Suggestions for a reliable shooter?
 

New member here - and thanks in advance for any guidance! I've always liked the look and operational aspects of the Luger pistols - my "experiment" with a couple of Stoeger Lugers in 22LR was disappointing - my two had feeding and reliability problems - constant headaches - but I still like Lugers, so I'm looking for a "real" shooter Luger, if I can find one that'll meet my criteria:

1. I want a reliable shooter - I'm not interested in a collectible pistol that'd best be kept in the safe
2. I'm not at all focused on Nazi markings or wartime memorabilia - in fact, I'd prefer one without those markings
3. Magazines - since one of the many problems I had with the Stoegers was magazine related, I want at least 2-3 original magazines, unless there are after-market, recently manufactured RELIABLE mags available
4. it'll shoot modern 9mm ammo - I don't want to have to get into an additional caliber at this point
5. parts probably won't be cheap, but they should at least be available

Looking forward to your thoughts, and thanks again !

If you want a reliable shooter, then you're likely looking for a refinished or nickled/chromed military gun that is still all matching parts. Commercials in 9mm are relatively uncommon and usually not in "shooter" condition. Something like this one for sale is probably up your alley (on the other Luger forum).

https://luger.gunboards.com/showthre...romed-1917-DWM

If the above does not tickle your fancy, hang around the forum as members regularly post Lugers for sale, including shooters.

As for magazines, it is not recommended that you use originals. They have collector value in their own right, and the wood bottom mags from an imperial or Weimar gun after 90+ years may fail/break as they have aged and gotten more brittle. Most of us here recommend Mec-Gar magazines. They are reliable and I use three of them for my own shooting purposes.

Happy hunting and welcome to the forum!

You may need to ease up on your criterion #2. The easiest available 9mm shooters will be WWII military Lugers.

I recommend staying away from chrome- or nickel-plated pistols. In practical shooting they are hard on the eye.

--Dwight

Best bet is an East German rework.

Unless you have spare parts, then any luger might have problems that is not matching (even then), ask them if they have shot it, as most mismatched or under $1,000 will get the moniker of 'shooter'.

I have had perfectly nice DWM and Erfurts that were great shooters, all pre-WW2 - many folks like the 'newer' Mauser made lugers, supposed better made / supposed better metrology - I personally don't think there is a huge difference.

Thanks for the guidance! I'm happy to hear that magazines are available from MecGar ! Say I focus on an East German re-work gun - are parts readily available for these guns?

You might also look into a post WW ll Mauser (1970s version). They make good shooters, and are "fairly" new.

Mongrel dog shooter!
 

Hi Joe, If you can locate a frame in good condition, we / I, in conjunction with your desires and input, can build you a nice 9MM or .30 Cal. shooter! It can be made from all sorts of Luger spare parts, of which I have most all?.. I would be inclined to help you out on this project as I have most of the stuff, and would like to share in the fun! Let me know, I have several references from this forum and feel capable of doing the job correctly... if so interested, email me at: gctomeks@msn.com Best to all, til.....lat'r.....GT:jumper:

Joe,
G.T. is an excellent go to guy and a good friend. You can't go wrong with him, and it will shoot well.
On another note, I thought it was TANSTAAFL (first A = "Ain't")
Ron

My suggestion for a shooter is to find a good 1920 commercial. They are priced quite reasonably. It's going to be in 7.65mm, but under normal circumstances that ammo is readily available in the U.S.

Instead of a "parts gun" it will be a DWM commercial product. While they aren't quite as spiffy as a pre-WW1 DWM commercial Luger, they aren't shabby. I had one that was my shooter until a friend talked me out of it.

My current shooter is an East German or Russian re-work. It's mostly matching, it's 9mm, and it functions perfectly. In the hand it feels the same as a $7,500 "rare" Luger. Mine cost me about $1,000. Some people report getting one of these for less - I always over-pay.

Finally, G.T. has made you a solid offer that would be hard to turn away from.

You have some good choices. Let us know how this sorts out.

Curl

P.S. Ammo has gone crazy once again. None of the distributors have any 9mm or .45ACP at present. Midway is out also. Late last week I did find a quantity of 7.65mm and lassoed it. I am a fan of the 7.65mm.

"I would be inclined to help you out on this project as I have most of the stuff, and would like to share in the fun!" - WOW, GT, that's quite an offer !!! What a nice guy !!! I will reach out to ya and discuss specifics of what I need to do to get started. WOW - thanks very much!!!

Ron Wood - "I thought it was TANSTAAFL (first A = "Ain't")" - yeah, I think you're right, but I didn't know that when I first adopted that handle, and I guess I'm stuck with it now - for me, TNSTAAFL embodies many, many truths about life.

shooter build!
 

Hi Joe, Happy to help out! It's not my first rodeo, and I have had similar experience with other new Luger enthusiasts and forum members? Actually you really learn a lot about Lugers every time you take on a challenge like we are about to! And, you don't buy a bunch of century old problems.. As we will correct or replace anything that is not up to par! So, the journey begins... Chapter one, "The search for a frame!" Best to all, til.....lat'r.....GT:cheers:

Joe,

GT sold me my first shooter and I still have it, so far it has had zero issues, functioning as well as my modern handguns with a variety of ammo put through them all at the range. He also has helped to fix a rough magazine I acquired as well as helped me to modify two more to make them extra durable for shooting purposes. You cannot go wrong with him, he is a great guy and an excellent Luger mechanic to boot!

I agree with using a good 1920 commercial in 7.65mm as a shooter, unfortunately this caliber is generally pretty expensive and a bit more difficult if you reload. Several years ago the only Luger I used as a shooter was a Russian capture 1942 Mauser in cal. 9x21 IMI (only because here the cal. 9 Parabellum is not allowed to the civilian market).

All sound advice.
If you can be a little patient, just watch the trader forum for a offer of a
complete, already test fired and "certified" shooter by a member here.

Several members have offered/sold in the past slightly "ugly" but entirely shootable lugers at a good price,
AND they have shot them and know that they will shoot.

I've sold several, but don't have one I want to let go just now.
Ed may be able to come up with one occasionally also.

LOL, you guys must really 1) love these old guns, and 2) really like helping people! I gotta say, this is one of the friendliest gun forums I've been on! I had a great chat with GT already!

And by the way, if anyone has or notices for sale here one of those "complete, already test fired and "certified" shooter" pistols, please let me know in case I miss it.

You will find that Lugers can be quite addicting!! ;)

I exchanged a few emails and had a couple of phone conversations with G.T. - WOW, what a nice guy! This Luger adventure is gonna be fun !

So far!
 

Well, hi to all! So far, We got a stripped frame coming from a member on the other forum! Pretty nice and reasonably priced to boot! I traded some magazine work for a safety lever, and I got a parts kit off of Ebay that will round out most of the frame necessities? The top end will be a 1920 commercial, with a new 4" 9MM barrel, marked, "MADE IN GERMANY" The toggle assembly will be a real Mongrel dog! E.G. new breechblock with a Swiss firing pin, 70's Mauser mid toggle link, and an E.G. rear toggle ... I've got plenty of Mec-Gar mags, so we'll work one of those over with a new bottom and spring! A nice set of grips are the next order of business! I'd like to find a nice set of Finnish import grips which are like Black Widow grips in outwards appearance, but way different on the back side... and, they are not true Bakelite as well? Anyway, if anyone has a set let me know... :jumper::jumper: ....we press on! Best to all, til....lat'r....GT:cheers:

Amazing to me that parts for these old guns are so readily available - with a few other older guns I have (a Star Model B, for example), parts were getting to be a problem. Also great to hear that Mec-Gar mags are available - with older guns, magazines were also a problem for me sometimes.

pictures? Maybe?
 

I'm done with Joes shooter, and want to show what an under 1K shooter should look like?... best, til...lat'r...GT

Very nice G.T. !!!... and guaranteed to shot.
Congratulations Joe.
Enjoy.

here's about how it went?
 

Thanks Mike, I'm excited about the range test, although the bench test went 100% something always seem to pop up dynamically at the range. The project breaks down in this way from inception to completion...
The frame came from a member of Jan Stills forum, and was described about 70% with some blems and a few spots of corrosion.
I think it is better than that, but certainly not mint or even excellent, just decent, and most important, un-altered. The only part that came with it was the take down lever retainer spring, which was a bonus, hard to find part! I had all the small parts for the frame, most all, again, not top of the line, but solid and serviceable. I did trade out some mag repair work for the safety lever, but the only, "cry and say good bye" part on the frame was the hold open assembly? They seem to be an expensive item no matter what your purchase effort opportunities, they are just expensive? The side plate and trigger lever assembly are butt ugly, but work and fit great. Not too painful there.
The top half was from a 1920 commercial, and was sporting a decent E.G. C/N barrel, but, when I checked it with several combinations of toggle assemblies, it just was not satisfactory in the head space area, so I installed a "MADE IN GERMANY" barrel that was never mounted, but showed considerable storage rash, and, as new on the inside.. Old one off, new one on! Now, perfect head space! The toggle train is pretty diverse? E.G. rear toggle I got from Luger Doc some time back, middle toggle link is a 1970's Mauser product from Luger Doc as well, and the breech block is a NOS East German manufacture. Firing pin is NOS Swiss, coupling link and extractor are both from a 1920 commercial , and ejector was from another Mauser upper i have just laying around.. But, ejectors are another part that is hard on the budget, but we'll ignore that for the time being... The grips are repro Krieghoff I've had for ever.. and the mag is a Mec-Gar new production with a G.T. Specialties up-grade of spring and aluminum bottom. Front sight is a G.T. Specialties / Millet .250" Sooooo, we're ready for the range!!! This is a Mongrel dog if ever there was one.. But it's mechanically tight and square, should work forever!... Best to all, til.....lat'r....GT:cheers:

And someone ask just the other day, in a thread, here or the other site:

"How do lugers get totally mismatched"? :)

Great example and thorough explanation.

I'm the OP and the lucky beneficiary of GT's experience and wisdom - AND I'M A REALLY LUCKY GUY, huh? I've always admired the Luger, and tried to get there on the cheap with a Stoeger Luger in 22LR - that only frustrated me, but I still liked the Luger - enter GT and his offer to help me get to the land of Luger with a reliable, affordable shooter. "Mongrel dog" ? Well, for me, I think it's just what I was looking for - a shooter that's reliable and priced realistically - and I'm really grateful that a guy like GT was there to help me get there. Now, seeing the pics, I'm getting excited and learning more about patience, while GT puts my Mongrel Dog through the final QA testing.

Last up-grade!
 

As I am ready for the range, I did a final inspection and finally couldn't stand it! I replaced the side plate with a much nicer one, Mauser production military. Nice blue, might be re-blued, but it is not buffed or altered... Just couldn't stand it! :eek:..... I might replace the trigger spring as well, the new one is sooooo stiff, I think a used broken in one would be better... Best to all, til....lat'r.....GT:cheers:

Funny story.

Almost all Portuguese Navy Lugers were mismatched during their service time.

It was common practice to try changing parts(sideplate, trigger, sear bar and firing pin were the most common, but sometimes the whole upper got swapped) to get a better trigger pull.:D

Luckily for collectors(mostly in the USA, to where the bulk of them was sold as surplus). The Commander who was in charge of the deal made "his boys" put all that were possible back in "order" before delivery(I found this out recently).:D It was relatively easy because it was only a little less than 500 pistols.:D

Range test!!!!!
 

Unit performed flawlessly!!! 100% function with included up-graded Mec-Gar mag, although a standard current Mec-Gar would most likely perform the same when new... Anyway, next stop UPS and on the way to Joe! Next post on this thread will hopefully be from Joe with an accuracy range test... As I can't see good enough to make that happen with any degree of success????... Best to all, til....lat'r....GT:cheers:

New member here (though I apparently registered years ago) and also a Luger fan since I was a kid. One of the neighbor kids we played "army" with had a toy Luger that looked and felt like a real one. I just loved the ergo and balance of it, even at 10 years old.

Joe is my shooting/collecting partner, a good guy and a great friend. I'm anxious to see his this pistol as well. Looking forward to our next range trip so I can try it out. GT, probably will be contacting you soon :)

Luger people !
 

My friend and shooting buddy AR1911 ("Rex") is a great guy and we've had many enjoyable trips to the shooting lease to shoot guns, talk about guy stuff, and later on eat BBQ - what could be better in life!

It don't git no bettern at!

All good in Luger land !
 

Well, here's the final chapter in my shooter Luger story.

As I'd expect with any used gun that's been around a while, ESPECIALLY one that's assembled from parts of different guns, GT and I had to do some tuning and parts substitution, but today at the range the gun ran flawlessly and I am one happy shooter! Over the years I've purchased some cheap guns and some really nice guns - most of the new-in-the-box gun purchases ran pretty close to 100% right out of the box, as did most of the used guns I've purchased - with a few financially painful exceptions where a wanna be gunsmith substituted parts cause he knew more about guns than John Browning, or thought he did, anyway.

With this Luger being put together from parts of different guns - a "junk yard dog", as GT said - I never expected it to run 100% right away - I KNEW that there would be some trial and error work to get it to 100%, where it is today. Turned out that the problem issue had something to do with the extractor and extractor spring - but GT IMMEDIATELY shipped me some substitution parts and that solved the problem - the gun now runs like a well-oiled machine, which it is.

What really made the difference for me with this gun was GT's availability, mentoring, patience, and experience - I already knew a fair amount about guns, but almost nothing about Lugers - until I got this Luger from GT and started troubleshooting it. What could have made it a bit of a challenge was that GT and I were about 15 hours apart - so, there were a few phone calls and a lot of emails back and forth, but - AND HERE'S THE KICKER - man oh man, did I learn a lot about Lugers from GT along the way - all because of GT's willingness to work with me and teach me and stick with it till the gun was 100% and I was satisfied - which I am.

I've always been intrigued with the Lugers, and almost soured on Lugers after a nightmare with a couple of Stoegar Lugers, but with this Luger I'm really gonna enjoy shooting it cause I understand how it works and I've been up close and personal with the gun - truly, a hands on experience!

Thanks GT !!!

GT is a man dedicated to his craft. Not enough good can be said about this fellow.

Jerry
I could not agree more. Bill