1940 P-08 War Relic info

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by SRE

The firearm this thread is about is in my shop for a replacement part and a good once over. But during it's stay I seemed to really appreciate it and be amazed by it, like no other pistol thats come through my doors. I asked the current owner to sell it to me. After a good week of working on him, he agreed. I paid a premium but I now own my first Luger and that's fine with me.

Gotcha!

From your posted pics, I figure the locking bolt spring was the part that was replaced. This little guy weakens or breaks not infrequently, but luckily it is not a numbered part, which would be more of a disaster to lose.

Your Luger is collectible, for sure, so now you have to decide whether to shoot it or not. Most would urge that it not be fired, an absolute guarantee of its continuing collectibility. The later Mausers are touted for their superior metallurgy, and may be somewhat more robust in this way than earlier ones produced. For this reason, they are regarded well as shooters. However, you may want to pick up another in the shooter category, so you can have the pleasure of shooting one while preserving this one's value. Whichever way you go for shooting a P.08, avoid +p, +p+, or any rounds marked NATO, all of which are too energetic for this pistol's action, bottoming things out until something eventually breaks. Winchester White Box is the consensual go-to round for shooting the 9mm, either 115 gr or 124 gr FMJ.