Cabelas
 

Went to my local Cabelas last Friday and looked at what was described as Commercial 9mm. I don't pass up looking at Lugers and I had to see this one up close. It had been redone, not as bad as some but still redone. Asking price was around 16-17 hundred bucks. As I handed it back I told the Gun library guy that he might want to check the caliber, if someone bought it and a box of ammo they might be pleasantly surprised and he would have a mad customer. He said why, I said it's a 30 cal. He says no, it is a 9mm. I suggested he compare the muzzle of the luger with the P38 it was sitting next to. He says oh, it IS a 30 cal. These guys don't pay a whole lot of attention to anything.

Here is another one:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/DWM-M...rary&Ntt=luger

I saw this about 10 days ago and thought about buying it but decided I should probably pay my taxes instead. Not a bad 1908. Moral of the story, if it doesn't have a chamber date it has to be a commercial.

Sorry Steve, that isn't the moral of the story, and the gun they are advertising as a 1920 Commercial is waaay off base. It is a rather scarce 1908 Military First Issue, probably made in early 1909. and it is Imperial era unit marked to boot! They didn't start dating military Lugers until 1910. Whoever is evaluating Lugers for Cabelas needs to find a new line of work. They indicate that the sale of this gun is now pending so a price isn't shown...what were they asking for it?

Yeah Ron, it is a really early 1908 !st issue. With unit marks. I was just trying to show what a bunch of idiots they have at Cabelas. Was trying to point out that to them if it doesn't have a chamber date it must be a 1920 commercial. This is about the 3rd 1908 that I have seen at Cabelas that was misidentified. I should have made myself more clear.

They are probobly more focased on the Duck Dynasty bird calls, callenders and hundred of other products with their logo~~~ Eric

Remember gentlemen, Ignorance can be your Friend. I bought the 1908 thanks to a "heads-up" from a friend. I have its sister, only three numbers off on the unit mark.

Correct on that, I have taken advantage of them more than once.:cheers:

I should have known. I don't always recognize tongue-in-cheek comments.:thumbup:

I worked with a guy that ended up quitting and going to work for one of Cabelas competitors. Nice guy but he was the hunter type not the collector. His opinion was it wasn't for hunting it was junk to him. His scope of handgun knowledge was Browning Buckmarks and Ruger Redhawks. Despite Our opinions and taste in firearms were polar opposites we got along good and we kept in touch for a short while when he went to work for the Big sporting chain. He was the guy in charge of firearms at that store he went to work for and one day I went to that store to see him and to shop and he had a discount table with all sorts of used things like holsters and pistol magazines etc. that probably came in when they took trades and he had prices on stuff that, well were worth a lot more than either he realized or could care about.

I've noticed a couple of these mis-identified first issue P. 08's on Cabelas websites in the past 6 months. If I'd not already traded my 'expendables' for my third variation G-date, I'd still be on the hunt for one of these. As it was, I missed out on one by a couple of days...but then my G-date surfaced, and I had to have it!

I've made a some nice 'scores' from Cabelas over the past couple of years, due to the fact that they have no clue about many of their lugers. Unfortunately, they also have some near-junk for sale at ridiculous prices as well. Caveat Emptor, indeed.

They were asking $1,499.99 is seems.

Sometimes things are better off left un-said................

Norm, the keeper of the Navy list, stole a nice and extrememly rare (1 of 150) Navy contract P.08 from them last year because it was mis-identified.

They aren't the only ones. I got one of the same Navy contract P.08s from Rock Island auctions that was mis-identified as a Weimar era reworked Navy. All matching and all original. Sadly, I wasn't the only Navy collector who realized their error, so I had to pay a reasonably fair price for it. Still, if it had been correctly identified it might have gone for more.

Well, the 1908 from Cabelas arrived this week and I'm quite pleased with it. It has joined with its long lost sister:

1908 sn 1213, 123.R.M.G.51.
1908 sn 1288, 123.R.M.G.54.

The latter has two matching mags and matching holster and a friend on the left coast is sending me the matching mag for the former, 1213.

The Mel Fisher of Lugers!! Congrads!

Eric, do you mean the Mel TORME of lugers?

I chose Mel Fisher who located the Spanish wreck the Atocha down the Florida keys. Treasure over 100 million. I can no longer dive so like George I must confine my treasure hunting to way cool LUGERS! ~~Eric