My new to me 1938 Luger.
 

I recently picked this up via an auction, unfortunately it will sit until I get to go home. ( in the sandbox) But I am wondering if the Luger brains here can tell me if I did well or if I got taken

Without knowing what was paid its impossible to know 'how you did' WWII Luger.
If you paid $600, congratulations, you did really well.
If you paid $6,000 condolences, you got taken.

Gotta say I like the gun myself and I would blue it and have fun doing it.
I only say that because it looks as if the gun has been half 'prepped' already in this light.
#'s seem to match so if its just the light playing tricks then I would leave it alone.

BTW ... I'm not a Luger brain lol They will be along shortly. :thumbup:

I paid $1600.........$100 more then I wanted to, but someone came in with a blitz attack, up my bid and disappeared. Couldn't let ANOTHER Luger get taken from me in the last hour of the auction.

Well I think you did good M8.
I think the gun has a lot of potential and I would have bought it for that price.
Does that $1,600 include the auction fees ??

Sounds like the auction had a 'spotter'. :(

This should cheer you up a bit.
https://www.rockislandauction.com/de...938-date-luger

yepper. had to pay for shipping, but that was $20.

As for bluing. I have a 1911 that was built in 1913 and would never even consider re-bluing it. Why does it seem that it's ok to re-blue a luger?

I would not reblue it! It looks very good as is. Reblueing would make the pistol look great, but would hurt future sale. If it shoots, OK, if there is any problem just ask here and someone will help. I think you did OK as for the price.

Unfortunately I will not get to disassemble it, clean it and shoot it for a few more months. Covid is keeping us trapped over here at Bagram. Thank you for your advice.

10% original finish is better than 100% refinish.

It's not OK to re-blue a good Luger and I didn't say that it was.

What I said was
"I only say that because it looks as if the gun has been half 'prepped' already in this light.
#'s seem to match so if its just the light playing tricks then I would leave it alone."

With the exception of the 1st picture above all the other pictures look like they have been prepped for a nickel job or a re-blue.

https://i.imgur.com/YO599xv.jpg https://i.imgur.com/2eN9dRc.jpg

Not you specifically Spangy.
I have been going thru lots of threads and I keep reading about re-blued lugers.
I was wondering why it seems to be done on a regular basis

Spangy,

The wear you seem to notice is caused by the normal breaking open action of the Luger's toggle system. As the barrel group recoils rearward, the toggle breaks open by engaging the "ears" of the upper rear frame.

I agree with gunbug's comment above regarding refinishing any Luger.

I would be more interested in the pistol's bore condition myself.

The price paid seems ok for an all matched Luger, but certainly not on the low side.

Respectfully,


Sieger

I agree for the most part Sieger but the safety lever is not part of the recoil ramp and its not common to see ramps in 'mirror finish' - worn yes ... but not completely and evenly 'shined' like this. Gonna have to agree to disagree on that one. And unless its the light ... which it could be ... then someone has already started buffing out this unit IMO

Spangy,

We will have to disagree then, as all frequently shot Lugers display this "polished" wear.

I agree that the lighting and focus of that photo leaves much to be desired.

Respectfully,


Sieger

WWII Luger ... Re-blueing is normally done on severely damaged Lugers where chemical reactions, rust, deep pitting Etc. have occurred.

Our resident restoration expert Thor has come to the rescue of many a gun.
https://members.rennlist.com/lugerman/

And G.T. as well ...
http://forum.lugerforum.com/member.php?u=20

Both are able to help anyone with any Luger issue ... We are so lucky :thumbup:

Spangy,

Let's not forget Thor's fine work as well.

Sieger

Here are some additional photos. Does this help with the appraisal?

some additional info when I was bidding on the item.

Specifications and Features:
• Make: Mauser (S/42)
• Model: Luger P.08
• Action: Semi auto w/ safety
• Serial number / year: 3667 / 1938
• Finish: The finish is original and in very clean condition. We note some general thinning on over all. We do not see any rust or pitting of note. The use and handling wear is very light for a Pre-WWII model.
• Caliber: 9mm
• Barrel Length: 4"
• Bore Condition: The bore is in great shape, clean and shiny with sharp rifling.
• Stock/grips: The grips are in great shape with typical service use wear. They do appear to be older issue but do not appear original to this pistol and are not serial numbered to it.
• Magazine capacity: 8 rounds
• Notes: The firearm as pictured is the one for sale in this listing and the one you will receive. A very clean example of a pre-war Luger. We see the correct mid/2nd variation proof on the slide. We would have to think with was a bring back. Every numbered part on the pistol matches with the exception of the mag and grips. There are no import markings. One of the nicest Lugers we have seen recently. Thanks for looking and enjoy the auction.

This one most definitely does not need a reblue and advising fellow forum members to reblue guns like this is not doing anyone a favor.

An original gun is an original gun only once.
If you like 'pretty' guns that is your free choice, but advising people to throw serious money at a gun with the result of seriously lowering the value is irresponsible in my opinion.

The wear on the feed ramps is perfectly normal.

The photos are way too light and that also distorts the look of the blue om parts like the safety lever. It will look a lot darker and black/blue when seeing it in person.

WWII,
That is a really nice luger and I hope you get home for Christmas.

In the mean time, stay safe and don't forget to 'move fast and stay low'.

Richard

My thoughts exactly.

Thanks Sieger ... i meant to put THOR but I am in horrible pain all week and I can't focus my mind at all. :banghead:

Sorry about the photos guys, it is what I was given. I will take more when I get home

You paid a high price for it, but they ain't making anymore of them.
I am from the old times-re bluing a matching original piece like this would be sinful.
Might want to take care in shooting it a lot.
A spare extractor and firing pin are good things to use if you want to fire it.

I was wondering if this was a shooter or a collector. I was thinking of shooting it once just to say I did. I DID order a spring kit for it. Was thinking about getting plastic grips to shoot with. No now I need to think about extractor and firing pin too.

Or get a nice affordable shooter to go with it.

Looks great the way it is. I wouldn't touch it. As an aside I have a S&W Victory model 38 special. I was going to get it Parked and was talked out of it by some knowledgeable people on another forum. I'm glad I did because the make over would have ruined the gun. I like my Luger and S&W scars and all. They both came from war and what do you expect.

Leave it alone. It looks nice and original to me.

Congratulations on your "new" prize. I love the Mauser Lugers and would be happy to have it in my collection. Thanks for your service and hope you get home soon. Bill

Personally I would leave it like that if it were mine. I think it looks great!

Leave it alone, shoot it if you want to-it has been shot a good bit already.
I see nothing but normal wear; no prep or anything of the sort. The "polished" ramps are just from firing.

If you are afraid to shoot it, do as suggested already - buy a shooter- instead of spending money for spare parts for this one. JMHO.

Re-bluing a luger is usually a bad thing, you can spend $200 or $1000 on it and have a refinished pistol that is worth what you paid for it or less- depending on the quality of the finish job.
Again JMHO.

I'm late to this party...Congratulations on your Luger.

It looks like an all matching and collectible Luger in original finish.

Stop obsessing about the finish. If you refinish it, you'll spend that money plus eliminate it from collector interest, and drop it's value to about $1100.

Mauser went through several periods of difficulty when they switched from rust bluing to salt bluing in 1937. I also have an original Mauser Luger (all matching) with very thin original finish. It's from 1939. I don't think it's work or messed with to the point that the finish appears so thin. It just left Mauser that way - probably under pressure to meet contract deadlines.

If you want to shoot a Luger, get a shooter Luger. Breaking numbered parts will reduce your new Luger to "shooter status" after you spend the money to repair it.

You need to treat collectible Lugers a little different than you do other guns you've bought.

Be sure to check out our forum FAQ PDF document.

I want to say thank you for all the replies to my thread. However, I am not going to have the Luger re-blued. I bought it for my WWII collection and that is where it will stay. However I do plan on shooting it once, just to say I shot my luger. I did buy new springs, just because.

So..... I got to go home for a short time in Jan, but was unable to take my new toy out and shoot it. HOWEVER, I did get to hold it and look at it. We are getting shut down over here and coming home for good, so I will be able to shoot her this summer.

Still looking for a set of grips stamped 67 and mags stamped 3667. Thanks to everyone who has offered advice

Be good to have all of you home, thank you for your service

Just one shot can break a numbered part, matching gun lost forever. Just my opinion.

That is a nice original apparently un messed with Third Reich Luger. Given the fact that all Lugers made after 1918 are basically reproductions :-) I think you did well. Third Reich lugers seem to draw premium prices now. The bluing on this one may be thinning a bit but certainly not much. I think you paid a reasonable price for a nice WW2 Mauser built P08.

The price is a bit high but not much. In five years the price might look like a steal! If you shoot it you may want to get a new magazine. Mec-Gar make very nice ones, I have two of them.

Check Six!------------and---------------Lock and Load! :)

I think the price is very fair, Looking on the open retail market. I'd buy it for that price.

I think you did quite well.
It's an original and complete P.08 Luger.
Considering it was an auction, I think you did particularly well !

When I travel, I try to check out guns in the local pawn shops.
One of the secrets I learned is to always ask.

One time, an elderly widow (my age) went back to her safe and came back with her LP.08 (artillery) which was a gift from her late husband. It was re-blued, but it was lovely and she would have considered selling it, too.

Because it's not OK.