New guy questions
 

I have collected WWII guns for a while, but just started looking at lugers. What is a good book to get to learn the ropes.

Would like to get a nice all matching gun to start. Nothing "rare" just nice and original...what kind of money are we talking?

I'll let others recommend books, but for an all matching WW2 Luger, with mismatched magazine, probably $1000-$1500 depending on condition. With matching magazine add $500.

Hi Jeff,
Welcome to the forum.
The Mauser Parabellum 1930 - 1946 by Joop van de Kant and Don Hallock is the latest and most updated Luger reference book. It is very thorough and touches on early Luger production as well. It sells for around $100.
Jan Still's Third Reich Lugers is an excellent book also, but is out of print. Copies go for around $250 - $350. Jan Still is in the process of completing a revised edition.

There are reviews of some books here, you can find them by doing a search or by looking in the new collectors area.

There are some 'cheaper' books on lugers out there and they are good as primers, but have inaccurate information.

Decide the era & type you want, WW1, commercial, Weimar, nazi, army, police, navy...

Welcome to the forum, I changed your title and made it so you'll receive emails from responses.

:)

Ed

Hi Jeff,

Let me also add my welcome.

While the books may seem expensive, it costs even more to make mistakes buying Lugers for collection or even just for shooting. I call that "Luger Unversity"...

At local gun shows in my area (SouthEast NC) I regularly see grossly overpriced Lugers that are not considered collectible because of mis-matched parts, refinishing or other problems. They are presented as collectible, but are really not. They are priced way above a reasonable price. I mean $3500 for one not worth $1000... Buyer beware. That's expensive "tuition"...

At the last show, I finally saw some beautiful and collectible examples at a dealer's table, but priced at least 2x their value. The nice part of this was that I was able to closely inspect them and have a nice discussion with someone that knew Lugers well. I didn't buy anything, but we both enjoyed the visit over the table.

Try to attend shows where people that collect and sell Lugers show up, and just have a good look at what is being offered or shown. Don't buy anything, but take the time to observe what a Rust Blued finish looks like, versus the Salt Blued guns. Look at aged "Straw".

The books offer detailed reference photographs so that you can see what's "right" about variations. For example, when did the "Mauser Hump" first appear, and what did the rear of the receiver ears look like in WW-I guns versus later Lugers. These things are documented in the books.

I think that Ed's advice about deciding what specific period and variations to focus on is right on... After making that decision, that's what you study.

These are amazing firearms. It's also quite an experience to acquire and own a few...

Marc

Jeff, There are new luger books with updated info being published frequently, but still one of the most refered to, and easiest to understand, that covers most variations is Kenyon's "Lugers at Random" available @$50 + S&H. This is a good place to start and build a background to understand the rarer subvariations. TH

Thanks for the replys, I will pick up one or two and start reading...

Tom, do you have Kenyon books available or are you saying that they sell elsewhere for that price?
dju

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sear...ndom&x=60&y=10

If Tom doesn't have one try here.