Missed a chance to buy a Walter P1 . . .

[Prof Young]

Local range had a Walter P1 in the case. Looked like it was in great condition. Price was $518. By the time I'd done some research it was gone.

Anyone out there have one? What did I miss out on?

Life is good.
Prof Young

 

[rock185]

I like P-38 type pistols in general, and had a P-1 years ago. Unfortunately, the slide soon cracked vertically in the locking block area. Later P-38s, and the P-4s, beefed up this area.

 

[Hal]

My late father in law had a P38 that has been passed down to my brother in law now.
I shot it a few times & wasn't all that impressed with it - except for the single action trigger - which was extremely light. ( I was very impressed with it).
Sadly, the excellent trigger was lost on what was, otherwise a disappointing gun to shoot.
Crude sights & mostly an inaccurate gun to shoot.
It's what I would describe as - adequate for a combat situation, but, for even plinking, not so much.

In all fairness - the gun itself is a war trophy - brought back by someone from WWII. My father in law picked it up for $50 from a guy he worked with at the steel mill. It was probably made by slave labor in some Nazi plant so not a lot of attention was paid to detail.

 

[AK103K]

I bought two P1's back when they first started to flood the market. I think I paid about $250 for each. They came with a couple of mags and a fairly beat-up leather holster.

Basically, they are just a post-war, aluminum-framed P38. And in fact, the one gun I had, had a Walther marked, P38 marked slide on it. It didnt have the dovetailed dot sights the later gun has.

There are two frame versions of them. One with a hex bolt above the trigger guard, and one without. From what Ive read, they added them to strengthen the frames.

If you just want a P38 shooter and dont want to spend what they command these days, then one with the hex bolt would probably be the way to go. I got rid of the earlier gun I had without the bolt, and kept the one that has it.

I dont shoot it a lot, couple of times a year, and it satisfies the need. Havvent had any troubles with mine, and it shoots well.

Back in the 70's, I also had a Mauser marked P38 that an uncle brought back from WWII. Sold that off sometime in the 80's for something else I just had to have. Back then, they were cheap, and I think I got around $150 for it when sold. They are a tad higher these days.

This is the one I kept....

With its issue stocks..

https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/se...1/media/62908007182/medium/1204322505/enhance

And with the walnut stocks that are on it now...

https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/se...1/media/63153531592/medium/1501629403/enhance


ETA: looks like this site is having the same issues posting some things as the one other site I visit that still runs this older out of date software. If the pics arent showing, click the link.

 

[AK103K]

One other thing that I found kind of comical a the time, and convinced me not to buy anything from Cabelas. At the time these guns came in they were all selling in the $250 range pretty much anywhere you went.

I was at Cabelas with my dad looking at a shotgun he had sent in from another store to the "Gun Library".

They had one of the P1's in their case, resting on its beat up holster, and the price was a bit over $500. I was thinking, what the hell? That cant be right.

On the way in, Id seen a couple in the case out of the floor, and I went back out and looked, and they were the price everyone else was selling them, around $250. Same exact guns.

I also noticed the same gun my dad was looking at on the rack, and it was on sale, for about 1K less than they were asking for the gun he was looking at, and that gun was used without any accessories.

I went back in and told the old man to go look at the shotguns on the rack (should have seen the look on the face of the boy trying to sell the gun ).

I then asked the boy, whats the difference between the P1 in here for $500, vs the ones out on the floor? Same look and a kind of grumbling answer that made no sense. In other words, no difference.

If you are perusing the Gun Library, pay close attention and do a little research before you jump on something.

This was Hamburg, Pa by the way.

 

[hikingman]

P1? If you are seeking this commercial model, go for a 90-98% one. They are in good supply, and hopefully the seller is will not gouge in terms of the asking price.