Is the Luger a 'dead' topic in the gun magazine?
 

Is the Luger a 'dead' topic in gun circles? Has it been reduced to a gun of intrest to only the die hard Luger fans? I would think not at the great intrest any Luger brings when one shows up at a gun shop for sale and at quickly they sell despite their condition. There is no doubt that the Colt 1911 is worth the praise it gets. Every gun magazine seems to have a new, souped up version of the 1911 on it's cover and the poor old Luger only gets a mention, and a short one at that, when a magazine gives a nod to 'surplus' military pistols. In the two major book stores I visit, not a Luger book can ever be found, but always 1911 books and others are in plent supply.The Luger and the 1911 being born basicly in the same era and used in WW1 and that generation of servicemen and by WW2 the 1911 was in great use and the Luger was a 2nd line pistol, though highly prised bring home throphy, and it that generation the most intrest is found. It looks as if the shooters of today, being brought up mainly on the 1911, look at the Luger as little more than a 'curiousity' or a expensive collector item. Some thirty somethings I was chatting with the other day had the opinion that the Luger was very unrelable. There might be 'some' truth to that compaired to all the 1911s, Sigs,Hks,Glocks,ect. I think the Luger looks to be forgotten, unless one comes up for sale!!

Well, this is not an easy topic.

The Colt Government Model is easy to work on and it costs less to manufacture than the Luger. I suspect that the reduced cost in manufacturing a Government Model and the many clones that now exist is one of the main reasons the Luger is not still being manufactured.

The Luger is by comparison a more complicated pistol.

And there are plenty of after market "do it yourself" modifications that can be made to the Government Model with no special tools required. Special grips, extend slide release, extended safety, ported barrel bushings, various sight configurations, choice of blued steel versus stainless steel after market parts, etc., etc., etc.

On the other hand, an "off the shelf" Luger can be expected to be a lot more accurate than an "off the shelf" Colt Government Model .45. Typically, an "off the shelf" Government Model is "as loose as a goose" compared to the close fitting of the Luger's parts. Sure it can be made more accurate; however, right "off the shelf" it does not have a reputation as being an accurate hand gun.

This looseness, (for example around the barrel bushing) means a sacrifice in accuracy; however, the Government Model can get a lot dirtier and still keep on functioning too. In a combat environment this ability to get very dirty and still function is a postive attribute.

I do not think anyone would disagree that the natural pointing abilities of the Luger are superior to those of the Government Model.

And it is worth noting that the 9mm Luger cartridge is now the handgun cartridge of choice for many of the world's modern armies.

Yes! I forgot about the 9mm story and how it came to be. Many of my younger friends think that the 9mm was just made for the US military to use to replace the .45 Colt!

Not bad. They may also think that the P38 is a copy of the Beretta 92 :)

I don't think it's that bad. In Germany, as well as the rest of Europe the Parabellum is alive and kicking, although it has passed from 'shooter gun' to 'collector gun'. There are a couple of die hard P08 shooters around over here, including former Mauser Jagdwaffen manager Prof. Dr. Gminder and yours truly.

I'm still explaining to people that the strength of the toggle is quite ok, that reduced loads are not necessary and that most problems are caused by worn out magazines instead. The only gun that comes close to reliability of my shooter P08 is the club's Glock 17. The P08 is way more accurate, though.

hmm
 

hey, Vlim...whats the story on that rear sight on the pictured Luger?

Lol, I wondered if anyone would notice :)

It is an experimental rear sight developed by Mauser engineer and quality assurance guy Otto Repa. He developed the sight (and accompanying modifications to the rear toggle piece) in order to see whether it was possible to create a 2-piece sports sight.

The idea was quite good, the rear sight is held in place by the toggle pin, through 2 cut-outs in the rear toggle part. The problem is that the rear toggle has to be machined to very exact specification, otherwise the sight will bounce up on recoil. This is why Mauser eventually chose to create a completely new rear toggle part for their Parabellum Sports pistols.

I think you don't ready much about Lugers in gun mags because so many of the mags are for kids wearing camo throwing death stars and packing black guns. Lugers are to expensive for many younger gun owners and doesn't get much press coverage, IMHO of course.
Bill

very neat, Vlim...you know its always baffled me, whether Luger, Mauser rifle etc....the Germans always put much effort into engineering and great quality, and then put those miniscule, afterthought v sights on....go figure

Collector firearms are never going to get the press of carry guns, hunting guns etc. We go by trends. Right now the big thing is 45 clones in all sizes. You also do not see many articles on the original 1911 45's. Just remember that the more publicity the higher the prices. Maybe fine if you are selling not so good for buying. Bill

I agree with Bill...Lugers have a mystique that will last. They are a pistol with genuine history and enough variety to keep collectors busy for decades to come.

Go to a range with a .45 and it's ho hum. Show up with a stocked Artillery and it's a crowd pleaser! Like going to the prom with the girl next door or showing up with a super model. Yeah, we're all going to marry the girl next door but heads turn when you break out the Lugers!

I love a .45...I have several and they are dream shooters. BUT, they ain't a Luger and that's that.

Where will the subsequent future collectors go? I care and I don't care. They are what I like and what I find fascinating and I will enjoy mine untill I don't anymore. I would bet though that the mystique and the history will continue to attract collectors fo many years to come.

Jerry Burney

Don't forget the money cycle associated with trade magazines.

Advertisers and subscribers fund magazine publishing.

Writers create articles that are pleasing to BOTH. Writers like getting new stuff (usually on loan) from manufacturers.

Subscribers buy the magazines because of the articles.

Advertisers support the magazines because of the readers who buy from the dealers.

Dealers give feedback to the advertisers and the magazines.

In the case of the Luger, nobody is in the role of advertiser. There goes half the motivation for the writer, and most of the motivation for the magazine to cover Luger technology.

If I'm not mistaken, the last time the magazines took interest in the Luger was when Mauser was working on new and rebuilt ones...

Marc

Marc, Good point! I quit "Guns & Ammo" Years ago because their magazine was full of NEW guns rather than the Old Military articles I like. Guess I am officially getting old...

I would bet though that the mystique and the history will continue to attract collectors fo many years to come.

Remember July 28, 2014 is the 100 year anniversary of the beginning of WW1.


Jerry Burney

A twenty-something co-worker of mine recently bought a Smith & Wesson 9mm auto because it was "plastic and looked cool".

Kids have no sense of history anymore........and they won't stay off my lawn.:(

rolandtg, lugers are great lawn jockeys..blaze away...
 

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I think that print magazines are generally in decline, with a few exceptions.

Online media are starting to dominate because of all the great capabilities they add to the consumer experience.

This forum site (and others) represent a community, and this and other Luger sites periodically provide updated and new reference articles. In some of my early studies of online media, we found that regular content creation and refinement were the keys to keeping people coming back, and attracting new visitors.

The new active social media has subsequently changed this transaction quite a bit. Since users are self organizing and generating their own content, the role of a "publisher" has very much changed.

Social media sites like "Facebook" (aka "Crackbook" at my office) can be quite compelling. It might be worth embracing such services to help route visitors here...

Marc

My question would be, do you really want that negative "noise to signal" ratio?

I find that when things are a little tedious to locate, only the people who really want to be there show up.
I have seen other sites get completely dragged down by trolls, wanabees, mouth breathers, bottom feeders, droolers, trouble makers, etc.

I'm not sure the site moderators here want all that excitement

Doug... I believe that group was at a local gun show this past weekend.......

You haven't lived until you've seen a South Florida gun show. Makes me almost want to campaign for stronger gun legislation!

It sounds like alanint has met my in-laws.