The 08 finally arrived
 

I am very happy with my purchase.

Its a 1918 Erfurt 9mm P08 Luger Serial # 1994

The pictures make it look much better than in person. The finish is worn more than is shown in the pictures.

It is all matching numbers except for the magazine which has no number on it. Would it hurt the value of the magazine to number it with the 1994 serial number on the wood? OOOOps, I looked real close and there is a number on it, in a smaller font and not very deep. Its #1136. Anyone need one that number and have one closer to #1994 to swap for it?

I bought it as a shooter for $800 but it is in much better condition than I expected at that price.

I am new to Lugers but think I may have stumbled into a good purchase on my first one. Its a Christmas present for my wife for Concealed Carry. Its heavy, but very "pursable" and its one of the few SAs that she can cycle with her arthritic hands. With the safety easy to operate I think she can carry it with a round in the chamber anyway.

I'd SERIOUSLY suggest you reconsider allowing your wife to carry a locked and loaded Luger around in a purse. Most Lugers dont have a lot of tension on the safety lever, and it would be all too easy for objects in a purse to shuffle around and disengage the safety. I find it hard to see how she could manipulate a Lugers' toggle easier than a conventional slide, but even so, she'd be much better and safely served with a small .38 revolver.

+1 on what Nukem said. Lugers are for collecting and shooting at the range not for CCW. Too bulky and heavy. 38spcl airweight snubby would be a better fit, no safetys to worry about.

You have a nice erfurt. If you really want to protect your wife, find her something other than a luger. have you ever noticed the nice full flap holster they were issued with? there was a reason for it.

if someone has arthritic hands, i would suggest NOT a double action revolver....

I would suggest a newer small pistol in .380 or 32 acp or if not too much of a blast on her hands, a small concealable 9mm

but a luger is not the best choice as a carry gun and I would not have one for a purse gun. It weighs 3 lbs for one thing

Hi Jim, and welcome to the forum.

I also would strongly recommend that you don't consider a Luger for concealed carry.

As much as I admire the Luger, this design has some inherent issues that make is less safe to carry than modern firearms.

Instead, consider finding a basic pistol safety education class like the NRA Basic Pistol course. When I teach this class, my co-instructors and I bring a variety of modern handguns that are suitable for concealed carry. We let the students inspect them during class, and fire them during the firing range portion of the class.

Everyone has different requirements in a concealment handgun. The very small ones (like the Ruger LCR / LCP and similar pistols) are so small and light that many people have a great deal of difficulty controlling them. This is made worse when someone has arthritis.

If a criminal sees you having trouble managing a firearm, they will quickly take it away from you, and could use it on you.

When we teach our state's certified Concealed Carry course, we also include training and practice with drawing the firearm from a holster, and shooting on target. This is essential knowledge and experience whether your state requires education or not.

Even if you and your wife are experienced with firearms, the courses are a great refresher when you consider starting concealed carry.

Marc

Ditto on all the concealed comments. Buy her a .380 auto that she can safely carry with a bullet in the chamber.

Since no one else mentioned it, please don't ruin an unmarked, original magazine by stamping it to match your gun. Everybody will know its fake and an irreplaceable piece of history will be trashed.

Another "nay" on a Luger for concealed carry.
For all the reasons given and a few more.
I have some arthritis in my hands and large heavy pistols are something I only handle in a controlled environment.
Carrying a loaded weapon is a big responsibility, and neat relics of the past do not lend to that responsibility.
Reliability and familiarity are paramount-it's life or death, not a game.
A quality .380 would be my choice.
Shot placement is as important as caliber.

My wife had trouble with the .25 Derringer because it was too small, she could not rack the KelTec p380 because the spring is so strong and the grip is small, she handled the PPK with a little difficulty, but the P08 was the easiest. She could rack it because of the size of the manipulated pieces. Since she can rack it she could leave the chamber empty if there is a safety issue.

She qualified with the PPK and thought the recoil was easy to handle. But the trigger pull on the Derringer was really excessive, but it has to be because it has no trigger guard.

BTW, there is already a number on the magazine (1136), it was very faint and I did not see it at first. No I would not over stamp an already numbered magazine. I thought at first that it might be after market since I didnt see the faint number.

If that sear bar gets knocked as the pistol is carried in a handbag, its all over baby, I was never aware of the sear bar issue until I joined this site. I now treat my Luger with a extra degree of care while Its out of the safe.
If it where my loved one I would keep looking for a modern more reliable defence weapon, I agree with Taurus judge myself..

Why is it important that she be able to "rack" the pistol?

Simply hand her a modern, reliable .380 auto, which she can safely carry with a round in the chamber. All she has to do is pull it out and fire. The need for a magazine change in a scenario such as this is also slim to none.

If your wife is ever accosted, she will more than likely be struck, spun around by her purse strap or have at least one of her arms restrained. There is no way on earth she is going to be able to "rack" her Luger in order to make use of it.
Do your wife a possibly life-saving favor and forget the Luger in favor of a modern pocket pistol she can carry loaded and ready to fire.

There is a moderate size Beretta .380 pistol that I think is a pretty good smaller concealed carry pistol. There are several models in the "80" series. 84; 84F; 84BB; 84FS; 85; 85FS "Cheetah". They have good capacity (13 or so rounds).

They are well suited to smaller hands, and the racking force is less since the recoil spring design is for the .380 round. Still, they are shaped like the 90 series...

Marc

There is only one pistol I consider foolproof enough for a Woman..a snubby wheelgun. Ruger came out with an extreamly light model in 5 shot .38. No safety to be confused about. No racking of anything. If you get a hand on it and squeeze it will fire. Weight is an issue..many Police carry a pistol for 20 years and never fire it on duty. Hopefully Citizens will never have to either but if it's light and compact you are more likely to take it with.
A semi auto in inexperienced hands is a very poor choice. too many things to think about when the shilt hits the fan. My carry gun is a Colt Cobra..and I shoot much more often than most people. Just the same..I want a positive no hassle pick it up and shoot gun.

Good advice for us all seen in the above posts and a personal defense weapon is a choice..just make the right choice. In a life or death confrontation you do not want to be looking down at your pistol wondering why it didn't fire.

Good advice, but my main issue with wheelguns in woman's hands is the way they carry them. They will invariably end up in the bottom of a purse or handbag, banging around with the piles of mysterious junk women carry. The chances of something ending up in the mechanism and eventually jamming it are more than good. If a woman is to carry a wheelgun, they really must take how they carry and store the revolver seriously.
I would recommend a "Sticky Holster", "Remora" or other pocket holster, designed to hug the firearm, keep it in one particular position and help keep it free of outside debris.

So true..Like any piece of working machinery..it's important to know how to use it but just as important to know how to carry it so it can be used.
I remember a case recently where either Ruger or ?? some other manufacturer had a lint problem with a pocket carry pistol? I am pretty sure it was a semi auto..had to do with lint in the firing pin area so the pistol wouldn't fire?

Yes, I've seen people pull out pocket pistols they have not looked at carefully in months. Everything from lint and debris working their way into the firing pin channel, behind the trigger and hammer as well as obstructing the barrel. A couple of months ago, a friend took his .380 Kel-Tec out at the range with the purpose of running through the carry ammo he had in it and loading the pistol up with fresh carry ammo. The gun fired once, then nothing. My knee jerk comment was ; "See, your ammo went bad from not recycling it often enough. Moisture/oil got into the primers!!"
But upon further examination, we saw that the hammer would not move back or drop when you pulled the trigger. As we looked at the pistol, we realized that the little bar that holds the mainspring in at the pistol's heal was missing!! The loop at the end of the mainspring, which the little bar passes through to hold the stretched mainspring inside the grip had rusted away!!
Granted, the owner lives on an Island and is a boat owner, but this little incident made me examine my two Kel-Tecs thoroughly. We also reported this to Kel-Tec and were told they would be using a stainless mainsprings from now on.
I guess the long winded moral of all this is to routinely examine that tool in your pocket you are betting your life on more than once every six months.

(deleted the long winded retort to women's messy bags and misc comments about men's pockets and laundry)

Here, here, to alanint's comment.

I'm imagining a holster sewn to the top, inside lining of the purse, or an area inside that's modified to accept the holsters mentioned above. this would keep the shcmutz out of the firearm and maintain it in a readily accessible, known position within the purse. Not so sure weight will be a problem, as an extra 2.5-3# in my girlfriend's purse wouldn't make much difference, percentage-wise. Talk about mysterious junk!

One drawback is if the perp grabs the purse first thing; it's an obvious prize for the mugger. Maybe one of those sexy garter holsters?

They make concealment purses and handbags in many styles. The one I've seen and liked the best was a handbag, which has a small loop the owner places around her wrist. If the handbag is pulled away, the concealed firearm is jerked out of the handbag via the loop and allows the wearer to access the firearm inside a small holster the loop is attached to.

Well, back to my recently acquired Luger:

I have never had one before so this may be common knowledge.

I bought two boxes of ammo to test in the gun. I had heard that they can be finicky on how they feed different brands of ammo so I wanted to start with just one box of two types to see how they fed. I got a box of Russian made TulAmmo 115 gr 9 mm Luger and a box of USA made Federal 115gr 9mm Luger.

I have not yet fired a round or either. They seem to be too long to feed into the magazine properly. Since both types have the same problem, I temd to blame the magazine. After putting 4 rounds in the magazine, any more will fit very tight and wont feed as one is taken off the top. It appears that the first loaded rounds are at a greater angle than the top one.

Can I take the magazine apart to examine the interior without damaging the wooden base?

Can a take the magazine apart to examine the interior without damaging the wooden base?
No..This would be foolish IMO. Monkeying with an original magazine will almost always end badly.
I would bet there is nothing wrong with it anyway. Luger rounds fit at a pretty steep angle. My advice is to put away your original wood bottom mag and acquire a MecGar replacement if your intent is to shoot the pistol.
If you are concerned that two different ammunition manufacturers have made their 9MM ammo too long..you should invest in a dial caliper so you can sooth your irrational fears with accurate measurements. This is not the first thought that would come into my head.
You should be able to load 5-6 rounds and cycle them in the pistol by hand to test feed. It seems I should mention here that you should do this at the range as it is live ammunition. Just load the rounds and test fire the pistol..I bet it works.

Remember that a magazine is a pretty delicate compilation of sheet metal and springs, and they do get dented over the years, especially in combat settings. I concur with Dr. Burney, a MecGar is the best option here.
Getting everything right for the Luger to feed correctly can take time and experimentation. Be patient.
dju

One option I failed to mention is that our own magazine whiz, G. T., makes what I call the "Super MecGar", and if you plan to shoot a P08 over time, they are a great investment. Lugers may come and go, but my G. T. mags. stay with me.
dju

Jim, Generally, you would do well to avoid the steel cased ammo like the Russian manufactured Tula.

The Federal is likely to behave better in your Luger.

Marc

"If you are concerned that two different ammunition manufacturers have made their 9MM ammo too long..you should invest in a dial caliper so you can sooth your irrational fears with accurate measurements. This is not the first thought that would come into my head. "

Actually I said the opposite. I said that since two ammo types behaved the same, I suspected that the magazine was at fault.

I will take the advice and get a new mag for shooting.

Yesterday I shot it at the range. Actually I carried an arsenal to the range and shot them all, P08 Luger, KelTec P3AT, Nagant revolver, Remington Mod 1100 SA 12 ga, and my recently completed AK-47 Super.

But as Mrerick suggested, the TulAmmo steel cased ammu was not fully functional and the Federal was flawless.

The Tulammo apparently has a lighter charge, or a smaller bullet, because it would appear that the chamber pressure was lower than the Federal. The reason I say this is that while the Tulammo cycled properly, after the last round it did not lock back. The Federal locked back after the last round every time. I assume that this means the bolt is not cycling all the way back, but is cycling enough to pick up the next round from the magazine.

If this is the case, then I would imagine that over a period of time there would be other problems, like a light load not cycling back enough to pick up the next round.

But the Federal worked every time.

The Super AK was flawless in operation. Its a Romanian AK with a Yugo RPK machine gun barrel grafted on instead of the standard AK barrel. This makes it about 6" longer.

With a bit of cleaning and lube of the toggle train AND the hold open, it may work with Tula stuff, but why? Find one that works and use it.
Fun, aren't they?
dju

The original DWM 9mm barrel has a stepped chamber that is designed to work with the relatively soft brass case cartridge. The steel Tula cases bind in the chamber which causes retarded extraction. Obviously there is enough energy left to cycle the next round from the magazine but not enough to cause the toggle train/breechblock to fully retract, so the holdopen does not catch after the last round. The steel cases are made for more modern chambers that lack the step. The steel cases are being forced past the step so either the step is already worn somewhat or you will eventually wear it down. Bottom line, don't shoot steel cases in original WWI Lugers.

Unless I missed it another consideration should be made. Periodically the user should take the weapon to a shooting range an fire the gun. It makes sure the gun functions after some time (months or more?) and the user skills are tweaked.

Yes, all things considered a concealed carry 380 auto of which there are many to choose from is a better way to go.

Not to mention the fact that a Luger in your safe will be there waiting for you when you feel like shooting it. A Luger carried for concealed purposes (shudder) will suffer increased wear and potential for breakage and perhaps most importantly.. depending on where you live, if your wife actually IS involved in a shooting with the Luger, chances are it will become evidence in the possible criminal and certain civil lawsuits which follow most (justified) shootings, and chances are you might lose your Luger iwhen this occurs. Are you willing to risk all this?? (Not even mentioning the legal nightmares that a self defens shooting precipitate)

The concealed carry question is resolved. I got her a Walther PP in 32 cal. Yes I know, its too small, but its better than nothing and she isnt going to carry a large pistol. The KelTec P3AT whould, perhaps be a better choice in caliber, thats what I carry, BUT she cannot rack it.

A Walther is 100% a more reliable gun. And, I was kinda hoping that the .32 vs .380 question would come up. I personally find the .380 to be an under powered charge. The powder vs weight of the bullet is just not right. The .32, with the right ammo, imho, is a much better round with better penetration. Make sure you get her some old black talons or glaser safety slugs

For a ladies carry, I have recommended the S&W 5-shot snub nosed shielded hammer 38 special revolver in a purpose designed carry bag [purse]. I don't recommend the rubber grips [Pachmayr, etc].

My last GF was very pleased with her S&W. :)

Revolvers are my personal choice for 'home defense'. I carry an automatic for CC. :rolleyes:

From my days of working in a gun shop, I recall that many women perfered the "tip up" barrel Berettas, since with a loaded mag installed, all they had to do was place a round in the empty chamber, close the barrel and it would be ready to fire the entire mag, without having to pull back the slide. TH

What is the model number of that Beretta?

It's the Beretta 3032 "Tomcat":
http://www.jgsales.com/beretta-tomca...ew-p-2119.html

Jack