German Lugers

D

DAKODAKID

New member
Does anyone here have any experience with German
Lugers??????
How do they shoot????
My Father-in-law has 4 old German Lugers that
he is going to give to my wife and me...
Pre-WW1 and WW2 vintage.
He said he even has a "snail drum" 32 round
magazine.
I believe Luger invented the 9mm cartridge.
Any help would be nice
thanks..
 
I know just enough about Lugers to know that when you do get them you will need to get them appraised and insured for full value....you may be getting ready to inherit a very small gold mine (given the cost of gold these days). :)
 
I have one my grandfather got in either WW I or WW II.
I know very little about them. I shot it once, 50 rounds.
All my shots were high, I read later that the fixed sights
are designed for a longer range than I was shooting, about
7 yards. It shot well, I enjoyed shooting it, was about
8-9 years ago.
The show on the history channel had some good info. about
the luger - "Tales of the Gun". Wish I had recorded it,
Interesting history.
I recall the guy at the gun shop said mine wasn't worth a
great deal, partly because the serial numbers didn't match
which is pretty common apparently. Several of the luger's
parts have serial numbers and if they all match as they
did when originally issued, the value is supposed to be higher.
 
The magazine should match too, if original. They also have the sn match on them. Are the original straw colors still apparent? I think the parts are the safety, takedown lever, and some other parts, can't remember which. They should have a gold color to them. My grandfather's unit was the one that took over the Luger plant toward the end of WWII. He told me a long time ago that someone asked their platoon seargent if they could have any Lugers. He said they could take as many as they could carry if they wanted to. One of the guys tried getting a duffel bag full of them. My grandfather was going to get two for his kids, my dad and uncle. But decided against it because they were German pistols and after fighting over there didn't exactly have much respect for anything German. I sure wish he had gotten those though, because they would be mine and my brothers by now!
 
They're certainly fun to shoot. To me, the "feel" in my hand is superior to 90% of modern pistols. However, they are a bit muzzle-light, and the sights are obviously very coarse. But like I say, fun to shoot.

If they are high-grade (NRA 90% or better), the least any one of them would be worth, most likely, is around $600 to $700. If you have matching serial numbers on the holster(s), that adds $100 or more, extra. There are variants from the "plain ol' Luger" which are worth a bunch more than that.

The "get an appraisal" advice is very good.

Have fun, Art
 
I have 1920 Commercial model, the most common of all Luger variants, and I shoot it often. Guns in good condition, with matching serial numbers (the last two digits are stamped on almost every part) are worth anywhere from $300 to the thousands. My gun had a sewer-pipe bore and fading exterior, so I sent it to John Lawson (The Sight Shop, Tacoma, WA) for a rebuild. He rebarreled it with a decent original, although he can sleeve your barrel to preserve the matching numbers, did an awesome trigger job (Lugers are notorious for their creepy, squishy triggers), and reblued and restrawed the exterior. It is a fabulous shooter. Mine is a .30 rather than a 9, but it is accurate and reliable. There are many books about Lugers, so buying one and reading-up will go a long way toward determining your guns' rarity and value.
 
I have a P '08 built in 1938

Do a search on "Luger" and you should come up with it with all the gory details. HTH
 
Get those pistols appraised! Esp the snail drum.

If you are going to shoot any of them, shoot the WW2 vintage ones, possible better metallergy(sp) and more important the firing pin is grooved for gas escape in the event of a blown primer. Learn the proper takedown and maintenance. Ther is a Luger forum somewhere on the web.

Compared to a more modern design, Lugers leave a lot to be desired in regard to sights and trigger pull, but they are fantastic examples of late 19th century design complexity and metal sculpture.
 
Hard Ball, my VOPO/Stalingrad capture mutt of a DWM Luger loves 115gr Winchester Silvertips, with nary a hiccup after 100 rounds at a time, and is exceptionally accurate for an old warhorse. Of course, I had John Martz put a 6" barrel on it, precisely because of that muzzle light feel, (and tail-heavy appearance) that Art mentioned. A new spring kit from Wolff took care of any jams it used to experience. Once I get a decent holster for a 6" Luger, I plan on running it in the local indoor IDPA matches.

http://www.geocities.com/gew98.geo/lugerrightsmallplonk.jpg
 
DAKODAKID, I got my Luger from my grandpa a few years ago. He took it off a German Officer that he shot then snuck it home in the hull of the ship that he came back on. It is an S/42 model with all matching numbers all the way down to the mag. It also has the original holster and as a neat side item, it has the personal info of the officer who had it written inside the top flap.

I diassembled it, cleaned it up and oiled it (after all it had been in grandpas closet for 50 years without being touched!) and then we each put a magazine through it. Did I mention that the magazines were still loaded with the original German ammo? Needless to say, we put that ammo to the side and used some regular FMJs. I found that the ergonomics and balance of the pistol were head and shoulders above anything out there today. The motion of the toggle action is hardly noticable compared to slide actions and the recoil is striaght back, I personally felt the muzzle flip to be negligable. As far as accuracy, I still have the target that we shot. I shot a 6 inch group at 15 yards with it, so that was good enough for me. It did shoot high and to the left, but everything was still on the paper. I am sure that if I had more time to get acquainted with the pistol, my groups would have gotten better!

I have many more expensive guns, but there is no way I would sell my Luger for any amount of money. Too much history. If yours has a story like that, I think that you will find that out too. Knowing the value is nice, but there is something to be said about sentimental value. Just to give you and idea of what these things are worth, the disassembly tool alone is at gunshows for over $60.

Do a search for German Lugers on the internet, I am sure that there is a lot of info on them out there. One of my friends just bought one and he was showing me a site where you could trace the markings and stamps on the lugers. It also had a ton of info.

Enjoy your new pistols! Especially the snail mag! That will be something! I have only seen one and that was in a private collection that was on display in Virginia along with about a half dozen other lugers (I think every luger owner in Virginia has heard about White's Truck Stop!). I can't remember if the NRA Museam had one or not. Also, don't get to upset if the snail mag number isn't matching. I don't think that they matched the pistols out of the factory with sanil mags. - JHP


BTW, here is the message board address somebody mentioned. This might even be the one with the markings list on it, can't remember...

http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/7544/
 
If you're looking for a nice Luger, AIM Surplus has some advertised on their website in various conditions. I ordered one from them a while back, and am very pleased with it, although it tends to be very picky as for ammo. Mine only seems to work reliably with the magazine it came with, but I've had many jamming problems with modern mecgar magazines. AIM's prices are not bad at all.
 
StephenT, glad yours worked out! My friend who bought the luger in my post got two from AIM. One for him and one for his brother. Both of them broke w/i the first week. One broke the firing pin, the other broke the ejector.

Hope you have better luck, I had a hard tiem turning them down, the prices at AIM were GREAT! - JHP
 
beautiful

A friend of mine has one. We went shooting yesterday as a matter of fact and he lugged it with him. He is an older guy. There was a little work done to it sometime closely after WWII. It is gorgeous, it shoots like a laser pointer. My only complaint is that the action was a little quirky. My favorite part about it is the sight. I grew up with an old Mauser rifle and love the sharp, triangular front sight. Lovely pistol!
I was talking to a guy who was selling Lugers at a recent gun show here and I second what the other guys have said about checking the value of the pistols and their magazines. If the serial numbers match they are worth a LOT. I am sure the snail mag is a treasure by itself.
 
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