"Russian Capture" P-38 ac 41
 

In another thread I mentioned buying a -

Walther AC41 P-38 cal. 9mm
Item Description:

Up for auction is a Mismatched Russian Captured Walther AC41 P-38 chambered in 9mm. This gun is in good condition with only minor wear to some of its exterior surfaces. This includes blemishing to the guns metal finishes as well wear to its bakelite grips. The guns barrel is 4" long and its bore contains minor pitting throughout the inside.

- from On Target in Kalamazoo, MI for, $400...I picked it up today...I was planning on re-barreling it with a slightly longer barrel...since the description is usually overly optimistic as to overall condition... :rolleyes:

Boy, was I wrong... :eek:

This pistol is much nicer in person than the pics would indicate...in fact, if this is an example of the Russian hot-dip finish, I'm going to start looking for someone to do my Lugers this way...

I've attached a couple of pics...Any comments on the markings, identifying features (it is mismatched), or criticisms are most welcome... ;)

I do regret that it has the brown Bakelite grips; I would much rather have the black ones...(hint, hint)... :p

There is some minor pitting on the barrel bore grooves, but the lands look good and the edges are nice and sharp...

There is some slight pitting on the forward part of the barrel, and the forward part of the slide, but none on the grip frame, and no rust evident anywhere...No signs of buffing, either...and no holster wear...

I can't quite make out the import marks...It looks like maybe "R GUNS" and underneath "CARRXX"...but I really can't make it out...Slide & barrel serial is 1856d; I can't make out the old grip frame serial under the XXX's...

Mag looks recent mfg; has what appears to be "ivd" on it; it is sheet metal bent & tack welded...

Now my dilemma...I was planning on sawing the barrel off, drilling & tapping for a new barrel, and eventually refinishing it...but it is much better than I expected, and it would be a shame to cut up a perfectly good barrel... :o

So I'll look for another barrel instead, and leave this one intact...

more pics...

two more...

Postino,

R Guns is in Carpentersville, Illinois, although I'm not sure how they may have abreviated this in the import stamp.

My advice would be to find a post war P1 barrel, which you could then modify to your liking and conserve the original to keep with the gun. The post war barrels are usually a drop-in fit with wartime guns

Get a replacement barrel from SARCO,it should be a drop in fit.

Good luck!

At $199, that's half the cost of the pistol. A P1 barrel will turn up much cheaper....

Postino, I think that's a very nice wartime P-38 just as is; Walther, I believe. And the grips are just as they should be, looking good for originals.

You can get another barrel from one of the suggested suppliers and do whatever you want with it, without permanently changing this nice original gun.

There are some good things coming out of these old Soviet Bloc warehouses, and I think we have not seen the end of it.

I have a nice postwar P-1, and have had some wartime P-38s. They are O.K....maybe...but nothing special.

Be very careful about how the slide is assembled, and whether that stamped steel cover on top is any good. I have had several come apart during shooting, and with force, spraying small parts into my face, cutting my forehead, and drawing blood; could have lost an eye on one occasion. So I don't shoot my P-38 much. Again, check your gun very carefully, especially the little snap engaging parts of that top cover. It's spring steel, brittle, and you never know how many people have bent parts of it over the years, to make it fit better or something.

I recently got a Russian-capture Luger from Tom Heller. I really like the pistol and its history. With all the RC Lugers, Mausers, Radoms, P38s around, I consider them to be a legit collecting variation. Not to mention all the other "capture" variations from Romania, Germany, Yugoslavia, etc. I would keep it as-is, or get another drop-in barrel for weekend parties.

Yeah! I'll take it to the next redneck BBQ... :D

Maybe a P1 firing pin cover??? On the theory that the newer the better???

:roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:

I love this picture. I've seen a few ways to use the supermarket cart, but this is the most creative one.

Those must be rich folks,they have the chrome plated BBQ!

No barrel in this kit but, worth a look for you.

http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/W...Part_Kits.html

CheaperThanDirt has them, too...no barrel... :(

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/GNS065-1.html

Both have the checkered P1 grips; not the grooved P-38 grips... :mad:

Picky Picky Picky.... :bigbye:

The magazine is jvd and is worth $50-75 by itself.

Some of those Russian "dipped" P38's do look pretty good, I have an AC41 "RC" myself, however I've found the finish isn't very durable.

Postino,

You wrote, "Maybe a P1 firing pin cover??? On the theory that the newer the better???"

That's an excellent idea, but buy one which has never been installed. That way, you know the parts which hold it in place have never been bent, and re-bent, and bent again just to make sure. Age is not an issue, but the number of slide disassembly/assembly cycles and repeated bending of the part is. It's about embrittlement.

The P-38 slide design is not the problem, just the way they were maintained in field use. And with an original ex-military gun, you don't know the history.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the original German recommendation was to discard and replace the cover if the firing pin assembly had to be accessed. They are careful about such things.