Erma .22 LR Lugers
 

I have heard of these and saw the semi carbine model going for around $1,100.00 US at a gun show 2 years back. Could someone please give me the story behind these and are then any good as shooters?

Well call me cheap Pete but that sounds a little high , they dont come highly recommended round here

"Going for" as in somebody asking that much for it, or "going for" as in seeing somebody actually handing over the cash? I find the carbine model at the shows now and then, and the highest asking price I have seen was $700. It was in very good condition, but still on the table at the end of a 2-day show.

I have the standard version (LA-22) and it's pretty darn cool, but not much of a gun as far as quality, function and reliability goes. They may turn into collectibles one day, but I see them mostly as novelty items.

I have a few Erma Luger wannabes. The carbine model, the Et.22, is basically a long-barreled Ep.22, which was a slight improvement over the earlier La.22. Fewer of the carbines were made, so they are listed by some knucklehead in some blue book as worth big bucks. This may explain why the asking prices are high. You may notice about three that have been "living" on Gunbroker for about a year, that have high reserves/buy it now/start price. Apparently, nobody wants to pay the $600 range they are "going for" there. The gun, itself, is still constructed almost entirely of Zamak (pot metal) casings. It is no better in function/reliability than its brothers--which means bad. These series are cranky guns--ammunition and mag sensitive to the max! There are several threads here on the forum where they are discussed, so a search will give you the material to get an overview of their history and reputation. BTW, I picked up my Et.22 for a little over $300 at a somewhat obscure auction site, so they are out there to be had reasonably.

If you have a hankering for a relatively inexpensive .22 shooter that looks like a Luger, consider the Erma KGP69, which is constructed of steel, save the grip frame, which is still Zamak. These are more reliable than their zinc cousins, and more true to the appearance of a P.08, though down-sized about 25%. You'd expect to pay about $250 for a rough one, and perhaps around $400 for a minty one, maybe $450 for unfired with original box, paperwork, loading tool, and pin/patch. This, however, is courting the low end of original Luger shooters, and many choose to switch teams at this point and go for the real thing.

The KGP68As came in .32 auto and .380. Same overall construction with zinc frame only, and downsized even smaller than the KGP69s. You could add about %50 to the estimates above and be in the ballpark on those, the .32 being somewhat less desirable