Looking for info on DWM .30 Luger
 

Let me start by saying thanks for this great forum. I discovered it while searching for info on this gun. I inherited this Luger from my father. It is .30 Luger (7.65mm) DWM Serial Number is 2929. All numbers match except the Magazine. There are no other markings I can find.

It has an original holster Which is stamped inside in ink
K.B.A.G. 1915

Stamped in the leather is B. Weisermann Berlin.N.39 1915

I'm looking for any info available,History, Value etc.
Thanks
Dave
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Can you tell us a little about how your father acquired it? Where he was stationed/fought, how he got it home, any documents mentioning the Luger, if was taken from an enemy soldier, etc???

And Welcome to the Luger Forum! Where the discussions are sometimes heated but never dull!!! :D

BTW:...It appears to be marked in the military manner...Are you certain it is 7.65 caliber???

My father was stationed in numerous locations in Germany during the war however he did not bring this gun home. (He did bring home a P38) It was given to him by a good friend who was a Colonel in the Army during the war. The story I was told was he was presented the gun by a surrendering German officer. I wish I had asked more about the gun when both were still alive.
I'm pretty sure it's 7.65, that's what my Dad had told me and it came with a box of .30 Luger/ 7.65 that chamber smoothly. I have not fired it.

Better safe than sorry...Try the pencil trick...30 Luger cartridges will fit in a 9mm chamber...(But not vice versa)...

Or you could just try fitting one of the 30 Luger cartridges in the muzzle...If the bullet AND the case neck fit in, then it's 9mm...

Just checked it and 30 Luger does not fit in muzzle and 9mm will not chamber.

The barrel is not numbered or proofed, so it's probably been replaced. Is there a suffix under the serial number on the front of the frame?

MFC, There is a small proof mark on the barrel it's a M or W. And there is a suffix under the serial number, here's a pic of it and the proof mark.
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The serial # is military. The barrel should be numbered also, and have a firing proof. I'm not sure what the stamp is on your barrel. The original barrel would have been 9mm. I suspect that a date was removed above the chamber. Can you show a closeup view of the chamber area.

I'm no expert but I see no evidence of a date being removed from the top of the chamber. Would changing it from 9mm to 7.65mm be as simple as changing the barrel? Were there military issued 7.65mm? Thanks for your help.

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David,
I'm no expert either. I'm hoping someone with more knowledge will jump in. The only thing I can think of that makes sence of this Luger is that a date was removed from above the chamber and acceptance stamps removed from the right side of the receiver. Many WWI Lugers were "scrubbed" and had 30 cal. barrels added to sell on the commercial market after the war.
All WWI Lugers were 9mm.
The serial # doesn't fit into the later Alphabet DWM commercial serial range, which started with the 'i' suffix in 1921. The next time the 'c' suffix was used was by Mauser in 1935 on 'G dates'.

The sear bar is in the white with no part of the serial number showing. So that points to a pre-relieved (1915) sear bar gun that has been upgraded. The slide frame fit is points to an early gun as well.