P38 Question

[pterrell]

I won a P38 auction and it seemed like a pretty good deal to me. The only thing that confuses me about it is that there is no "P.38 (manf)" marking on the front of the slide. It has waffenamts and the numbers all match, but that's the only thing that's off about it to me. Near the end of the war did they stop fully marking them?

Either way, I think it will make a fine shooter for my purposes.

Thanks in advance.

[tnlrat37]

A lot of P38's were pieced together, even with fake matching serial numbers to demand higher prices. Check out the P38 forums, those guys know everything. I found out a lot about my dads Walther ac44 there.

[Rogerbutthead]

Could it be a Walther HP? Can you post a pic?

[pterrell]

[Rogerbutthead]

I am wondering if the slide has been heavily buffed and the "P38" and the "ac" and year mostly removed. The "9674 k" seems partially removed.

[pterrell]

I was noticing that too. My guess was that it had an import mark and whoever purchased it buffed and/or ground off the import mark as well as all the other markings on that side. The serial number looks laser engraved to me. However, if you look close at the other side of the slide you can see proof marks.

It will be interesting to see what it looks like when I actually hold it in my hands but at $500 + S&H, I'm not terribly upset.

[003]

http://www.p38guns.com/

Click the link to learn all about P-38's.

[pterrell]

http://www.p38guns.com/

Click the link to learn all about P-38's.

I don't see anything in there about a blank slide

[zinfull]

Looks like a "ac41" that has been buffed and reblued. It has post war grips and should be a good shooter. Nice buy for $500 otd.

[pterrell]

Looks like and ac41 that has been buffed and reblued. It has post war grips and should be a good shooter. Nice buy for $500 otd.

Out of curiosity, what tells you that it's an ac41 vs something else?

[zinfull]

Ok I am incorrect on the 41 and it is a AC42, AC 41 quit in the j block. The location of the ser number on the slide and the eagle over 359 stamp make this a Walther pistol. The early P38 did not have a hump for the trigger pin and the ejector slot had a extended smaller groove, which yours does. This places the gun prior to AC43 g block. The earliest AC had most small parts stamped with the e/359 which was stopped in AC42 2nd variation b-k blocks. I do not see stamps on the trigger or trigger bar. If you disassemble the gun and the small parts are not stamped and the barrel does not have a diameter stamped then it is a AC42. Just for your info at the time of printing, 1999, the reverence book had the highest reported k block AC 42 as 9197 k. Therefore you have a AC 42 k block P38 built by Walther in December 1942.

[pterrell]

Thanks Zinfull!

Is there a list of good reference books I can find somewhere for stuff like this? I'm building a nice collection and should learn more about all of it.

[zinfull]

http://www.p38guns.com/

Click the link to learn all about P-38's.

This is the best thing you can starting out collecting P 38's. Read the forums and learn. There is technical page with a list of features and what dates have them, it also rates the rarity of pistols variations. If you decide to get into it big time buy the three volume set "The P.38 Pistol" by Buxton.

[C&Rtrader]

pretty sure those grips are post war...great guns though