Looking for a shooter.

[Levallois]

Evening folks,

I am new here and was very glad to find the forum. I've finally want to get a Luger. I collect many brands of guns that I don't shoot, i.e., Winchester 1876s, Broomhandles, S&W Americans, etc., but I've always wanted a Luger to shoot. They are just too neat not to. Could someone recommend a model to look for that would make a good shooter? I thought the Stoeger Stainless American Eagles would be the ticket until I read about them in another thread. I'd appreciate any help. Thanks!

John

[Pete Ebbink]

Hi John,

Welcome to the Forum !

It might help if you let members know what Luger era (i.e. WWI/Imperial, Weimar 1920-early 1930;s, WWII/3rd. Reich, or post WWII era) you are interested in for a shooter and a price/budget range...

[Dwight Gruber]

John,

Welcome to the Forum.

Lugers are indeed terrific to shoot, and you have asked a question to which you will receive a variety of answers. Here's mine.

Go for a gun in 9mm. Ammunition for .30 Lugers is just plain too expensive and hard to come by.

Look for a Mauser-made (WWII) P-08--toggle designations will be S/42, 42, or byf. Do not seek out a pristine sample. Exterior finish which is only fair--worn, pitted, scratched or dinged, poor or replaced grips--will not harm the gun's shooting qualities. If you want a superficially better-looking Luger to shoot, find one which has been reblued. A WWI DWM which meets these qualifications will suffice as well.

Oddly enough, barrel condition is not a primary concern for shooting--Lugers are inherently extremely accurate-shooting guns, and very often barrels which are worn or pitted will still shoot accurately.

Do try to find a gun with all-matching parts within the confines of the recommendations above. This will give you the greatest assurance of owning a Luger which will operate properly.

Lugers have a reputation (mostly not deserved) of unreliability and jamming. The simplest solution to this problem is to use only modern, after-market magazines. I use Mec-Gar with complete reliability. When you shoot, be sure it is with a firm hold--Lugers respond very poorly to 'limp-wristing'.

The goal should be to find the best-condition, not-collection-worthy Luger you can, while spending less than about $600. When you locate a candidate gun you can count on the correspondents on this Forum for good advice. You might post your want on the "Lugers Wanted" forum here.

You will probably find a lot more good information by reading posts in the "Shooting and Reloading" forum, and perhaps doing a search on "shooting" and "shooters".

One additional thing you should look for is a good, Luger-savvy gunsmith in your neck of the woods. Lugers are a unique design, and a gunsmith who is not particularly experienced in their care and operation and repair can do more harm than good.

Good hunting, and good shooting.

--Dwight

[Edward Tinker]

Good points Pete and Dwight,

John welcome to the forum!


Recently I mentioned to a member that a shooter could be many things, and after trading e-mails back and forth, I found he was looking for a much nicer one than usually offered for a "shooter" price. So point is, be aware what a shooter price brings, compared to a low-end collectable or better gun.


Ed

[Levallois]

I appreciate the replies! I wouldn't want to ruin the collector value of a Luger by shooting it. Other than that, I'm pretty open to suggestion. I've always had a thing for older firearms but some were not made with modern steel and so can become unreliable and even dangerous. I don't know if this is the case with some Lugers?

I really like the look of the 6" barrel on what I've seen referred to as Navy models but I need to read, read, and read some more before I am comfortable. I like the idea of WWI era Luger but again wouldn't want to ruin one. A genuine used or worn finish is ok, so is a refinished pistol, but pitting, etc. is something I really want to avoid if possible. I know this has nothing to do with shooting but it would bother me - the Luger is such a beautiful design.

I'd like to keep this under a grand if possible, but for a really special example, I'd go more. I'll do the search for shooters to get an idea what other folks are looking at. Thanks again!

John

[Rod WMG]

I have a Mauser navy commerative. I love the longer barrel, hate the grip safety. Everything's a trade off. Good luck in finding exactly what you want.

[Pete Ebbink]

John,

You might try Tom Heller a member of the LF known as "LugerDoc". Tom's email is listed in our "Links & Resouces"section along the black, left side of the homepage.

I bought a very nice 6" (non Navy) 1920's commercial shooter in .30 cal and a very nice 8" (non Artillery type) 1920's Swiss commercial shooter from him about 2 years ago. Both cost me under $ 850 each 2 years ago and they are beatiful guns that are great fun to shoot.

Although the .30 ammo is more expensive, I like the shooting sensation of this round more so than the 9 mm. It has a nice "compact" recoil in .30 luger caliber.

Here is a photo of my 6" shooter. It is considered a "shooter" because of the barrel replacement an the Italian grips I put on them from the 1960's (I have the original, matching grips in safe keeping...)...all other parts match and finish is original.

[Dwight Gruber]

Originally posted by Levallois
I've always had a thing for older firearms but some were not made with modern steel and so can become unreliable and even dangerous. I don't know if this is the case with some Lugers?

John

Lugers are a modern, high-quality, military-grade weapon made with the finest materials (German steel) available at the moment. That being said, it is useful to remember that they are 60-100 years old, sometimes hard-used, and closer to the end of their operational life than the beginning.

Lugers are by and large reilable, and under normal circumstances not dangerous. They will, however, occasionally show their age in annoying ways. Do a search for "broken parts survey" to give yourself a bit of advance preparation.

--Dwight

[Levallois]

Ok, it doesn't have to be a Navy - a 6" commercial or any other model with a 6" barrel would be fine. This a good example of how not knowing the terms has already got me into trouble.

Pete. your 6" commercial is a beaut. - I like the holster too. I saw a photo recently of a cowboy circa-around the Mexican Revolution that had a Luger in a cowboy double-loop rig. I wonder how many cowboys used a Luger?

John

[Pete Ebbink]

John,

Any chance you have access to that photo that you could scan and post here on the Luger Forum ?

The 1910 revolution date coincides with the time frame a few luger authors indicating some lugers went to Mexico...

I do not think it is known for sure if it was a "contract" purchase through governmental channels or just some private commercial luger sales.

Seeing the photo you mentioned would be great...!

[Levallois]

Peter,

I will try to find it again I wasn't looking for Lugers per se at the time that I saw it. I have stacks and stacks of stuff but I'll give it my all - haven't been organized in decades.

John

[Edward Tinker]

John, I would love to see this, hi resolution if you can? In a book or??




Ed

[Levallois]

Ed,

I'll start looking tonight.

John

[Edward Tinker]

John, I won this on e-bay a year or two ago, and shows a 1900 luger in Yellowstone

[Levallois]

Ed,

That's a great photo!

Pete and Ed,

I found my photo and the cowboy in question. The good news is he's a Sheriff and he's clearly wearing a Luger in a holster. The bad news is there is no mention of the Mexican Revolution and it's not dated. I'm not sure where I got that unless I was thinking it looked like it dated to around 1911-1923. A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

It's in "Guns and Gunfighters" - 1982 - no author - From the the Editors of Guns and Ammo - page 205.

If you are still interested, I'll try to scan it somewhere and post it here - this may take a while as I don't own a scanner.

On another note, I found out there's another photo out there in R. L. Wilson's book "The Peacemakers:Arms and Adventure in the American West" - 1992 - page 199. I'll look at the gun show this weekend for a copy.

I've got some feelers out for photos of Lugers and the Mexican Rev., so we'll see.

John

[Dwight Gruber]

John,

These photos relate to a simmering interest I have, so I will be glad to see them.

--Dwight

[Steve Richards]

I will add another voice to the pot.

My two stainless steel guns are nice to shoot. I have a 6" in 9mm and a 4.75" in .30cal. I know many people say that they do not like these but I do.

Dwight is right in .30cal ammo being hard to find. If you reload or can find a commercial reloader in your area, that greatly reduces the cost of this cartridge. That said, it is a wonderfull round to shoot!

Don't forget to check for a Mauser from the 1970's. A long barrel can sometimes be had within your price range. Check Simpsons in the Links & Resources section.

And don't rule aout being just plain lucky at a show. Collectors will pass up a mismatched gun that will be a great shooter. That is how I got a couple of mine.

Welcome to our little on-line insane assylum.

Steve

[Dwight Gruber]

John,

Take a look at this weekend's Rock Island Auction item http://www.rockislandauction.com/auc...hp?LotNum=1049 It is a totally bogus, made-up Navy, but the catalog value is in your ballpark.

--Dwight

here's another http://www.rockislandauction.com/auc...hp?LotNum=1050

[Steve Richards]

I looked at Simpson's site and the prices of Mauser Parabellums have gone up about 30% in the couple of years since I bought mine. They are still great guns and a way to get a "new" Luger.

Steve