Luger with threaded barrel
 

Hello,

I have searched all over looking for something similar to what I have. And I am confused between all the different types of Luger's, Police, commercial etc.

Also, I don't see a year that I read about so much.

The barrel is threaded. I have seen one picture on the net that had a front sight that slipped over the threads and was locked on with a spring loaded tab, that indexed into a groove in the barrel (I think).

This barrel has no groove, although after I took the pictures I noticed that on the top of the boss behind the threads, it appears someone hit it with a file.

The barrel, side and front are all numbered the same. All the small parts, both inside and out are also the same, but don't match the frame.

I also found some new marks that I thought were damage until a closer look. They appear to be stamps, and there are a couple of tiny stamps on the upper left side of the barrel near the side plate numbers.

More interest in just some history as opposed to value. I'm assuming the value is limited anyway without matching numbers and accessories.

I think the pictures are in the requested order from the sticky thread.

remainder of pics

I think that most here will respond that it is an attempt to mount a moderator ['silencer']...

But many years ago, I read an article with a bizarre comment that mentioned a pistol with a threaded barrel that was used to set off a 'scuttling charge'...Apparently you would screw the barrel/pistol into a 55 gallon drum full of explosive and set it off with a blank or incendiary ['tracer'] cartridge...Since the trigger would need to be pulled, I can't imagine this setup being very popular... :rolleyes:

I know, it sounds preposterous...Take it for what it is... :thumbup:

This is either a gunsmith or skilled home shop conversion on a mismatched pistol. It never left the factory this way. Many hobbyists have converted many models of pistols to be used with a suppressor over the years.

If your state allows it and you are qualified, it might be fun to obtain a modern suppressor and have a unique plinker.

Do you know what size/pitch the thread is??? It shouldn't be hard to make up a Luger-style front sight to screw on. Or you could swap out the barrel.

I suspect that since your #3224 barrelled receiver is the only mismatched part that I see, someone added that one with the threaded barrel to an otherwise matching luger and the owner retained the matching one. Tom

New Jersey :surr:


Not sure what you mean. The barrel, receiver and frame match.

No I do not. But, I would be curious to know the thread size/pitch on the Luger's that do have the screw on front site. I have only seen one picture of a Luger like that.

If the threads are the same at least I could look for and maybe add that front site.

This is the only picture I could find with a screw on site. This is not a pistol of mine, from the net.
I think the tab behind the blade is a release tab that locks into a groove on the barrel.

So, comparing my Luger to a picture from the net it appears to be a standard barrel that was turned. Does that sound right?

This pistol shown with the removable front sight band revealing the barrel threads was once owned by the forum owner, John D. I remember that he traded or sold it many years ago... The gun had absolutely no markings which lead me to theorize that it had been "sanitized" for intelligence duties... No idea where it is today.

Yes. Yours is simply a factory barrel someone turned down to be able to use a suppressor.

The thread size may be 1/2 x 28tpi...The same as an AR-15/M16 flash hider. Many suppressors are threaded this size. If you have an AR, try the flash hider on it.

You can also look through your bolt can and see if you have a bolt with that pitch [1/4" UNF 'fine' thread is 28tpi] and then just measure the diameter of the threaded portion of the barrel...If it is .496" [just under 1/2"] then it is a 1/2" thread...

There was a guy on eBay (or was it GB?) selling threaded Luger barrels a couple months back...

OK - buggered up non matching relic ...........

Germany on the back the frame indicated "Commercial" (do not know what that means), post WW I production.

How do I date this without a stamp?

I'm guessing it is between 1918-1937 or so from some other things I have read. Mostly relating to "strawing" It doesn't show in the pics, but some of the parts have a definite yellow tint to them, ejector, take down release, mag release etc.

No. That's an Import stamp. Your serial 3224/m indicates military issue.

What is interesting is the stamp on the front of the trigger guard...Not the serial above it, but on the trigger guard itself...Can you get a straight-on close-up of it???

Best I can do for now, the Nikon is in the truck - frozen

Can't tell the size. I tried both SAE and metric thread pitch gauge, none of the gauges seem to be an exact match.

Somewhere between 16 TPI or 1.5 mm.

Looking at the threads it almost looks like pipe cut

Perhaps someone altered it to accept some sort of blank firing adapter?

That would be a stretch. BFA's can be made very simply by threading the bore for the appropriate restrictor without ever altering the exterior of the gun. Lugers are also notoriously difficult to blank, due to the design.

Some years back, there was an adapter that you could screw on a barrel and the adapter accepted 2-liter soda bottles that served as a suppressor (at least for the first shot, maybe two)...IIRC, the barrel thread was coarse, not fine...

Not exactly clandestine...People might wonder why you're carrying around an empty soda bottle... :D

The thread all depends on the weapon. The 1/2 x 28tpi is pretty much a standard, due to the popularity of the AR15/M16 platform, but MACs, for example, have a much courser, steeper thread. Many modern suppressors use a quick detach feature via a proprietary flashider, which replaced the stock unit. Others fit over the existing flashider and the MP5 series uses a unique, three lug system.

Those soda bottle adapters were disallowed by ATF and any similar adapter must now be registered. While they were around, you could place a quart sized soda bottle filled with styrofoam peanuts onto an AR15 with a .22 caliber conversion unit and have a really effective suppressor. They would last until you decided to throw the bottle away.

BTW, I'VE HEARD that a standard, quart-sized soda bottle will fit right onto a birdcage AR flashider with NO adapter necessary, (especially the early three pronged type) and will work just as described above with a .22 platform.

They make an adapter today that screws on oil filters. It itself is registered as a suppresser. They are also sold in non suppresser legal states as attachments for oil filter for catch cans for wipes when cleaning guns. (Do not shoot with it)

Yes, I know the guy that makes these. He is on thin ground with ATF.

Wouldn't surprise me in the least.

I remember the ads from Cobrey years ago advertising the soda bottle adapters: "replacement wipers available at your local 7=11". TH

I had to think about this for a couple hours...(It takes me a while to shift mental gears)...You're saying that you can now screw on an automotive oil filter??? :confused:

The 2-liter soda bottle was bad enough...Getting caught with an oil filter with a hole in the bottom of it is pretty obvious... :rolleyes:

Female suppressor thread one end, male oil filter thread the other end. One of the local dealers sells those, and he said that the licenced suppressor actually consists of the adapter and the filter. He also said that the filters don't last very long, so you have to save the filter that comes with it, and use a filter from the parts store when you shoot. I'm sure that the ATF agents are scratching their heads over this one...

Yeah, I agree. That's not how I would do it either. Just a thought.

Sheepherder look up the pil filter adapter on you tube. Over on gunco theres a guy that made a nice supressor out of a wix fuel filter, freezeplugs and a few thread adapters. He posted up that it clst him a total or $51 to build it plus the $200 taxstamp. Jim

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t_pcWPdSDs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l1OLztN44s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haiqFcIXTqs


Just a few to get started
William

The thread form listed in "Borchardt & Lugers" is 14x1.5 for mounting a silencer. I have observed a similar Luger with a 1/2in-20tpi UNF machined mussel end. A 1/2in-28tpi is a UNEF, extra fine.

Many decades ago, while serving in a foreign country (REDACTED), I had the responsibility for a secure room full of classified equipment. The area was a hostile fire zone, but Americans were not being targeted... none the less, we had to be prepared for a total destruction of the room and it's contents. During the year I was there, we had one occasion where our operating situation required preparations for a total destruction. This involved loading all the equipment racks with flat phosphorus destruct devices that were to be triggered by applying an electrical charge of at least 12 volts. We kept a fully charged truck battery by the front door, and should the necessity have occurred where destruction was necessary (for example, if the facility were to be overrun), it was my job as the supervisor to initiate the destruction by attaching two clamps similar to jumper cables to the truck battery and RUN LIKE HECK or turn into a crispy critter.:eek:

It was estimated that the temperature of the operations room would rise to about 1000 degrees fahrenheit in about 60 seconds and sustain that temperature for several minutes, also consuming all the oxygen in the room and possibly the entire building... I was VERY glad, we never had to execute that plan. I was never that fast a runner! :thumbup:

The 'solvent trap' is being advertised in Shotgun News... :rolleyes:

These goobers make it so much harder for the rest of us.