From RGuns - What did I get?
 

A hand pick, all matching from RGuns, I requested the earliest WW1 dated P08 they had. I don't know what I got, is it a 1908? Perhaps reworked by Simpson in 1930?, Is it Miltary or Commercial?

Help, bitte!

More Pics
 

Another question, does the sear safety mean it was once issued to the Police? But since it has no magazine safety does that indicate it was transferred back to the military?

The frame has had a mag safety installed and has a sear safety..That part is Police..I can see a Crown N so a commercial pistol, no date on chamber.
What is on the toggle? It looks later like WW2. BYF-42-DWM?
There is an X over the serial number which looks like Russian.
Is the pistol matching?

Not even the 1920 mark and with the sear safety, very interesting. One wonders if they didn't quite get your request regarding the WWI bit. I don't suppose there's any unit markings?

And More Pics...
 

More -

There's no mag safety, just a bit of corrosion in that spot.

#4261t is a 29DWM (made in 1929). The serial #'s were in the commercial range but, most went to the police or army. I suspect Jerry is correct about the mag safety. Many had the slot on the left frame flat filled in (welded). Is there a hole in the frame under the sideplate?

The proof on the right reciever is Weimar Army I believe? Deffinately Police Pistol. Quite a history there.

If that spot IS corrosion I could be wrong about the mag safety. Looked like it at first!

Out of wild curiosity..what did it cost?

You did not get what you requested. It is not a WWI gun, in fact it it is considerably post-WWI.

Very nice Luger, would love to hear more about it after you shoot it, as I have been thinking about ordering one of these to use as a "shooter".

No cut for magazine safety
 

Here's another pic, there's no cut for the magazine safety, I thought there had to be one, or am I wrong?

Is this a diamond in the rough?
Are these ones less common than WW1 or WW2 dated P08's?
Should I go through the hassle to send it back for a WW1 dated P08 as I wanted?
Try to get a partial refund?
Just keep it?

Not all Police pistols were fitted for the magazine safety. In my opinion, the Weimar era is as interesting, historically, as the First World War. This pistol witnessed the upheaval of an entire society and the rise of Adolph Hitler.
I, personally, would not exchange it.

HI CJ,

You got a rather interesting Luger from R-Guns. Considerably more rare than the Military DWMs from WW-I. To be clear, this one was newly manufactured by DWM, and would not have been a Simson rework.

Was the barrel a replacement? Is that corrosion that was welded over where the serial number normally is found? Did it originally have a different number, or match the rest of the pistol? Does the witness mark line up?

If you replace grips, keep the originals. You can find members here that can repair the chip on the front of the left grip if you want that done. They may also be matching...

The notion of what is "collectable" can change over time. A RC Luger with this interesting a background would be, in my opinion, worth holding on to.

Marc

One side story.

If it were in Beijing, this one would definitely be a multi-thousand-dollar piece. Back a few years ago, I heard from members of another forum, a local gun lover bought a CZ-652 (? is there such a model?) from a museum worker. Paid equivalent of USD$3000-$4000 for it. Originally, the museum did not even notice that they lost a gun, they got too many guns and the management was poor. But this guy got this Czech pistol, too excited, could not control himself from practicing it in a street physical fighting.....

Gun value is related with environment.

I still think this gun may have had a mag safety. The corrosion may be pits from a weld to fill the slot. Is there a hole through the frame under the sideplate? If so, there was a mag safety installed in the past. Also the left grip looks like it was inlet for a mag safety and may be original to the gun. Check for the hole...

I plan to strip it down and clean it out this weekend, so I'll snap some more pics of what I find. Thanks for all all the advice!

CJ -

Did you contact RGuns and inform them that the Luger you received was not what you had requested???

Removing the sideplate will show if a mag safety was ever installed. (There will be a hole). Your sideplate does have the cut commonly done to clear the mag safety (pic attached).

Don't be dismayed if the Luger you received is a Russian captured & VoPo refurbished pistol. The work was done by skilled armorers in the East Bloc, some of whom are reputed to be original Mauser Werke employees... ;)

BTW: Is there an import mark [stamp] on it somewhere??? We'd be interested in the placement...

It does have the safety hole drilled, however the cut on the sideplate was smaller than I'd ever seen and was so well welded up that I mistook it at first for a spot of corrosion. It is

I did call RGuns, they basically shrugged and said send it back, the person I spoke to said the owner might refund my shipping costs. They could not tell me what replacement they might send to me as their stock was low and they would have to go look in the warehouse. But, they were too short handed that day to go look straightaway. Call back tomorrow and they might have more time.

I asked for a copy of their FFL to put in the box if I decided to return it, they said they don't do that, just mail it back. I asked about a RTV number or any type of reference No. to track it once they got it back, they said the don't do that, just "mail" it back.

I decided to keep it and never deal with RGuns again.

It's a great Luger P08, not what I expected, but it goes well with my MK.I* Inglis Hi Power.
I'll keep searching for a WW1 P08 to match my Webley .455

New grips are on the way for it, a couple of MecGar Mags, a repro holster, after a while I may send it off to Thor to be refinished. I'll take it too the range next week and post a report on how it shoots, the barrel's bore is pristine!