New to me alphabet 1920
 

Hello,

Picked up a 1920 alphabet commercial, made I believe in 1924. I realize that these guns are not particularly desirable to collectors, but I wanted a luger I could shoot and that looked good. I considered a 1970's Mauser for a while, but then decided I wanted an older one. I must say, despite the low regard collectors have for the 1920's, this is a beautiful gun: numbers match, the fit and finish is outstanding (real deutsche Wirksamkeit). I've fired the gun and everything works perfectly.

The only fly in the ointment is the very heavy trigger. I've been spoiled, admittedly, by bullseye pistols and fine single action pulls on DA revolvers, but this seems quite heavy. Is this typical of lugers?

At any rate, very very cool gun and most likely not my last luger.

Bill

Congrats on you new Luger. I think that these less expensive alphabet Lugers make great shooters. I purchased my first one in early 1970s, and still have, and shoot, it.

Yes, Lugers do have a heavy trigger pulls, especially if you are accustomed to competition level handguns. You may be able to help it a bit by installing a bit lighter trigger return spring, but you most likely will never have a safe Luger with a competition level trigger pull. IMHO

If you are like many of us here on this forum, this will not be your last Luger......enjoy the ride!!

Bill, congrats on your nice Luger. So glad you got one that excites you and that you can enjoy shooting. Enjoying a Luger at the range is a special treat.

Congratulations on your Luger.

The trigger mechanism consists of a fairly complex linkage that runs through a number of components before releasing the striker sear.

It's complex enough that I would recommend that you leave it alone. You can double check to make sure that things are clean, particularly under the sear bar.

The parts in the linkage are hardened, and will likely snap if you try and bend/form them. If you really want the trigger improved, send it to a gunsmith with extensive Luger experience.

Marc

Like an undesirable wife, theres no such thing!!

Does anyone know of Lugersmiths who will do trigger work? None are perfect but some are just intolerable.
Anyone on the forum we could recommend?
dju

Please post pics of yours.

As a brand new Luger owner, I am hardly an expert in the field, but my mismatched DWM/Erfurt has what I consider a very light trigger. Maybe it is all relative since you fire SA revolver and bullseye whereas I am shooting mostly DA autos and revolvers.

Genghis, sorry no way to post pics at present. I've also shot and owned striker-fired plastic 9mm pistols, and even by that rather low standard, this trigger is heavy.

Congrats on your luger, you are correct that the "1920"s are finely made lugers.

I disagree that they are not desirable to collectors, I suspect most luger collectors have at least one. Most are likely satisfied with one example, unlike the military models of which there seems no end of variation. JMHO.:)

There are plenty of them in good shape and they make good shooters, if you can deal with the cost of the usual .30 ammo or like to load you own.

With respect to your luger, the trigger can be improved- but it may involve some new parts and expertise, which won't be cheap.
I would contact "lugerdoc" on this forum for his input and advice.
Even a great luger trigger is not likely to compare favorably with the pistols you mentioned!:eek:

Many thanks, Don. I don't plan to shoot the luger a whole lot, so will probably learn to live with the trigger; despite the heaviness, I seem to do OK with it. I do load most of my CF ammo, but for now I'm using Fiocci, which works fine.

Safe Luger trigger pulls
 

Yes, it would be nice to have a lighter trigger pull on Lugers, but my experience on two different Lugers was that when they were too light, they went off when the toggle action closed- very disconcerting to say the least! I changed out the sear bars on both Lugers; now the trigger pulls are heavy, but their actions function like they should and are safe. :) Bill

Bill, short of honning the sear to striker overlap or exchanging trigger levers for an earlier release (neither of which should be attempted by an amatur) you might find some lightening of the release by flatting out the trigger bar (sear) spring. TH

Tom:
Do you do trigger work or know anyone who does? G. T?
dju

David, Yes I do "trigger work", which may require work on the trigger lever for an earlier release or changes to the sear (trigger bar) &/or striker. This is easier on mismatched shooters, as some numbered parts can be changed, but can be done at a higher cost on a matching po8, which is not recommended unless you have no striker release at all. TH

My lugers have heavy triggers which sometimes make me flinch a shot. But I got used to it as I reload my ammo for 30 luger and 9mm. My 1920 DMW looks like heck but functions perfectly with reloads and PPU ammo and Fiochi ammo.

Thanks, Major Tom--

My 1920 looks great! All I've tried so far has been purple box Fiocci, which works fine. I reload most of my CF ammo (not 9mm recently, since it's so cheap) and plan to eventually load .30 Luger. What bullet do you use?