Help with Identifing Markings 1914 P08

[CJS57]

I would like to see pictures of your 1942 Commercial "beater" Luger! That is actually a very rare gun!

[higherauthority]

Originally Posted by CJS57

I would like to see pictures of your 1942 Commercial "beater" Luger! That is actually a very rare gun!

See this is exactly why I came here thank you for all the info guys before I put any rounds through them . I have already learned that my 1914 will remain a collector's piece and will not be fired. The intent was to get it as a collector's piece then buy a later model for a shooter. This 1942 is in rough shape so it was going to be my shooter. From what your saying now I may need to get another for shooter . It's a 5 digit sn with a crown over a "N" STAMPED all over it I will take pics after my interview for the job I already have dam corporate. Wish me luck guys

[higherauthority]

OK learned so much not only about Lugers but photographing close ups tripod works out great it helps to have a better camera than a stupid phone too.

Here are pics of my 1942 commercial (At least I was told it was 1942 can anyone confirm? SN 74320 All matching except magazine. Not as pretty as my 1914 but hey. I’m bummed the previous owner didn't really seem to take care of it. Shame on him. It looks like there was some rust on the barrel and he scraped it off with some kind of abrasive brush (BIG NO NO I want to cry) It shows the crown over "N" the holster smells musty and old and also shows the crown with "N” very hard to see but it’s near the stitching by the left belt loop. You may have to zoom in on some of these pictures to see many of these markings. The mag is what it came with. This shows some military markings. So I am sure it was an afterthought. I really hate people who don't take care of their firearms. There is absolutely no excuse.

So I am curious if this is a rare one and if it is there goes my thought of having this as my beater shooter : ( I guess I will have to get another

[mrerick]

Hi,

Your holster is most likely a reproduction. I'm basing that on the appearance of the leather, stitching and the angle of the belt loops. (I, of course, stand corrected below by Jerry who is the master in this area)...

The Luger is a DWM commercial from the Weimar era. Post WW-I. Double check the caliber. It should not be 9mm Luger, but rather .30 Luger caliber. You'll find that the muzzle has a smaller hole than your other pistol. A #2 pencil should either not fit or fit tightly into it. In the 9mm barrel, the fit will be loose.

It would be very unusual to find a matched 9mm barrel on a DWM commercial pistol. There are other mis-matched parts on it.

The magazine is from just before WW-II. Its base looks authentic. This pistol should have a DWM manufactured wood base magazine.

Marc

[higherauthority]

Hmm thats weird I have some 9MM snap caps and they cycle through both of these with no issues. I have to find a dam number 2 pencil its been a long time since I took an SAT test. lol If the snap fits isnt it a 9MM? I have a walther pp and snap caps for it chanbered in 32 cal and those snap caps are loose in the barrel.

[mrerick]

You can also take a 9mm round, and (at the muzzle end of the barrel) see how it compares to the bore.

Marc

[lugerholsterrepair]

Marc! Reproduction holster? You need more holster lessons Grasshopper...Nothing wrong with this original holster. Other than it needs a light coat of lanolin to keep the surface from cracking any more than it already has. It's a nice one. Likely will have a date near the maker mark under the top lid.

The barrel serial matches the frame..Likely either made in 9MM or refurbished with a 9MM barrel. The toggle pin is numbered 20 and it's my guess this pistol was refurbished by Mauser.

[higherauthority]

Well the 9mm snap cap moch bullet head fints in perfectly and stops at the casing. The 32 cal snap cap will fit all the way in including the casing. So I would say its a 9MM.

Originally Posted by lugerholsterrepair

Marc! Reproduction holster? You need more holster lessons Grasshopper...Nothing wrong with this original holster. Other than it needs a light coat of lanolin to keep the surface from cracking any more than it already has. It's a nice one. Likely will have a date near the maker mark under the top lid.

thats actually a great idea

The only mismatched parts are the mag and the trigger spring with a 33 on it all others have matching sn

Is this really a 1942 ?

[lugerholsterrepair]

NO! Whatever knucklehead told you that..mark him off your list of Luger experts..It is a DWM manufactured pistol. DWM made their last pistols at the end of WW1, 1918. Maybe a few into the weimar era from parts etc but effectively production stopped when the war did.
I am sure someone who knows serial numbers can come close to an actual date of manufacture.

Trigger spring with 33? You must mean some other part. The trigger spring is like a ball point pen spring..it is buried behind the trigger and has no number.

[higherauthority]

The guy who sold it to me said he thought it was a 1942. i can not make out the date on the holster I can only see the word Nuremburg

[lugerholsterrepair]

can not make out the date on the holster ..nor can I. I blew up your photo as they are huge but I could not make out the date. It is a military holster and the date WAS there but lightly stamped and gone into the sueded underside.

One other tip on photo's. Crop them to block out the background..show just what you want to see. Loading huge megapixel photo's like yours leaves out many members who might have opinions because they cannot download them.

One other thing on photo's of small numbers etc. I pick up the pistol and move about the available lighting untill a perfect shot shows up in my viewfinder. Laying the weapon on a table ..even with a stand limits your lighting so much you get photo's that no detail can be seen. Try it you'll like it.

[higherauthority]

Im gonna crop them out since they are linked and not uploaded they will update. I agree that the thread takes forever to load due to large size. I am an administrator/developer myself for a few other forums (NOT FIREARMS RELATED) and I am used to SMF. I know that system inside and out. It resizes them automatically. Vbulletin is great I have to get used to it. Im hoping if I adjust all my pics it will annoy everyone less. I totally understand the frustration of noobs lol

[mrerick]

Jerry, Thanks for the correction on the holster. I certainly don't want to mislead...

I made my comments based upon the non-oblong upper hole in the closure strap, the coarse appearance of the stitching and the lack of an angle to the belt loops, which look almost squared off with the edge of the holster. Didn't have an edge on view to check.

Gotta hit the books on the DWM commercial in this serial range in 9mm.

The sear bar is #33 rather than 20.

Marc

[lugerholsterrepair]

Marc..No harm! WW1 holsters can be a bit different..This one is a little like you say. The loops ARE canted..See the right one way above the hinge? The left is just to the bottom edge? These are a little unusual in that they have a large loop in them too..Stitching size varies a lot on WW1 holsters. Some are made like commercial holsters..seemingly with a dressmakers sewing machine! Tiny thread and close stitching. Most though are like this ..large spacing between holes and a medium to large thread.
WW2 holsters start out with small thread and the closer to 42-43 the larger the thread got! The thread was a linen..made fron the flax plant and is actually pretty weak as modern thread goes by comparison. The thicker/more thread count..2-3-4- it was the stronger.

[higherauthority]

Originally Posted by mrerick

The sear bar is #33 rather than 20.

Marc

Thats my mistake. Everything matches except the sear bar and MAG. I just dissassembled the entire weapon and there is a #20 stamped on everything else. I also discovered all sorts of other markings but all other parts that I can tell have the #20 stamped on them. Thats kind of crazy they stamped just about every dam part. Dam looks like this is now not going to be my shooter

[mrerick]

The other letters and numbers stamped in less visible places are production inspection stamps. They were used to indicate completion and acceptance of production steps along the way to becoming a Luger.

The letters, numbers and symbols were generally associated with individual workers.

Marc

[higherauthority]

So based upon these pics in your opinion would you shoot this commercial version ever. So you think its 1918 production not 1942 like I was told?

I ended up resizing the pics to load the thread faster as suggested.

[lugersrkewl]

I thought the dwms without suffixes were made prior to alphabets beginning in the early twentys.
glazing a resource puts it 820 lugers behind the first one out in 23

[MFC]

DWM continued to produce new Lugers after WWI. Tens of thousands of commercial Lugers were produced and sent to the US and other countries in the twenties and also 1920 and 1921 dated Army/Police military contract Lugers were produced. DWM made Lugers until 1930 when Luger production was moved to Mauser. I believe S#74320 would be considered a 1914 commercial, and is proper with a 9mm barrel. According to Dwight Grubers commercial database it was made around 1915. As Jerry noted, the numbered rear axle pin was added later.

[lugerholsterrepair]

Maybe a few into the weimar era from parts etc but effectively production stopped when the war did. Sorry..Mike is quite correct..I was thinking Military..

Shake 1942 completely out of your mind! This pistol was made decades earlier!

Much better photo's!