Pleasant Surprise
 

I usually stay away from Lugers not in outstanding condition, but I recently bought a "shooter" at the Las Vegas Antique Gun Show for $325. Since my Lugers are too nice to shoot, I thought I would give this one a try. It is a 1917 Erfurt, about 75% finish with some pitting here and there. All numbers match except the correct wood bottom mag, which is numbered and original. Grips are excellent, but not original. The bore is very good. I have put about three hundred rounds through it without a single hang up, no jams, stove pipes, failures to eject, or anything else you can think of. Ammo used was Russian Wolf, Winchester, and a couple of other cheap brands, including 200 rounds of my mediocre reloads using copper clad 115 grain bullets. I used three or four different mags, including the one that came with the gun, plus a couple of aftermarkets. As I said, I shoot Lugers very rarely, but this one is a really pleasant surprise.

Re: Pleasant Surprise
 

Aaron; what are your (mediocre) handloads? Do they not shoot as good as commercial ammo?


Lonnie

Re: Pleasant Surprise
 

The first pleasant surprise was being able to get it for $325. In the December 20 Shotgun News Sarco offered "a small lot" of East German reworks with Sarco repro grips and repro wood bottom mags. 60 to 80 percent reblue were $395 and 90 percent reblue were $475. With a dealer price of $395 plus shipping you may see these Lugers at gunshows for $500-$600 or more.

Re: Pleasant Surprise
 

Yes, it was a very nice buy at that price. As for my reloads, I use 4.4 gr of Win. 231 and 2.4 gr of Bullseye. These loads work well in all my 9mm pistols, including HiPowers, P-38s, my Beretta 92,etc.