acceptable price for a P 38

J

jsust

New member
Im in the market for a p 38 and basically the price range is all over. my question is what should i pay for one. im not looking for excellent quality nor do i care for when it was made.
 
AC-42 I had and sold last year got me $425. All matching even the one magazine.
Personally I'd not be interested in any late war made firearm for shooting.
Just my OCD and slave made war production. Would you put your best effort into making weapons for the folks that are working you to death?
If you get a P1 with an alloy frame look to see the re-enforcing hex pin is present. Find some replacement recoil springs, I had replaced mine with Wolf brand.
 
I have a good war production P-38 and a pair of Walther P-1's one with a WW2 upper the other a younger police contract. If you want a shooter and don't mind an alloy frame look for a P-1, post war continuation of the P-38. Used by a lot of police departments for years after WW 2. They all shoot the same though the P-1's are a bit lighter weight and are running from mid. $300 to mid. $400.00's last ones I saw for sale around here. Mostly I shoot the P-1's, why risk breaking a nice war issue.

(left side P-1's right side P-38)
 

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I have a nice P1 frame with a P38 slide, I think it is early 1960s from the serial number. Bought it from J&G in 2012 for $349.00 All they have now are WWII P38s and they are more in the $500.00 to $600.00 range. Great pistols, I love shooting mine.

2012-12-03190227.jpg
 
Ya know those things throw brass to the LEFT, don't ya?

The P-38 is my go to gun when the kid on my left is pelting me with .22 brass at the range! :D

For just shooting a p-38, the post war P-1 (same gun, new designation) are probably the best value. Later alloy frame guns might be even cheaper...pardon, less expensive.:rolleyes:

Read a 5500rnd "torture test" done back in the 70s with an allow frame P-38. After it was all done, the only wear was on the finish where the parts rubbed. So, I'd say an alloy frame P-38 should last a while as a casual plinker.
 
The post-war P.1s and P.38s are still pretty good bargains, but, if your budget allows, go for an all steel wartime gun. J&G still has them offered at $579.95.
 
Him Capybara,

You can check the serial numbers but I don't think that pistol is a mismatch. Walther used the P38 marking on its postwar commercial pistols and some have the alloy frame and a Parkerized steel slide.

Jim
 
P38 Cost:

Well, Gander Mountain are asking 799 dollars for used late model ones. My WWII era collector grade P38 with original holster and two magazines cost me $600.00 six years ago. GM are way out of line, IMO.

So I would think you'll find a nice shooter grade P38 for $400.00 to $500.00. Original holsters can bring as much as the pistol itself.

Good Luck hunting and have fun doing it.
 
$330

I bought one postwar P1 from cabelas. It was made in 1975. The overall condition is good to very good. It came with two magazines (all from 1960s) and a nice clean kit. I didn't get disappointed to find out that it had been reworked (by a Germany arsenal). I cleaned and oiled it since it had completely dried out. $330 is not a bad deal and cabelas still has some in stock. Just remember to pick up one with the latest updates (slide and hex pin). There are many P1 in varying conditions hiding in stores like gander mountain with higher price.

I actually brought the second box that cabelas staff showed me but he refused to open a third box of P1 for me to compare. The first box contained a worn out 1960s P1 without the hex pin(same price though).

I haven't shoot it but hope it work fine. I think one postwar P1 under $400 is not outrageous and I am looking for one holster as shown in the Ad.
$_57.JPG
 
I bought a pair of WW2 P-38s from CDNN a few years ago.
They were offering Walther, Mauser & Spreewerke. I asked for Walther or Mauser, all that was left were Spreewerke. Appeared as new,unissued but talk about Rough...Function tested them w/ 2 boxes of 115 gr. UMC ball then put them in the safe. After considering stories (true or not) about slave laborers purposely screwing with heat treating etc. in hopes of causing failures in the field I sold the pair to a dealer for 850.00 and breathed a sigh of relief. No regrets.I'll find a Walther or Mauser when I find one.
 
FWIW, bought a Mauser P38 off an internet auction several years ago for around $300. Auction had around 6 P38s to sell. Mine sold for at least $100-150 less than others, due to someone pinging the metal heavily on front of the grip. Regardless of the pinging, overall the pistol was in good condition and shoots well.
 
I'm pretty much seeing what others have said here - P1s for around $425 or so today. A few years ago I got a 1965 P1 for $325 with 1 magazine. Then I saw a 1959 P38 for $275 that needed work on the decocker, which fortunately was a $5 part. Both have alloy frames with no hex pin. Very nice shooters! I believe the postwar models after 1963 will be stamped P1 while earlier ones are P38.
 
FWIW, bought a Mauser P38 off an internet auction several years ago for around $300. Auction had around 6 P38s to sell. Mine sold for at least $100-150 less than others, due to someone pinging the metal heavily on front of the grip. Regardless of the pinging, overall the pistol was in good condition and shoots well.
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Original numbers matching or force-matched?
 
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