What is this?
 

Hi There,

I have purchased what I think is a P-08 replica by Mauser. Condition is very good. I think it must be 50 years old, perhaps.

It's probably fired less than 100 rounds since the magazine is like new.

Any info will be appreciated. I am hoping to use it as an occasional fun shoot pistol at the range.

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You have a reblued 1918 DWM that someone put a 1970's Mauser manual with it

Mauser did refurbish and sell some WW2 lugers, but they had Mauser toggles if I remember. See The Mauser Parabellum for further info

IIRC, the Mauser refurbished Lugers were marked on the handstrap.

Wow - thanks for that. So it is a 1918 DWM. Pity it was reblued, would have been nice in the original condition. All the parts show the correct serial 61 inside and out. I have not fired any rounds through it yet. I was hoping to do some tomorrow.
I'm guessing the $400 I paid for it might be on the high side then?

No, I think you got a good deal for a shooter.

Thanks for the feedback kzullick. I can see what all the fascination is with these since it is really incredible. I shoot IPSC competitively and I am totally intrigued by this. Is there any way to be sure of the calibre, where do I look?

That would be on the low side for a reblued matching numbers shooter. You did well.:thumbup:

It is marked in military fashion, so it should be 9mm. If a number 2 pencil will go into the muzzle easily, then it is 9mm. If it will not, it is 30 Luger(7.65 Para). Also, a 9mm bullet(not cartridge) will be way to large to enter the muzzle end of the barrel if it is 30 Luger caliber.

The 9mm military version pistols would have a number on the bottom of the barrel that is the bore diameter in millimeters. It will be somewhere between 8.81 to 8.85 mm with 8.83 being probably the most common.

It does not say where you live, so $400 might be high in Zimbabwe - but in the USA $600 is a decent price for a reblued shooter.....

$400? If it goes BANG (safely) when you pull the trigger, you stole it...

I'll let you know if it goes bang in a couple of hours. Heading to the range shortly. I load my own 9mm for my other pistols, so I will have to see if it cycles. My ammunition is a 115g round nose CMJ. The PF on my loads is 132. I can always create a custom load for this if it needs, but from what I have read, my load should cycle without being too powerful.

It's not high in Zimbabwe, however demand is low for collectibles like this. Export from here is troublesome with the arms embargo. My competition 9mm pistols for IPSC land here at about 3x the price you pay in the US.

I'll keep this correctly lubed and stored, and shoot it on special club shoots, where some 'class' is called for.

It went bang - once! I put one in the magazine to test fire it and it was quite incredible.
Unfortunately, when I tried to load 6 rounds in the magazine, the bottom plastic spring holder which must have been brittle gave way.
In conclusion. She shoots and the recoil is very nice. There are 3 more mags with it so when I get my hands on them I will have a more complete impression which I will share.

Zim, The plastic mag bottoms do tend to deteriate with age and use. That's why I stock new aluminum replacement mag bottoms @$35 + S&H to correct that problem. TH

Thanks Tom, as soon as she is on my license I'll be in touch!