comments on my 42 code please
 

Hello, sirs, this is my favorite forum, and I highly value all I have learned here. Could I please have opinions on my code 42? I've had it for more than twenty five years, and I'm contemplating thinning out the herd. It is matching except the Fxo mag. Please note the three notches on the barrel. I don't know who did them or why. I do, however, beleive it adds to the mystic. I couldn't get a picture of the bore, but it is in fair condition. I look forward to all comments. Thank You.

Sweet-looking Mauser! "42" code on toggle, yes?

Grips look especially nice, no "million dollar chip", either!

I'd love to have it, but I'm poor. No more lugers until I can find another safety manager job:(

Interesting "kill notches" on the barrel, as well.

Agreed, very interesting!

Yes, and to bad.

Bob

Not much to say about it unless you have specific questions. A nice late war gun, average to above average condition, that somebody really sc***** the pooch on by cutting lines in the barrel, for whatever reason.
Is there bluing in the bottoms of the grooves?
dju

They have a mix of patina and bare metal. Could you give me the approx. value? Thank You.

Without the 3 grooves I'd guestimate it at roughly $1500. With the grooves it becomes difficult to price as it comes down to the buyer, and do they see them as "kill marks" or simply damage . Worst case scenario is $1000 as a shooter.
But let's see what the more experienced collectors have to say, as I've not dealt with these issues before.
dju

Hi,

I think the kill notches are something from our barbaric past.

The next thing we will be doing is scalping again!

Sieger

Obviously, the collector value has been impacted.

For a fellow of modest means such as myself, this is the sort of luger that I find very attractive. Nice condition, but not "top shelf", so it would be likely be affordable...for someone like myself.

Has anyone come across German guns "marked" for kills? Seems a bit "un-German" to me, and would probably be enough to land a poor soldier in the hooz-gow.
dju

The practice certainly existed in WW2. There are dozens of photos of both Flak cannon and tank cannon with "Kill" rings around the barrels. How much that extended to individual weapons is anyone's guess. I've seen K98s and Garands, with distinct notches in the stocks. It is unusual for someone to have done it into the metal when there are perfectly carve-able wood grips present.

Also, look at the cuts. There is no sign of blades having "walked" before a cut was started. Sort of like a band saw or cut-off wheel was used, then bluing applied? Just not sure how a soldier in the field would have made them.
Aolis:
Cold bluing has a very distinctive smell. Can you detect it in the area of the marks?
dju

The best I can tell. It smells a tiny bit like rust, not cold bluing.I myself have always taught this gun might have been captured and used by a GI or a resistance fighter of some sort. I bet it has quite a history.

Just a thought, you could always send it out to Thor and have him do his magic on JUST the barrel. Those notches really kill it for me. I could live with a partially refinished, rather than a defaced barrel. For all you know, they could be bubba made?

Of course that's if you planned on keeping it. If your selling, it would be an option to the new owner.

Bob

Historically, Germans didn't use "kill markings" on small arms. I agree that they were common on aircraft and flak/anti-tank guns but I've never seen legitimate kill markings on a German small arm, particularly a pistol. Remember, pistols were designed primarily as a personal self-defense weapon, not as an offensive weapon. Most kill markings on German pistols were probably added postwar by Amercans to embellish the history, mystique and value of the gun.

Over the years I've had many Japanese rifles but one had the so called notches on the wood. There were 5 or 7 all the same size and spaced or close enough but done by hand. Was that what they were? And when were they added? It didn't add more $ to it when I bought it or sold it.

Steve,

Aolis, the notches on yours could have been made with the side edge of a file? Had the to tell from the pic's

"Historically, Germans didn't use "kill markings" on small arms. I agree that they were common on aircraft and flak/anti-tank guns but I've never seen legitimate kill markings on a German small arm, particularly a pistol. Remember, pistols were designed primarily as a personal self-defense weapon, not as an offensive weapon. Most kill markings on German pistols were probably added postwar by Amercans to embellish the history, mystique and value of the gun."

I agree with Dale, it would be the first time that I see "kill notches" on a WWII pistol, I've seen some markings on rifles, but so far not on short guns, especially German.
Then those markings look a bit too perfect to think that a soldier made them.
IMHO