fall pretty quickly.
The worst part was the sloppy polishing. Heavy soft wheel buffing really sunk the pistol IMO.
Poor fitting of the parts,,investment parts need to be machined and fitted. The 'investments' generally give you a good start, but you need to work it over from there.
Many parts lacked anything but what was minimum necessary to make it work. No extra fitting or polishing. Investment cast surfaces were plainly evident on the exterior of many parts.
Poor heat treating started to become more of an issue as parts breakage increased.
On top of that getting replacements was a tough issue.
The shop I worked in at the time decided not to take any of them in for repair any more.
I know that the Stainless steel Michells and Stoegers were made into the late 1990's probably later. I was never interested in them enough to keep track.
I know some people that have one or have owned them and were perfectly happy with them, especially the earlier Mitchel branded guns.
One reported issue was the magazines (often also heard with orig Luger pistols too).
The MegGar replacements have worked very well for me in any original Luger. We used them in repairing them back then and they seemed to work fine.
I still see the pistols around at shops and shows (pre-CoVid) once in a while. Buyers still are leary of them from what I see.
Once you get a bad rap,,it's difficult to shed.
Just like people..
Aimco was mainly in the oil rig and related machinery biz.
Michell Arms was the company that had the guns built and marketed them.
Aimco was the company that built the guns.
** The firm of 'Mitchell's Mauser's' has nothing to do with the production of the Mitchell Arms stainless steel Luger pistol nor the later Stoeger Luger pistol.
Entirely different company that dealt with the importation and 'restoration'/refinishing of mostly WW2 arms and reselling them.
That.s another story for another thread! ****
Mitchell Arms was staffed with a number of former High Standard employees.
H/S had gone thru a period of layoffs and changes in management. Lots of people left the company over disputes about where H/S was headed. Many of them were designers, R&D, lower managment, ect.
This Mitchell Arms Co & Luger project started in 1991 or '92 IIRC.
Mitchel also began making a few other stainless steel offerings that looked quite similar to pistols that High STandard made (hmmm..)
That's another story and lawsuit..
Mitchels lugers were primarily investment cast stainless steel parts,,that was 'the way' to built a firearm at the time.
There were some problems,,a Luger is not an easy handgun to make and be a reliable firearm.
Some complaints from collectors of course of it not being exactly like a 'Luger',,well of course it wasn't,,it was the 1990's not 1908. Labor and mfg' were a bit different now.
Making Oil Rig apparatus and making Lugers is quite different especially when it comes to the final finish collectors were looking for.
I recall that there were cracked and broken investment cast parts. Triggers especially for some reason. It wasn't hard to get replacements at the time. But for a new firearm, the word was that they were 'hot and cold' as far as quality.
These pistols were marked 'Mitchel Arms Co ,,mfg'rd by Aimco, Huston Tx',,no mention of it being a 'Luger'.
That Luger trademark name still being a copyright(?) of Stoeger Corp from back in the 1920's when they were sole US importer.
Well a couple yrs later,,maybe 1995?,,along comes said Stoeger Corp and buys the rights to market the pistol from Mitchell Corp.
Now Stoeger changes the markings and plants 'LUGER' proudly on the pistol.
It's still the same stainless steel investment cast pistol made by Aimco in Tx.
Planning on boosted sales from the Luger name alone, but quality now begins to fall pretty quickly.
The worst part was the sloppy polishing. Heavy soft wheel buffing really sunk the pistol IMO.
Poor fitting of the parts,,investment parts need to be machined and fitted. The 'investments' generally give you a good start, but you need to work it over from there.
Many parts lacked anything but what was minimum necessary to make it work. No extra fitting or polishing. Investment cast surfaces were plainly evident on the exterior of many parts.
Poor heat treating started to become more of an issue as parts breakage increased.
On top of that getting replacements was a tough issue.
The shop I worked in at the time decided not to take any of them in for repair any more.
I know that the Stainless steel Michells and Stoegers were made into the late 1990's probably later. I was never interested in them enough to keep track.
I know some people that have one or have owned them and were perfectly happy with them, especially the earlier Mitchel branded guns.
One reported issue was the magazines (often also heard with orig Luger pistols too).
The MegGar replacements have worked very well for me in any original Luger. We used them in repairing them back then and they seemed to work fine.
I still see the pistols around at shops and shows (pre-CoVid) once in a while. Buyers still are leary of them from what I see.
Once you get a bad rap,,it's difficult to shed.
Just like people..
robertrwalsh
SWCA Member
I own two of the S. S. Mitchell Lugers, one marked Stoeger and one not I believe. I have owned another previously. Quality / function is spotty. Typical luger issues, magazines and ammunition sensitivity. I have also had good luck with MecGar but not much else.
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