Pair of WWII Capture Pistols
 

Here are a couple of WWII capture pistols (M1908 is papered, Radom isn't). The Steyr M1908 was made in 1910 and was purchased privately from Steyr, most likely by an Austrian Army Officer (no Austrian army acceptance stamp). This .32 ACP pistol was a favorite of Austrian officers. Here is a link to my 1908 page:

Steyr M1908 Page (with pics and technical description)

The Radom Vis35 is a type II (3 lever, no stock cutout). Made in Poland under German occupation. Apparently, many of these were carried by the Luftwaffe. Estimated time of production is late 1942.

http://members.aol.com/m1ar15/bordpics/radom.jpg

Nice Jack!

Great guns!

:) Ed

Jack,

That is SWEEEET!!!! Excellent pistol and terrific photo..!!! Thanks..!!!

Jack, I can't help with a firing pin if you want an original, but they are a snap to make. I think I probably have made a half dozen, including one for a pistol I bought about a year ago. Any half-way competent gunsmith should be able to make one, and I would have a spare made if you plan to shoot the gun.

Jim

Check with "Lugerdoc" before going to the trouble of making one... Tom carries more than just Luger parts...

I agree with Jim that from what I can see in the photo, this would be a simple firing pin to make if you know someone with a lathe and a couple of files... I don't know if this is a striker fired or hammer fired pistol but the appropriate surfaces (either the sear surface or the surface that gets hammered) will have to be hardened...

Thank you all for the compliments and advice. I will check with "Doc". Any ideas on fair cost to have someone machine a firing pin for the Steyr? I would like to fire the 1908.

Jack

Here's a pic of the only other pistol I have worthy of this forum. This is an all matching "red 9" C96 in 9mm. This was part of a WWI contract delivered by Mauser to the German Army (army acceptance stamp highlighted). Rear sight is calibrated up to 500 meters. It is unusual in the fact that pistols in this serial number range were not marked with the red "9". One theory is that around the time of its production, responsibility for marking the grips shifted from the German Army to Mauser and a few thousand pistols produced during the transition escaped the branding.

http://members.aol.com/m1ar15/bordpics/C96imp.jpg

Wonderful weapons Jack, but that '08 Steyr is flat outstanding! If you do fire it, please be gentle, it is a beautiful example. Thanks for sharing the pics.

I used to charge $35 for that pin but that was a while back. The only one I made lately was for me, and I don't charge myself.

It is a pretty straight forward job if there is an original to copy. But the head has to be the right thickness as the rear of the firing pin is what contacts the hammer to **** it. If the head is too thin, the breechblock bears the brunt and it is thin at that point and won't take the beating.

Jim

Jack, Sorry that I couldn't provide the Steyr FP. FYI, the first 60,000 of the Mauser Red Nines, didn't have the "9" branded on the grips, when they left the factory. Due to many soldiers trying to shoot these with 30 Mauser in the field, the factory started branding the grips in the 61K range and directives were issued to brand those already in the field. That is why many of the first 60K will be found with matching unbranded or crudely marked grips. It was as a result of these directives, that quite a few Artillery models, also ended up with "Red Nine" marked grips. Appearly, some of the rookies, branded anything with a long barrel in 9mm. TH

Jack,

Don't worry about the fact that other "pistols in this serial number range were not marked with the red "9"."

The Red 9 pistols were numbered in their own series (1- c.150000), so they will duplicate commercial numbers.

Jim