question regarding 7.65 mm Luger marked "1937"
 

I recently acquired a 7.65 mm /".30 cal." Luger with few markings, except for the year 1937 on top of the receiver in front of the toggle; its numbers appear to match. Previous owner has refinished it with a flat chrome finish; I doubt that it has much value as a collector's item, but I'd be curious to learn more about when/where it was manufactured. I own another Luger, a regular 9 mm (battlefield relic w/ some parts replaced--little collector value), that I have fired extensively and had a lot of fun with, but what's the commercial availability of 7.65 mm ammunition for this pistol? (As you can readily tell, I'm certainly no Luger expert.) Thanks. Bear

Serious collectors won't consider them. But there are many causal collectors.... let alone old C&R, even sanding and refinishing NIB guns that just bought from store, some even change funtional parts, believing they might be able to do better than Browning or Stoner. So common topics are "what type of sandpaper to use", "how long to 'cook' the piece in bluing tank", "are the stamps visible", "how to make trigger pull more smooth" etc, etc. New guns are not cheap, C&R (mainly CAI imported) is an economical way to play gunsmith, and they also have lots of fun.:typing:

Hi,

Is there a marking on the center toggle link? This area is usually used to identify the maker.
Of course, a gun can be put together from parts, so it's not a complete guarantee.

A chamber date of 1937 points towards a German military receiver, either made by Mauser (most likely) or Krieghoff. Since Mauser made no military pistols for the German army in 7,65 para, the barrel or receiver is most likely to be a replacement.

In this case as well: Photos will help!

You'll have to hunt a bit for the ammo.

SAMCO might have some.

Not cheap, but none of it is right now.

Thanks for the info, and now here's an even dumber question for all you Luger "gurus." The seller of this 7.65 included in the pistol case a few cartridges that he said were for the pistol--one of which I duly inserted into the magazine and fired, there at the indoor range where the purchase occured. It fired just fine; so far, so good. However, these cartridges have no shoulder/"bottleneck"; the casing sides are perfectly parallel and they basically look like a smaller version of 9 mm Luger ammo. The online research I've done today shows the 7.65 Luger cartridge as tapering, with a distinct shoulder or bottleneck, so what gives?

Hi,

There is a chance that it has been rebarreld to .32 ACP (or 7,65 in Euro terminology).

If in .32acp (7.65mmBr), one might guess that this may be one of the smaller Erma lugers made in .22LR, .32 and .380. TH

That would make it an Erma allright, but the 1937 chamber date is puzzling. Photos!!

If it is a .30 Luger you can get Fiocchi ammo for $21.47 a box at Sportsman's Guide. Your choice of FMJ or soft points.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/b...spx?c=95&s=990