Aluminum Bottom Mag Marking on Early "v" Suffix DWM Mags

[Yakman]

Don, I'll agree with you and Ed as plausible. However, with all due respect, without further explanation I can't see what led either of you to your like opinion.

Up to this time, 1930, there had only been one German manufacturer of Commercial Luger Pistols, DWM. There would, of course, have been no government dictate as to how Commercial magazines would be marked, only a company's internal policy. Commercial contracts excepted. Directives ordering the Reichswehr or Police to change from wood bottomed to aluminum bottomed magazines or using up wood bottoms before going to aluminum would not pertain to DWM because it had no government contracts. DWM could do as it wanted in that regard.

A contract DWM did have, however, is one with A. F. Stoeger for 125 Luger pistols (Ser# 400v-524v). The pistols probably came to Mauser in the white; they were Crown/N (c/n) proofed, serialized, and with at least one serialized, aluminum bottomed magazine. This is according to Hallock & Kant (H&K), page 650. Terms of their contract, other than how the third line was to be marked on the pistols, are not known.

Reading H&K, it is easy for one to conclude that most Mauser Commercials have serialized aluminum bottomed magazines, rarely are any left blank. (The only ones I see that are apparently purposely left blank are in the Mauser Swiss Model serial range 1872v-1919v, and an unexplained Swiss Model "s" suffix block.) That covers "v" to "y" suffix as well as what H&K calls "Late-War-Assemblies", those pistols assembled after 1942 for various reasons, as having serialized magazines. On-line sellers are another source when looking for Mauser Commercials with numbered mags to compare. All the Commercials I can find have numbered mags. My records over the past 60 years show me having at least 10 Banners, but none that one might call purely Commercial, that is, not police or military accepted, so mine are no help to me. Therefore, I'm asking the Forum for reasoned opinions.

Even Mauser's "06-34 Swiss Model", delivered in several batches over several years, came with wood bottom, plain aluminum bottom, and serialized aluminum bottom magazines, pretty much in that order. When have Swiss Lugers been seen with serialized mags, Commercial pistols at that, other than from Mauser? According to H&K, one has been reported as having an aluminum bottom marked 7,65m/m, along with several others having Kal 7,65 marked 120mm barrels. There is precedent, coming from Mauser, for serialized and for 7,65 marked aluminum magazines. I would doubt the one reported 7,65 mag bottom is unique. Of course, there is always the possibility that the mag is not original to the gun.


Given the strong probability that Mauser assembled 23v with an aluminum bottomed magazine rather than the one with wood bottom with which it came to me, I don't think it's a stretch to explore the probability that Mauser might have included a serialized aluminum bottomed magazine. As far as Mauser was concerned, they had precedent with at least the 125 A. F. Stoeger pistols.

I'm not arguing 23v was assembled with an aluminum bottomed magazine. I don't know what it originally came with, but I strongly suspect it was aluminum. I think it could easily have been numbered as there was precedent, and as serializing commercial magazine bottoms very soon became Mauser's practice.

All I'm wanting to do is put a proper magazine with this unusual early Mauser assembled Luger pistol.

As for my opinion for an aluminum bottom mag, I make reference to H&K, Table 19.03, page 279; Table 19.03, Exceptions, page 280.

Thanks, Jack