Garbage can p38
 

Greetings,
I received a cell phone call from a person unkown to me. He said he had been to the pawn shop, and they referred him to me as a person who buys guns. I replied "yes, I do buy guns, but only certain kinds. What kind of gun is it?" I asked. He said he thought it was a German Luger. We exchanged casual words and then he gave me his address. I asked if knew where the Luger came from. He said he saw a neighbor throwing away something into the road side garbage container and it looked like a pistol. He dug it out and found a P38. He asked the neighbor why SHE was throwing it away. She said it had been in her attic for over 60 years. Now that it was found she was deathly afraid of it. Unfortunately it is cover with rust. The lands in the bore look new. I suspect that this P38 was virtually new when it was placed in the attic, but over the sixty or so years, moisture played it's it deadly role. It is an AC41 model. OH BTW, I payed him $200.00. I guess I will use it at shooter. At least it was saved from the jaws of the compactor unit.

Mike

Mike,

Good work. How about some pictures of this 'Dumpster Darling' ?

OK, I left it with my gunsmith buddy. He said he could "clean it up" a bit. No charge. So what the heck. I will post pictures when I get it back. Might even offer it for sale if it looks ok.

Mike

hmmmmmmm..........just a thought!
http://members.rennlist.org/lugerman/P382599.jpg
or this one!
http://members.rennlist.org/lugerman/JBZeroP38A1.jpg

Thor, that would be like a phoenix rising from the ashcan.

One can only speculate on how often this happens without some sharp eyed person catching it...
A guy I know who has one of the largest collections of US uniforms I am aware of works at the local dump! 90% of his collection comes from sorting through the stuff before it is trash piled...

I've read that when clearing away the debris from the 9/11 Twin Towers attack, they had to set up a separate 'culling' line to catch all the weapons that were mixed in with the rubble... :(

I promised pictures
 

OK guys, I said I would provide pictures once I got the P38 back from the gunsmith. Well, here they are.

To Thor:
I would venture to say this one is past restoration. Your opinion please.

To anyone interested in buying it:

I am going to list it on this forum in the WTS section. I will be the first to admit that this is far from being a collectable piece. However the lands in the barrel are really nice. It will make a great shooter. So if anyone out there wants a P38 shooter, take a look.
All that being said, it is a AC41 with a lot of history. Unfortunately, it is not in the same condition that it was sixty years ago. But it is all matching except the mag (I have two), so it should have some historical significance.

Mike

I would REALLY like to hear Ted Green's opinion again now that the "before" photos have been posted. He CAN work some miracles, and I am not sure this isn't in the Miracle class...

That one is borderline. I would have to see it in my hand to determine if I wanted to do it or not. Some are just too far gone. I did a 1936 S/42 that was pretty bad and I was happy with the end result when I got done with it but I was really ready to ship it back to the owner, man were my fingies tired. Here are some close ups of that one. Unforturnately, I did not take after pictures.
http://members.rennlist.org/lugerman/Bad1R.JPG
http://members.rennlist.org/lugerman/Bad2R.JPG
http://members.rennlist.org/lugerman/Bad3R.JPG
http://members.rennlist.org/lugerman/Bad4R.JPG
Gale Morgan could do it but is it worth the time and effort? On a rare variation, probably.
Work like this usually makes the help grumpy too!
http://members.rennlist.org/lugerman/DwarfMrGrumpy.bmp

Mike, have you test fired it?

test fire
 

Gary,
I have not fired it yet. I plan to go to the range tomorrow, but I had a gunsmith go over it and he said it is mechanically fine.

Mike

Mike, for the amount you have posted in the FS forum, you could make more by just parting it out... :rolleyes:

(I like those black grooved grips!) :D

Mike, one of the ugliest P38's I've seen.

It also shoots very well, and reliably!

Yes, I bought it, as I did not have a P38, my son and I went shooting and the zombie's did not stand a chance :)

Not many things that come out of a trash can are very pretty. I guess superior engineering is what kept this pistol in working condition. At least we saved it from a crusher.
Enjoy and be sure those Zombies don't shoot back.

Mike

Mike, that was not a slam, I am thrilled you sold it to me :)

It is really one of the most accuarate P38's I have shot.


Ed