Luger on gunbroker.

Ron Wood · 04-26-2009, 11:29 PM

The write up is correct, 1908 Bulgarians were made in two series 1-5000 and 1C-5000C. Actually, 1908 is a misnomer as the guns were contracted for and delivered in late 1910/early 1911. They were relatively unknown to collectors (even Harry Jones knew of only two examples when he published his book in 1959) and they were labled 1908 because they resembled the 1908 models without a stock lug. The safety marking is Bulgarian and Russian. It is the word for "FIRE". It is the same word in both languages and being pre-1917 the Cyrillic alphabet was the same in both languages. Further, the Bulgarian Lugers departed from the normal safety marking in that when the marking shows on any other Luger, the Luger is on safe (GESICHERT), but on the Bulgarians (and Russians) when the marking shows the gun is ready to fire.

I doubt that the mis-matched parts are the result of an arsenal refurb (notice that in addition to the barrel and extractor, the sear bar is also #72). There were a bunch of these guns brought into the US in the '60s, reportedly many of them in barrels and many in not very good condition. The good ones and as many that could be assembled into functioning pieces were sold through Ye Olde Hunter and other dealers (for about $39.00 as I recall). Many of the parts were sold off seperately and are found on all manner of shooter Lugers to this day. They are really neat and unique Lugers and, even in the condition of this one, quite collectable.

Michael Zeleny · 04-27-2009, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Wood

The safety marking is Bulgarian and Russian. It is the word for "FIRE". It is the same word in both languages and being pre-1917 the Cyrillic alphabet was the same in both languages. Further, the Bulgarian Lugers departed from the normal safety marking in that when the marking shows on any other Luger, the Luger is on safe (GESICHERT), but on the Bulgarians (and Russians) when the marking shows the gun is ready to fire.

Not quite. The exposed ОГЪНЪ does indicate the safety lever position for FIRE in Bulgarian spelling. But the Russian spelling would be ОГОНЬ. These Wikipedia pages explain the roles of the hard and soft signs in Cyrillic alphabets:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_sign

04-26-2009, 11:29 PM	#1
Ron Wood Moderator 2010 LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Santa Teresa New Mexico just outside of the West Texas town of El Paso Posts: 7,054 Thanks: 1,128 Thanked 5,294 Times in 1,731 Posts	The write up is correct, 1908 Bulgarians were made in two series 1-5000 and 1C-5000C. Actually, 1908 is a misnomer as the guns were contracted for and delivered in late 1910/early 1911. They were relatively unknown to collectors (even Harry Jones knew of only two examples when he published his book in 1959) and they were labled 1908 because they resembled the 1908 models without a stock lug. The safety marking is Bulgarian and Russian. It is the word for "FIRE". It is the same word in both languages and being pre-1917 the Cyrillic alphabet was the same in both languages. Further, the Bulgarian Lugers departed from the normal safety marking in that when the marking shows on any other Luger, the Luger is on safe (GESICHERT), but on the Bulgarians (and Russians) when the marking shows the gun is ready to fire. I doubt that the mis-matched parts are the result of an arsenal refurb (notice that in addition to the barrel and extractor, the sear bar is also #72). There were a bunch of these guns brought into the US in the '60s, reportedly many of them in barrels and many in not very good condition. The good ones and as many that could be assembled into functioning pieces were sold through Ye Olde Hunter and other dealers (for about $39.00 as I recall). Many of the parts were sold off seperately and are found on all manner of shooter Lugers to this day. They are really neat and unique Lugers and, even in the condition of this one, quite collectable. __________________ If it's made after 1918...it's a reproduction

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