Finding a Decent Luger.......

[Killer Bee]

I was going to suggest Retting's also, seems they had a few nice ones last time I was there..

take a hard right just as soon as you enter.. daggers too I believe..

they get mixed reviews but I've been completely satisfied with their service..

they even guarantee their guns for a year! yep, even these!

snagged this Brit for a fair price from them earlier this year.. it's the dogs bollocks!


and still ready to go to work, war, name your pleasure!



15 years ago, a friend brought this to me to dispose of for him.. belonged to his grandpa and I was able to find a good home for it..


I contacted a fellow known as the 'Luger Meister' somewhere in Texas if I remember right.. emailed some photos and he valued it for us..

turned out to be a lower value commercial but still cool for a <$500 gun.. back then anyways..


good luck on your hunt!

[joefrank64k]

Finding a Decent Luger.......

You know this already, BR but don't rush. There are decent deals on good shooters out there, you just have to be patient.

I got lucky getting mine, a BYF 41 bring back. All numbers matching and an excellent shooter. My Uncle (a machinist) traded a guy $25 worth of machining time for it back in 1955.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

You know this already, BR but don't rush. There are decent deals on good shooters out there, you just have to be patient.

That is the sane and reasoned way to acquire such items. I usually go this route:

[onelonehorseman]

It seems like the majority of war time Lugers I see have non-matching number magazines, even when the rest of the gun is all matching.

How much should that affect the value/price?

[tharpo]

An all matching Luger with a non matching magazine is the usual norm. A matching magazine can add $500 to a nice conditioned Luger.
Joefrank- are you sure your gun is not a byf 41 or 42?

Tom

[Killer Bee]

^ yah, I believe police like yours were sequential numbered and military used + for additional mag

the font difference alone is suspect of not originating at the factory..

my bet is someone had only the #2 mag and was not aware of the meaning of the number when they copied it with non matching stamps..

nice gun either way

[joefrank64k]

An all matching Luger with a non matching magazine is the usual norm. A matching magazine can add $500 to a nice conditioned Luger.

Joefrank- are you sure your gun is not a byf 41 or 42?



Tom

It's a byf 41...my P-38 is the byf 44.

[Lexicon Devil]

Slightly OT, but I figured since there was some small talk about militaria, I figured I'd post some stuff that a good friend of mine sent me over from France.

The ribbon is a repro, but the medal is real.


20 Reichsmarks


The lighting makes the helmet's condition better than it is. The leather lining inside is mostly intact, and it's missing the chin strap.


I have a Nazi proofed bayonet in cosmo, but it's packed away in my closet. I really need to put together a display case for some of this, but then again, how do you explain it to visitors?

[omega]

non matching magazines?

It seems like the majority of war time Lugers I see have non-matching number magazines, even when the rest of the gun is all matching.

How much should that affect the value/price?

one reason might be because they remove the magazines from captured firearms to ensure they are not loaded, and the original matching mags get mixed up with the others in the pile

during inspections, they probably had piles of small arms that were captured or turned in after the war, and parts / mags got mis matched.

[Marquand]

Hi Bobby,

I've had great luck with Lock, Stock, and Barrel's auctions on Gunauction.com over the years. While their current crop of milsurp handguns doesn't include a Luger they usually do and you can trust that they will honestly represent what you are bidding on. If you are in the LA/SFV/Ventura area they can also sell you most of their auction items as a PPT if you don't want to pay for transfer to your local FFL.

Here's a link to their current auctions you can save as a favorite search and refer to from time to time. I've bought a dozen firearms from them over the years and have never been disappointed.

http://www.gunauction.com/shop/gunshop/lock-stock-and-barrel/page-1

Good hunting, sir.

[condor]

Guten abend meine freunde!

As one of my few remaining C&R quests, I would like to find a decent Luger, preferably in 9mm. Is it fair to say that you cannot get near anything worth buying for less than $1500 - $2000? I would even settle for a post war imported version, but of course a pre or early WWII is more interesting. I do understand the design is somewhat fragile, so I'd probably never shoot it.

I would appreciate any commentary or leads from the board. Luger pics are always welcome too. I do not expect anything collectible to come cheap, I just don't want to get fleeced either..

Herr Bob

It ain't a 9mm, but it's worth a look...

https://auctions.thegunrunner.com/lots/view/1-5IQR9/luger-190624-bern-30-cal-auto-military-pistol-4-34-slender-barrel-swiss

[onelonehorseman]

one reason might be because they remove the magazines from captured firearms to ensure they are not loaded, and the original matching mags get mixed up with the others in the pile

during inspections, they probably had piles of small arms that were captured or turned in after the war, and parts / mags got mis matched.

That makes sense. I suspect that also, in service, the soldiers and armorers may not have taken great care to keep original mags with guns.

At any rate, I haven't seen many with matching mags.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Here is a great clip from BoB involving a Luger:


The dignified manner in which Major Winters treats the Wehrmacht Colonel in allowing him to keep his sidearm (Luger) was a smart tactical move, no matter how he felt about the Germans. The good will gesture could go a long way with a high ranking officer who presumably held influence over the sentiments of scores of surrendering German troops.

Even though there was definitely a post-war insurgency of die-hard nazis who conducted guerilla attacks against occupation forces, it would have been much larger if the allies went out of their way to humiliate the surrendering Germans.

I was wondering if Maj. Winters would have allowed the German Colonel to keep his Luger if he had been Waffen-SS instead of Wehrmacht....

[zinfull]

German officers had to buy their side arms and they mostly the smaller .32s.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

German officers had to buy their side arms and they mostly the smaller .32s.

Mostly what?