First Luger and first Forum !
 

Hi Guys. After more than a week of reading here I now can clean, and I think, call my Luger a Navy LP08. It is a S/42 and has a German eagle mark on it. So I think it was made between 1939-40 but no dates anywhere. All the numbers match ( Ser. # 8773) and has one mag. with a wood bottom. The wood ball is broken into two pieces with one piece missing a chip. My pictures are of no help seeing any detail. So, I am sending a photo copy of each side of the weapon with ALL markings shown by hand. Hope this helps.
I have $1,600.00 invested so all the information (good and bad) and history on this Luger will be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks !!

Sorry Guys, I am having a problem getting the web site to take my attachments. I will keep trying and any help in this area as well is appreciated.

Hello Andy!

IIRC, the LP08 is the artillery Luger... ;)

Attaching the pics isn't hard... :thumbup:

Take pics of the serial at the front of the receiver, the top of the toggle, L&R views, rear sight (whatever it is), any proof marks, any marks on the top of the chamber...and anything else that looks like identifying marks... :D

Thanks,
What do you call a 8" Navy model ? I have the pictures ready, but when I hit the download I get a message that the web is down and to try latter.

Click this link and try the steps...

http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthread.php?t=22994

Where is the rear sight on your 8" Navy Luger??? On the toggle, or on the barrel??? Is it a 2-position adjustable sight???

It is on the toggle and not adjustable. Navy is my best guess at this time. It's tough being on the bottom of the learning curve. I'll try the link.
Thanks

Andy, you can follow the above steps and post pictures; or if needed, send them to me.


it sounds like a mismatch to me, as navy lugers are 6 inch or 4 inch barrels; plus the 8 inch was not matched up with a S/42 toggle. A S/42 would not have a wood base magazine, but be aluminum.

Is it all matching?

Is it all the same blueing?


ed

weimar_lugers@verizon.net

pictures for Andy

Thanks a million Ed for posting the pictures for me!!!

Arty notch in receiver; Erfurt??? The radius of the barrel flange looks too gradual to be made from the Luger blueprints...(Assuming the arty uses the same radius, which the ones I've seen pics of do)...

Front sight base looks like 4" base; blade looks higher than the 4" blade...

Serial stamped into the barrel... :rolleyes:

Looks like a fun shooter; but the price seems...excessive... :(

In the stripped pics, it looks "in the white"...???...

Ed, Please explain " in the white" and how you measure the front sight base to get 4". Would this arrangement have been authorized by the German government at the time ?
Thanks

Er..I'm not Ed (Thank God! :D ) but "in the white" means no finish/blue...

For the front sight base, take a look at the Artillery Luger section; look at the front sight bases...and compare them to a 4" barrel front sight base...(Or my pic below - Red lines in my pic point to the FSB)...

Here's a comparison of my S/42 4" barrel to a repro artillery barrel front sight base...I make the arty barrel FSB ~.090" higher...that's the base, not the blade...

Thanks Postino. Sorry about the Ed thing. Thats great information to have. I would say that the body rates 80 to 85% and the barrel 90 to 95%. Do you think the barrel is a reproduction or done by the Germans ?
A.

Andy, I know nothing about Navy lugers...I've read here that some "Navy" Lugers had 4" barrels and fixed toggle rear sights...The stampings were what determined whether it was a Navy issue or not...but a toggle mounted 2-position adjustable rear sight and a ~6" barrel are considered "Navy" as well...

Closeup pics of those frame markings/stampings will show exactly what it is you have...or what it's not...Drawings are not much help, as there are Lugers out there with false markings on them, being sold for more that they're really worth...A good closeup of that barrel serial is a good idea, too...along with a closeup of the frame serial (to compare fonts and number heights)...And any proof marks on that barrel...

I understand that some Lugers were fitted with long barrels...I have no idea by who or what...but there are some excellent repros...

More knowledgeable people than me will no doubt chime in here somewhere...

It's an interesting Luger...I like long barrels... :)

Andy
In my opinion, you have a luger made up from parts of other lugers. The barrel and the S-42 toggle were never originally together. The barrel was force matched by adding the frame serial number. It would make a good shooter but never a collectible luger. Can you still get your money back? I would place the value around $800 - 900 or so strictly as a shooter. I'm sure my opinion is not good news but maybe you can get a refund or price reduction? Welcome to the Forum and the crazy world of luger collecting. I'm sure others will get in here with their opinions. Bill

Dear Andy, I think the forum members have been reluctant to break the bad news to you,and Bill deserves a lot of credit for taking on this unpleasant task. If you can't get your money back, by all means enjoy this piece as a shooter. It might be a good idea, though, to have the headspace checked by a gunsmith. Regards, Norm

Thanks Bill and Norm. Life can be a b#*@# !! I was just looking for a luger to add to my military gun collection. Now I'm not sure . If the gun came from Germany this way I would keep and shoot it.
Rich, I have more up-close photos of the markings on both receiver and barrel if you think it is still worth looking at.
Thanks to all and any more ideas and information welcome.

A

It is definitely worth posting pics. You may have a Luger that is worth more in parts than as a whole. Knowing what you have is always a good start. :thumbup:

more pictures.

Its nice looking and probably would make a good shooter if you can't get your money back. Don't let this experience discourage you about Lugers; we all make bad buys sometimes. The Luger is a fine collectible and a piece of history that you can hold in your hand. Read about these pistols here and strengthen your knowledge for next time.

Best of luck.

Charlie

Andy -

Take a look at the first pic in hueydriver's thread -

http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthread.php?t=22836

Does your Luger have the crown over M on the left side of the receiver???

In the second pic, you can see that his Navy has the high front sight base, too...

Hi Rich,
No, no letters on the left side. What do you think about the markings on the right side top-forward (4 in a row, new pictures above) ? The two guns do look very much alike !

A.

I can't make them out...Can you take a hi-res closeup and then just crop it to show the marks???

Andy emailed me his proofs blowup; anyone recognize the stamps???

They are WW1 proofs which appear to have been sanded/ground over. Bill

S/42 8"
 

OK, Now the plot thickens. The body of this Luger and all parts in match I think with no question. The barrel we know does not. My question now is according to "Blue Book of Gun Values" The earliest that any S/42 code made was 1934. Did they take WWI Luger's and under commercial contracts turn them into S/42's ?
Anyway, I took the Luger today (that I now call my "long Tom Luger" ) to the range. It shoots like a dream !! I've shot many handguns in my day, but this was a real treat. 20 yards for the first 10 rounds and 8 inside the 8" target circle. A very,very nice shooter.

No... commercials have DWM, Mauser banner, or Kriegoff toggles.
S/42 is the 'military' code for Mauser.

Andy
The toggle on your luger is from 1934-1939. The frame, which has an artillery notch, is from an artillery or an Erfurt from 1914-1918. They were never together originally. The number 73 on the toggles is a number matching the frame but in number only.In the luger numbering sequence the number 73 came up many times. One only needed to find a 73 toggle to go with the frame. It looks from your diagram that the trigger is number 16. Again, if so, a mismatch. For $ 1600 you could get a good collectible or two shooters. I am not trying to be a know it all. I do not consider myself to be a luger expertr. However after collecting them for 45+ years I hope I have obtained some knowledge. The forum is designed to help all of us learn , gain knowledge and hopefully avoid mistakes. I hope you accept my comments in this vein. My final comment if you can get your money back or a reduction in cost do it. Respectfully. Bill

Thanks Bill, As the blind man said "now I see" This is exactly what I was looking for. The truth !! I couldn't agree more with you about the forum. While it might end up being a costly lesson to me, It's one I'm sure to never forget. Hopefully no one else on the forum will either. I hope to get satisfaction with the price and keep the gun. I would like to find a Erfurt 1914-18 toggle to replace the S/42 one. Is finding one a possibility ?

A.

Andy
You could probably find an Erfurt toggle but probably a 73 with difficulty. I would leave it like it is and enjoy shooting it. Toggles run around $300 and would serve no purpose since the barrel is not original. We have all made purchasing mistakes and have learned from them. That is part of the collecting world. Enjoy. Bill