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1918 DWM Arty Luger information needed
Hi all,
I am new to this forum and for a good reason. I recently aquired a 1918 DWM artillery Luger through a trade and am having a difficult time finding information about this particular year Luger. All of the information I seem to find ends at 1917. The Luger appears to be 100% correct numbers matching on all of the compenents, including the wooden stock. It is in really really great shape with no rust at all, adjustable rear sight, grips are in perfect shape minus a small chip on the left grip. It came in a leather holster with all of the tools like the cleaning rod and little disassembly "T" tool. The holster is dated 1915, and is rather tattered and assume that isn't the correct dated holster for the firearm. Does anyone have any information about the particular year and/or could shed some light on this model for me. I guess I have to ask the million dollar question "what's it worth". Not sure I got the better end of the deal. I don't have any pictures right now, but i could post some tomorrow if they would help. Thanks in advance. Dan |
Well... the trade was for a used snowmobile valued at around $3K. I don't really want to sell the Luger as I figured it would be an investment, I mean the snowmobile will only go down in value, I assume the Luger would go up. I was trying to get ballpark value. Of course value is only what someone is willing to pay for it. It's all relative. Seriously I am curious to know what the differences are between the 1917' & 1918's as there seems to be a whole lot more 1917's out there. The history of the Lugers is really interesting, plus my great grandfather fought against the Germans in WWI.
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Will do. I will take the Pics tonight and post'm up. Thanks!
Dan |
The difference between a 1917 LP08 and a 1918 LP08 is just as you stated "there are a whole lot more 1917's". Estimates of production numbers are 90,000 1917's and 25,000 1918's. All else being equal the 1918 is worth fifty to a hundred percent more than the 1917. If you had traded the machine for just the pistol you would have done well, with a matching stock, etc you did very, very well.
A 1915 dated holster on a 1918 rig is not at all unusual as more LP08 holsters were made in 1915 than any of the five years of manufacture. |
Tac,
I'll have to go back to Lugers 101 to understand this one. An Erfurt??? Mike |
Tac, funny that you say that.... the guy who got my sled destroyed it 2 weeks after he got it. Booze and high performance toys aren't a good mix. Wasn't a huge loss for him as he has 6 or 7 other WWI & WWII Lugers and Mausers. After reading your comments about the lock, I did check it and it was cocked. I did **** it a couple of time I think while the lock was on. I hope I didn't damage it. I did squezze the trigger to unload the spring, I assume storing cocked isn't good for the springs????
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Hi,
This pistol has a sear bar that allows you to draw the toggle back on a gun with the safety off, far enough to extract a chambered round. So you probably didn't hurt it in any way. You can decock it by opening the toggle (with safety off) and gently closing it, you'll feel a point where the toggle 'catches' the sear. Pull the trigger to move the sear out of the way. This will uncock it. |
Tac not like you your far sharper than I am. Its not an Erfurt. But a DWM ( Mauser )
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Geez now you got me nervous about squeezing the trigger. Is there way to check to make sure I didn't damage it by dry firing it?
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By the way I did turn the safety level off before it was dry fired.
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That's a nice lookng Luger. I'll give you two snowmobiles for it... :D
If the firing pin is broken it will likely rattle a little when you shake it (but not always). Do you know how to break it down? If so you can just pull the pin and see. |
No I don't know how to break it down. I was looking for the video on the site to see how to do it. Does anyone know the link where I can find it. Sorry guys I didn't realize dry firing it would turn into a fiasco. Now I definately want to see how to look at the pin. Damn I hope I didn't do any damage.
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Try this...
http://www.lugerforum.com/techinfo.html Click on the "Parts Lists & Disassembly". That will show you what you need to know. |
dgallo, A tempest in a teapot. The likelyhood of all this horrible damage is remote to say the least. If Lugers broke that easily apon cocking or dry fireing there wouldn't be a one around today. It's just a caution to take with a rare collector pistol. Don't lose any sleep over it. Jerry Burney
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DGALLO,
George Andersons along with Jerry Burneys sage comments, I would like to add that your original leather cup that holds the metal nose of the shoulder stock is a very hard find for Luger collectors. Your holster looks OK for an original holster of this vintage. I don't see shoulder straps. Did you get them with your rig? When looking at Lugers I often look at the 'Locking Bolt' first to see if the gun has been messed with and yours looks good. I only see the million dollar chip on the left grip, by the thumb safety, is not so good. But don't let that worry you. You done did yourself proud. Don't worry about price. With the internet and the rarity of this Luger and its accessories, the price is very difficult to pinpoint. Currently, my SWAG would be $5,000. But I wouldn't be surprized if it would currently go for more. The stock and leather elevates the price. Matching mag?? I forgot what you said about the magazine. The manufactured numbers don't really reflect the scarcity of these weapons because so many have been destroyed for a number of reasons over the years. Do not restore or restraw this weapon in any way, it looks to be all original and should be kept that way. As a collector, it would be nice to have a matching dated holster, but its not necessary. Again, congradulations on your purchase. Nice pictures. Big Norm:biggulp: |
I wrote a whole lot more, but it would have been pretty unpleasant reading, so I deleted it. After all, I AM a furriner and a guest on this site, with no vote or opinion that counts for anything in the USA.
tac Keep preaching Tac. Some people need a wakeup call over here. Remember guys: Vote early and Vote often. |
Hey Tak!!! Stick around. I don't care who it is, there is always something new on this and Stills forums to learn. When you stop learning...you die.
Besides, I recently met a British lady whose husband recently died of cancer. While recently over to her house to repair some of her shelves, I noticed a whole bunch of medals on her wall. British and French. I asked about them and she told me that her husband got them while fighting in North Africa as a British tank commander. He apparently has two pictures of himself in a British war museum. One of him with Winston Churchill and another of him sitting on his tank looking at some smoke in the distance that is supposed to be some German tanks burning. I was voluteered to repair those shelves and didn't catch her last name. I think that it was Richardson. She was planning on donating these medals to the British museum. If you want me to, I can get more information. Big Norm |
Eric, a little of topic, how did you get such wonderful closeup, I just bought a new kodak, and mine dont compair, Tks
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Hey Norm,
Unfortunately I did not get the shoulder straps with the gun, I doubt he had them. As far as the magazine goes, are you refering to the clip that slides into the handle? Or do you mean a metal case or someting to hold extra ammo? Sorry to sound so duft here boys, but this is new to me, but the more I read about this Luger the more I like it. I plan on passing this gem down to my son some day when he is old enough to appreciate this weapon and the history behind it. Also another question. How do you recommend I preserve the gun? I know the obvious such as keep it in a dry place and under lock and key, but should I coat it with some type of gun oil or something so it doesn't get any suface rust? I live in New England, so we have hot humid summers and cold ass winters. Thanks all. |
Tak,
Chelsea sounds familiar. That could be because we have a city in Michigan by the same name. She might be in contact with them. My lady friend who volunteered me to do the shelve work will be seeing her today and I requested more information about John William Richardsons (also called "Bill") military background for you. Her name is Dafney (how's that for a good, solid, British, womans name?). Apparently, heroism runs in the family gene pool. She also has some medals of Bills father who fought in WW1. Sadly, she doesn't have any Lugers. I don't know if she has any war pictures. She is a member of the Michigan Daughters of the British Empire and quite proud of her background. So I am sure that her war stuff would be authentic. Send me a message via the forums mail box with your email address and I will give you information as it comes in from Dafney. Big Norm |
dgallo,
first and most important, when you oil/grease your artillary, remove the grips. The oil will saturate the wood, cause the wood to darken and eventually deteriorate. Second, the Luger uses a magazine and nor a clip. A clip is a little metal thingy that holds the ammo by the base of the bullet casing. When loading, the bullets are then slide down the clip into whatever holds the ammo in the weapon. With a magazine, the entire metal casing that hold the ammo is slide into the weapon. For storing your Luger, a large numer of people here use a soft casing from Bore Stores. www.pistoleer.com/borestores This gun case is made from wool, is breathable and is silicone impregnated. You could probably get it at numerous gun shows. For the artillary, it would be the 12 inch case which is size P-4 from Bore Stores. Jerry Burney is the wizzard of leather. He would be much better than me to give you good advice regarding your holster. On which oil/grease to use, everyone here has a favorite. On my better Lugers that I don't plan to shoot, I use Vasoline Petroleum Jelly. But I have been chastized for using that on the forum. I like it because it doesn't wick off onto the gun case while in storage. With a little heat, it softens a lot and becomes easy to wipe off if I decide to show the gun to anybody. Other people here use a pasty oil based substance that I have only seen at gun shows. I forget the name but it is good stuff. All this is if you plan to store the gun for a long period of time and your weather is like it is here in Michigan...very humid or very cold. Well, thats better than hurricans in Florida, floods in New Orleans and mud slides and forest fires in California. If you plan to take this gun out and shoot it. Then just a good coating of oil will do. I have also been chastized on the forum for suggesting car oil. New not used (Hee! Hee!). Others here on the forum have there own personal preferences. Possibly there best oil you can buy is sewing machine oil. You don't have to go that far though. But the most important thing is to keep a good coating on your weapon. Learn how to field strip your weapon. You don't have to know how to totally take every piece off of it off. You can do that much later when you get more comfortable with it. Finally, do not use a screw driver the pry open the 'Take Down Lever' (With great emphasis). Many newbies do that and end up breaking the lever. Put the butt of the pistol in your stomach, then push down on the tip of the barrel for about a quarter of an inch and the lever will move quite easily. Then remove the side plate. When putting the gun back together, look for a metal part on the end of the receiver at the end that looks like a "T". This will fit into a slot on the frame when you slide the upper and lower parts together. Put the butt of the handle onto your stomach and push the tip of the barrel down about a quarter of an inch. the put the side plate into place and then push the 'Locking Bolt Lever' closed. If the metal "T" is not placed right you will not be able to reassemble the Luger. I hope this helps. Have fun shooting and bragging. Big Norm:bigbye: |
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