So I made it to the range with the pistol after replacing the recoil spring. The previous recoil spring had lost a lot of tension to it which I discovered after removing it. With the new spring in place the pistol seems to act a lot more crisp. With that said I chambered the Winchester ammo and found that it did the same thing. After clearing the weapon I tried to chamber it again and as soon as the toggle snapped shut the weapon fired and attempted to load another round which it failed to do. I then cleared that obvious malfunction and cycled it yet gain this time there was no premature firing but the round clearly went once again fully into battery and the extractor resting behind the rim of the bullet case. I believe at this point it's pretty much going to be a barrel change. So do you guys agree with me? I was able to locate an nos barrel from dwm for around $80.

My further question is what will this barrel change do to the value of the gun? Should I change it or potentially sell it and inform the new owner of its problems ? I would really much rather have an s/42 or something from that ww2 era then one that predates it

Drew,

If the Luger is all-matching and decent shape, the new, mis-matched barrel would relegate it to shooter category. But as a functioning shooter, mostly matching, and decent shape, it would still likely approach $1k in value, give or take. $80 for a NOS DWM barrel sounds like a smokin' deal. If you can live with the bottom line after all is working again, then go for it!

If your sights are set on a WWIII vintage, then probably best to pass it on to a good home while you're looking for that Mauser-made version. Unless you're stuck on the war history aspect of it, you should also consider one of the 70s Mausers, in which you'd encounter optimal metallurgical characteristics, and likely a gun that is very like new, and no worry about breaking a numbered small part.

I don't ever want a WWIII vintage weapon of any kind.........

I currently have severAl vintage ww2 weapons

Drew:
I'm trying to grasp your problem here.
First of all, was your trip to the range followed by a trip to the laundry? Having it fire on releasing the toggle would have scared the ****out of me.
So you released the toggle and it fired? Now, with an empty gun, does it release the striker when you snap the toggle closed? I'm having trouble understanding how premature ignition would be a barrel issue, as it sounds distinctly left side to me.
Then once it closes on a loaded (or dummy) round the extractor is behind the rim, not in the rim? But the toggle is completely closed, no gaps?
So you think that the shoulder in the chamber is too deep, letting the loaded cartridge seat too deep into the barrel?
Thanks for your clarification(s).
Another option to re-barreling would be sleeving.
dju

A too deep chamber would not be a factor in the gun going off upon toggle closure. You have a sear/firing pin interface issue here, not a chamber problem, at least in this specific case.

I have repaired the firing problem since then. The main problem I have is exactly the bullet chambers too deep into the barrel possibly because the shoulder is worn or modified. Who was it on here that changes barrels with supplied barrels?

Could it possibly be a 9x21mm conversion from the original 9x19mm, (although I don't think 9x21mm would fit or function in the magazine)?

Is there any dicernable shoulder to the chamber?

Wow. You don't even have to Search - there are several threads in this sub-forum on it... :thumbup:

Neither do I!! But I'll leave the typo intact in hopes that it helps prevent such a thing from ever happening...

Ha! I too missed that the first time around! :D

What's that old joke..."I don't know what weapons WW III will be fought with, but WW IV will be fought with sticks & stones"... :eek:

IIRC, Albert Einstein said it... no joke.

Check with GT (Gerry Tomeck) on the Forum for new PO8 barrels and installation. TH

Or if the barrel is matching, consider relining it.

The barrel is not a matching barrel so changing it would be a bad thing I guess

So I picked up an unmarked dwm barrel. Cost was about 93$ hopefully this will solve the problem and I can actually shoot this gun properly for the first time

Have you talked to GT concerning the problem that you have with the bbl. that is on the luger? The reason that I say that is that I had an aftermarket 5in bbl. on a 1939 receiver that a "bubba-smith" screwed up royally when he tried to headspace it for me. The chamber ridge was junk after he finished!! GT removed the bbl. and machined back the bbl. flange and shortened the chamber end of the bbl. and recut a new 9mm chamber in the bbl. It looks fantastic!! I hope to get it to the range soon, but have tried it with dummy rounds with great success.

GT is also you man if you want the bbl. changed out for another bbl. Just trying to give you some options to get your Luger up and running.

Drew,
What part of Texas are you in? If near the Houston area, I can check the headspace for you, and/or change out your bbl..
Hugh

I'm actually in Houston on the west side. I'm pretty sure the head space is bad since no matter what round I get it loads fully into the breech. How much to change out the barrel and how long?