Finally got my Luger yesterday

Yesterday I finally picked up my Luger pistol (my first, BTW). It is a Mauser, dated 1940. The most pertinent markings are:

*1940 date on chamber, 42 on toggle.

*Last two digits match on all parts I have found, inside and out.

*Right side of chamber has two markings, each winged symbols over 655.

*Next to those is a Nazi eagle over swastika.

*Barrel has a smaller eagle over swatstika on the right side, serial number on bottom, and 8,81 under that.

*Breech block also has a tiny eagle over swastika on the left side.

*Wood grips have only the wings over 655 symbol and a W on each backside, and on the left side also an M. There are a couple other letters which are too faint.


Anyway, I doubt any of these markings are particularly unique, but hopefully somebody can ID the markings and their meanings (outside of what the information on this site already gives out).


I also shot 50 rounds of Winchester 124gr FMJ today, with no functioning problems at all. However, I do not plan on shooting it much at all from this point on as it was extremely hard for me to manage the rather funky trigger pull. The gun appears quite intrinsically accurate, but offhand it is a difficult weapon for me to shoot straight.




http://www.nwlink.com/~dkamm/lugerl.jpg

Right side view.




http://www.nwlink.com/~dkamm/lugerr.jpg

[Frank]

The markings on the inside of the grip indicate they are armorer replacements. They should have the last two digits of the serial number stamped in the wood. They were probably made near the same time as the pistol since both pistol and grips are acceptance marked E/655. The other letters indicate the inspector (I think).

[Dan Clemons]

[Johnny Peppers]

Dana,

Don't know what information you got off the site, but the E/655's are the acceptance marks and the E/swastika is the firing proof. All the grips were not serial numbered, and the E/655 acceptance marks are a good indication that the grips are original to the pistol. Replacement parts did not normally have acceptance marks. If you look inside the sideplate you should find a two digit number that is one digit higher than the first two digits of the serial number. Apparently this was done to be sure that the sideplate got back on the correct pistol after fitting. Mauser changed from the first two digits of the serial number to one digit higher sometime in the late 1938 early 1939 time frame. Anyway, it is a good indication that the sideplate is original to the pistol.

Johnny,


You are exactly right. The inside of the sideplate is indeed one number higher than the first two digits of the S/N. At first I didn't know what to make of that. The finish of this pistol appears original, although I'm not sure of what giveaways there are to look for since I'm more used to looking at 1911s. The finish is worn quite thin on the gripstraps and the high edges of the left side, but otherwise is completely intact over the rest of the pistol. The bore is bright and smooth, and the entire pistol is nice and tight.


I was told on another forum that a possible reason why the mag isn't matching is because German soldiers often swapped magazines with each other for luck. Has anybody else ever heard of that?

[Lonnie Zimmerman]

A great looking pistol that looks proper to me! Congratulations!!


Lonnie

[Orv Reichert]

Boy........that's a new one! I thought I had heard all the possible stories by now?


Orv Reichert

.....if you swap mags with your buddy and he gets shot, do you think he'll want his old mags back?


Thanks for the replies everyone. Not being too up on Lugers it was half knowing what I was looking at, half being in the dark. Good to know I won the dart toss.

Johnny,

He sure has a nice one there!

Do my eyes decieve me or is the trigger on this model a bit heavier than most ?

When I look at my "1906 AE" I seem to get the feeling that the trigger is thinner around its contours.

ViggoG

[Roadkill]

Don't understand about the trigger pull, be more specific. Mine is the most accurate gun I've got. What do you mean by "funky" ?


Roadkill

[Thor]

Many people that first learn to shoot modern handguns do so on guns that have very crisp (not much trigger movement before release) triggers. The can fire them fairly accurate even with a very minor flinch (rapid pull) to release the trigger. When they attempt to fire the Luger, especially offhand, they do the same thing, but with the Lugers long trigger pull, the muzzle waves all over the place will they are moving the trigger to fire it. It is kind of like learning to fire them all over. Most Lugers will keep up or even outshoot most modern day service pistols in the right hands. I hear stories all the time about some old WWI DWM that has half the bluing left out shooting modern day guns and walking away with the prize! Ah.....I love Lugers!! Thor

Yes, the gun has the capability to be accurate. But I had a really hard time grappling with the trigger pull. When I used two hands and was really slow and deliberate I chewed out the black at 10 yards with two magazine loads, but any sort of one-handed shooting was out of the question for me!

[Thor]

You can greatly improve it with training, but switching back and forth between a crisp trigger and a Luger is difficult. It takes lots of practive but can be accomplished if the desire is strong enough. Good Luck! Thor

[AGE]

You can lighten the trigger pull a little by substituting a lighter trigger return spring (make sure the spring isn't digging into the frame, mine was) and smooth it up by polishing the trigger and lever inside of the sideplate and the trigger bar with crocus cloth. Also, the notch where the trigger bar engages the firing pin is the sear. The sear and firing pin angles interlock so that you have to overcome the firing pin spring to release the firing pin. Be sure these mating surfaces are smooth and lubed. I'm planning to try a lighter firing pin spring, but haven't gotten around to that yet. I've reduced my trigger pull from maybe 20 pounds to 6 or 7 pounds by using the lighter trigger spring, smoothing and lubing.


AGE

Thanks for the replies, but I'll probably leave it as-is. I bought it just for having, not really for shooting.