1916 dwm
 

So after finding out that the post war Mauser Parabellum I was looking at was a bit overpriced I decided to move on and look for something else until a deal popped up. I went to a local shop today to look at a Husqvarna M46 in 9.3x62 and saw this Luger. Naturally I forgot the rilfe right away and bought it. It's a 9mm DWM with a 1916 chamber date. All matching except the magazine, and rear toggle pin which doesn't appear to be numbered. Serial no. is 6058 with no import markings. The bore is excellent. I'm guessing this is an amateur refinish, no way this thing is 104 years old and in this good of shape.

I'm sure I overpaid but I was looking for a shooter, and being refinished I think I found one. It was still a lot cheaper than what some local sellers are asking for rough mismatch guns. I'd rather have overpaid for an original Luger than one of the post war ones. It may not have any collector value left due to the refinish but it still has it's history. Anything else anyone can tell me about this one? Also just curious what I should have paid roughly? I don't feel like I did bad but others would probably disagree. I can provide more pics if needed.

https://i.ibb.co/3N4MJfb/IMG-6915.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/rQGppq3/IMG-6834.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/TkP7SDc/IMG-1237.jpg

Definitely a refinish with a non-period magazine. How much did you pay for it?

I got it for $1000 out the door. Probably high but I'm happy with it. I've seen people asking up to $2000 for mismatched guns lately. Not saying they'll ever get it but there's a sucker born every minute. In fact there's a 1918 Erfurt and a 1920 DWM both with matching number and original finish on armslist for $2900 each right now. Maybe it's just me but those seem high as well. If those prices are in fact right then I feel really good about my purchase.

That's not a bad price for a good looking shooter.
Congrats and enjoy!

Thanks, I plan on enjoying it. I am so far, field stripped it and did a thorough cleaning tonight. Even with the refinish this is a much nicer gun than the mismatched one I had several years ago.

Shooter
 

Nice gun....easy calculus....what do you value more, the 1k, or the gun? If you value the gun, you haven't done badly at all! Nice find!

Thanks, and a good way to look at it.

You will enjoy that Luger and the price wasn't unreasonable.

Many years ago I bought a 1916 DWM Luger. The finish was as rough as a cob with plenty of minor pits and it wore the ugliest pearl "Franzite" grips I've ever seen. BUT, it had a good bore and NEVER - not once - did it fail to function as it should have. Like so many other guns I should have kept, I sold it in a moment of weakness.

BTW, the axle pin on your Luger should not be numbered and left the factory that way.

Thanks for the info. I was thinking I read something somewhere about the axle pins being numbered.

That is a very pretty gun for the price

I agree with the above, $1000 is a good deal for a gun that nice. Its what I paid for mine.

As a curiosity, you mentioned that you live in Ohio IIRC and are seeing high prices for mismatched guns. Where in Ohio are you seeing those? Around the Toledo area, I have not seen those types of prices.

Imperial Lugers reworked for the police and later Mauser manufactured Lugers did have the axle pins numbered. Yours should not be.

Some of them were armslist/gunlistings sellers responding to a want to buy ad I had up for a few months. There are currently two on armslist for $2900. One a matching Erfurt the other a DWM. Also a couple of local shops here in the Mansfield and Ashland area have had a couple mismatches in the last year. Always $1500-$2500, one shop had a 1916 Erfurt mix master last summer for $2250. It appeared to be a DWM commercial grip frame with an Erfurt upper and it had been badly refinished. Looked like cerakote but was peeling. They told me if the gun was matching it would be $7000 even with the poor refinish. The worst part is people bought these guns. They rarely last more than a few days. I think a lot of people who aren’t collectors see a Luger and just see dollar signs. I prefer to do at least some research.

Congrats on your "new" Luger. It is a nice looking piece, and if it runs correctly, I would say that you did just fine....enjoy!!

I took the Luger out and shot a box of Winchester white box through it today. Functioned 100% flawlessy and like my old mix master I head really impressed me in the accuracy department, dead on out to at least 20 yards. I planned to get an AC44 P38 next week to add to the collection but it unfortunately sold. Oh well.

That's great and yours ran just like the 1916 DWM I owned many years ago. Lugers, in general, are quite accurate so no surprise that yours is too.

If you buy a P.38, do not expect the same level of accuracy that you're getting from your Luger. In my experience, they are not quite as good.

I honestly don't know what to expect out of a P38 as I've never even handled one. In the nearly 20 years I've been into firearms I've yet to see a P38 or even P1 in the wild. Heck it took me 15 years to find a CZ52 and a Tokarev and those used to be in shotgun news from every surplus dealer for $100 in the early 2000's.

The best thing to do with a P38 is leave it alone. Not the best firearm ever designed.

I collected Japanese swords years ago, where the valuations are much more subjective. That's the advice I gave. Never buy anything you don't really value, in hope of turning it around for a quick profit.
Too many have bought a pig-in-a-poke in hope of having found a lost treasure. I think you did very well!

Yeah I know what you mean there. I come across a lot of people selling things that they think are a lost treasure. Not just guns either. I also as of late see a lot of used current production guns where the seller is asking $100-$300 more than what I can buy a new one for. And I’m not even talking hard to find guns, but really common things that dealers always have in stock.