spacecoast
New member
Starting a thread for you to display pictures and descriptions/history of pistols and revolvers you know were manufactured during wartime or were otherwise carried/used in wars. My submissions are below, with more pics of one of the Lugers at the bottom:
From the top -
1. Colt 1860 Army - this is a low serial number .44 caliber percussion revolver (625x) dating from 1861, marked US on the trigger guard under the serial number. This one has the 4th screw on the frame for the attachment of a longer stock. The action works well but the gun has no signs of a cylinder scene and may have been polished in the past. I haven't shot it but have thought of doing so.
2. Colt M1917 - .45 ACP revolver produced late in the war (March 1918, serial #204xxx, US Army serial #49002 marked on butt). While intended for use with moon clips, the cylinder is bored so .45ACP rounds will headspace on the case mouth. Due to production quotas during the war, this gun is not finished or blued nearly as nice as earlier and later Colts. I don't see much if any evidence of hard use or otherwise being issued or carried.
3. 1908 Bulgarian Contract DWM Luger - this 9mm pistol has a very interesting history. Manufactured around 1911 in the second phase of 5,000 pistols in the contract (10,000 total). This model is has some unique features, such as the Cyrillic writing on the extractor (which also serves as a loaded chamber indicator) and under the safety lever. The lanyard loop on the butt is also unique to this model of Luger, as is the Bulgarian crest on the toggle and the DWM logo inscribed on the chamber (on the toggle in all other Lugers). The guns delivered under this contract were used very hard in both Balkan Wars (1912-13) as well as in WWI and even WWII (and most show it). There are very few intact numbers-matching survivors, perhaps fewer than 1% of the originals, as many/most of them were broken up and used for parts. I have the sales receipt for this one when sold through a now closed Detroit gun shop in 1968 to a now-deceased relative.
4. 1918 over 1920 DWM Luger - this is a refinished numbers-matching 9mm shooter with military-style chamber proofs. Manufactured and presumably issued in 1918, restamped 1920 after the war by the Reichswehr.
5. Erfurt Luger - produced somewhere from 1914-18 (would like to pin it down better as the chamber date has been scrubbed), this 9mm also has military-style proofs and a mismatched barrel and trigger bar serial #. Also used as a shooter.
6. Spreewerk P38 - this 9mm pistol dates from May 1943 and is in nice original condition with all numbers matching and correct grips. I'd love to shoot it but haven't had the nerve yet to do it.
I also have another Colt 1860 Army from 1863 and an 1864 Remington New Model Army, both of which certainly could have been used during the Civil War, but neither are martially marked.
From the top -
1. Colt 1860 Army - this is a low serial number .44 caliber percussion revolver (625x) dating from 1861, marked US on the trigger guard under the serial number. This one has the 4th screw on the frame for the attachment of a longer stock. The action works well but the gun has no signs of a cylinder scene and may have been polished in the past. I haven't shot it but have thought of doing so.
2. Colt M1917 - .45 ACP revolver produced late in the war (March 1918, serial #204xxx, US Army serial #49002 marked on butt). While intended for use with moon clips, the cylinder is bored so .45ACP rounds will headspace on the case mouth. Due to production quotas during the war, this gun is not finished or blued nearly as nice as earlier and later Colts. I don't see much if any evidence of hard use or otherwise being issued or carried.
3. 1908 Bulgarian Contract DWM Luger - this 9mm pistol has a very interesting history. Manufactured around 1911 in the second phase of 5,000 pistols in the contract (10,000 total). This model is has some unique features, such as the Cyrillic writing on the extractor (which also serves as a loaded chamber indicator) and under the safety lever. The lanyard loop on the butt is also unique to this model of Luger, as is the Bulgarian crest on the toggle and the DWM logo inscribed on the chamber (on the toggle in all other Lugers). The guns delivered under this contract were used very hard in both Balkan Wars (1912-13) as well as in WWI and even WWII (and most show it). There are very few intact numbers-matching survivors, perhaps fewer than 1% of the originals, as many/most of them were broken up and used for parts. I have the sales receipt for this one when sold through a now closed Detroit gun shop in 1968 to a now-deceased relative.
4. 1918 over 1920 DWM Luger - this is a refinished numbers-matching 9mm shooter with military-style chamber proofs. Manufactured and presumably issued in 1918, restamped 1920 after the war by the Reichswehr.
5. Erfurt Luger - produced somewhere from 1914-18 (would like to pin it down better as the chamber date has been scrubbed), this 9mm also has military-style proofs and a mismatched barrel and trigger bar serial #. Also used as a shooter.
6. Spreewerk P38 - this 9mm pistol dates from May 1943 and is in nice original condition with all numbers matching and correct grips. I'd love to shoot it but haven't had the nerve yet to do it.
I also have another Colt 1860 Army from 1863 and an 1864 Remington New Model Army, both of which certainly could have been used during the Civil War, but neither are martially marked.
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