Its So Addictive!
 

Gents,
Just added to my collection this 41 BYF. As we all know this Luger collecting is highly addictive . I just couldnt stop at one. Been looking at these for a while and finally pulled the trigger. My next target is an artillary luger ,as soon as i escape from the dog house LOL :jumper:
RJ

Very Very Nice! Sharp photos~~~~ Eric

Nice pistol! Did the byf series use a different blue then the older S/42 lugers? This one appears more "black" then my S/42, or a different shade if you will. Beautiful pistol though, I've been exchanging emails with a gentleman about a byf 41 as we speak as well.

Very nice, great looking piece! Congratulations. :thumbsup:

Nice photos too!

Yes, Black Widow and Artillery are very hot Luger variations. Those two have very distinctive appearance. Artillery with matching stock is hard to come.

Was the blueing on these different from other models?

The Bluing was the same and all other byf's. they do appear darker I think the black grips make them look darker.
UF-22 That's a rear Beauty. Hard to upgrade on that one. Sounds like you have the Luger bug.
Mike Z.

Wow, she's purty!

I've fitted black plastic grips to my S/42 and the grips are far darker then the bluing, whereas this gun is far darker and matches the grips.

Did they salt blue these byf's or some other method to save time/materials as they did with the grips?

Mauser salt blued Lugers after mid 1937.

There can be a fair variation in the depth and tone of bluing on these guns. It took them some time to perfect the process, and then they had to deal with wartime demand and shortages...

This one is a particularly nice example.

SN "892y"... Check inside the side trigger plate for the number "9"...

BTW, it's easier to judge the finish if the photos are shot in natural shaded sunlight rather than flash. This and the white background could be contributing to the appearance of the bluing.

Marc

Marc ,
I removed the sideplate and YES i did find a # 9 behind it Whats the # 9 for whats its meaning :thumbup:
I will add more photos of the # 9
Also the finish on this pistol is beatiful I will try to upload some in natural lighting

Thanks UF28, I'd love to see some pics in natural lighting.

Even the luger forum patch shows the color difference from byf's and others.. ;) so it was noted in its design.

Roger,

Most of the Mauser manufactured Lugers key the trigger plate uniquely to the individual pistol by putting the last two digits of the serial number on the outside, and the first one or two digits plus 1 on the inside.

That confirms that you have the original trigger plate. Only one plate out of 10,000 will be marked in this way.

The fitting of the trigger linkage was done by hand, and is fairly unique for each pistol. It's part of what made the Luger so expensive to manufacture.

For a few years, the first one or two digits themselves appeared on the plate, and some of the plates at the end of production (1942) didn't have anything marked inside.

MArc

[QUOTE=mrerick;251808]Roger,

That confirms that you have the original trigger plate. Only one plate out of 10,000 will be marked in this way.

Marc,

Only one plate out of 10000?! Is that the way they marked them or is it because they were forced matched. Does this make the the pistol more desirable or change its value in any way? Is there a way to tell what month in 41 it was made? :confused:
Roger

This is how they left the factory, which is more desirable than one that was substituted later.

You would have to go through 10,000 guns (into the next lettered block) before you would find one with a 92 on the outside of the trigger plate, and a 9 on the inside. This is the normal way they were marked by Mauser that year.

Yes - the approximate month can be estimated, but I don't have access to my reference book (The Mauser Parabellum) that lists the ones made that year.

Congratulations for your acquisition; you're absolutely right "lugeritis" is a bad bug.
I got it a few years ago, I've not recovered yet!

:-)

Just checked the books...

The BYF "41" date Lugers amounted to just under 130,000 for the year 1941. There were about 5,000 in the "o" block, so the start of each block early in the year was probably in the middle of the months. Tye "42" dates start appearing just after the "z" block.

So, an early "y" block gun was probably late October or early November.

Perhaps a "Halloween Black Widow:!!!

Marc

Halloween Luger. outstanding LOL
 

Halloween Black Widow:evilgrin:
MARC,Now you may be on to something Coining a new luger A Halloween Luger. I LIKE IT !!!! :rockon:

Roger

Here's mine from the same era
 

Here is my Luger. Is it from the same time period? The bluing also looks pretty dark.

Marc, just out of curiosity, what made you doubt the originallity of the side plate on this one? The outter #, font and finish were good match, gun is in very nice original condition, it apears from pics provided. John