The Swiss were certainly not fools!!....
 

I have spent a considerable amount of time exploring the 06/29 Swiss I recently received, and I have come to the conclusion that the so called improvements they made to the Luger, were just that, improvements!! The machining, is different then Mauser, but it is just as accurate....The side plate on the 06/29 is a definite improvement....as is the deletion of the protective ledge over the trigger bar...the straight front strap dosen't seem to make a difference one way or the other..and the lack of a lanyard loop and a stock lug, dosen't bother me either... I do not under stand the round step on the receiver front, seems to me this is an added operation? Maybe I missed something?? The Swiss did not spend any extra time lighting things up either, as it is missing many of the weight reduction cuts of all the Lugers that came before it! I don't know how most feel about the lack of checkering, but it dosen't seem to have much effect in operating the unit! I think Mauser missed the boat.....they could have improved on this model, and offered a whole new variation to all us Luger lovers..as it is, they only came up with a less then satisfactory compromise... But, I think I shall have to find a Mauser version, (06/73??) as this one is too nice to shoot!!! till...later...G.T.

Re: Mauser Parabellums
 

GT, Congrats on your new Swiss M29. As you know the 1970s Mauser Parabellums were made on the same machinery. Mauser's first attempt the o6/71 does retain many of the M29 features, but since these weren't selling fast enough for Interarms, they attempted to make it look more like the original PO8 with the 06/73. I'll send you an article on the into of the 06/71. Tom

Re: Mauser Parabellums
 

Thanks Tom! Are there many 06/71's around? I have a new found respect for this design! One of the points I was trying to make was that Mauser, with it's vast resources, could have departed from both styles (Swiss 06/29 & German P.08) and engineered a completely new variation that would still have people scrambling!! Hindsight is always a little sharper....Another feature of the 06/29 and some other .30 cal Lugers, that I find very attractive and graceful, is the 4 & 3/4 inch thin taper barrel! I also like the 1900's and 1906's with this feature.... So many Lugers, so little time!!! till....later....G.T.

Re: Mauser Parabellums
 

I totally agree on the lines of the 4-3/4 tapered barrel. That is such a graceful and elegant barrel. Just looking at the muzzle crown compared to a nine mm is quite a contrast.

Tom Heller's Comment on Mauser 06/73
 

Tom,

Could you please elaborate on your comment, above . . . .


>


What did they do to make it look ore like the original P.08?


Thanks. Luke

Re: Tom Heller's Comment on Mauser 06/73
 

Luke, The main thing was to add the "bump" at the bottom of the front grip strap, so that the pistol felt like a PO8 in the hand. They also cut back the external raised portion of the side plate, increased the diameter of the round checked portion of the take down lever and changed the shape of the safey lever and the trigger. At some point they also change the extractor marking from "loaded" to "Geladen" and the safely marking from "Safe" to Geschert". Of course the grips had to be changed to match the new frame design. All the above changes except frame & grips, will be also seen on the 06/71s made after 1973, after they used up the remaining old style part. I do have both styles of parts available new.

Thank you, Tom. (EOM)