Dad left me his S/42 G
 

Dad was in the Army, stationed in Heidelberg and Vienna just after the surrender. For many years I thought he brought his Luger home with him. I later found out he bought it stateside around 1970.

I've really enjoyed studying up on it here, this forum is a wonderful resource. As far as I can tell, it's a 1935 Mauser. I'd really like to learn more about this Luger's history.

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3056

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3055

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3057

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3058

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3059

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3060

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3061

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3062

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3063

The magazine is an obvious repro. It's chrome with a plastic butt plate, so I didn't include pics of it.

Thanks, Steve

Here are some of the inside.

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3074Her are some pics of the inside.

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3066

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3067

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3065

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3068

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3069

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3070

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3071

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3072
I'm curious what the X means, if anything.

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=3075
The grips appear to made of ebony and have no markings. The left grip is covered in what looks like some sort of varnish-like substance.

Anything you guys can tell me about Dad's gun would be very much appreciated. Thanks again,

Steve

Steve. Your above grips are postwar Italian repros that have been restained. I also suspect that due to the thinning of the inspector's markings on the receiver, some polishing and refinishing has been done on some of the parts. TH

You are probably already aware, but the "G" over the chamber is a sort of code to hide the year of mfg, 1935. Those rascalls...
There is an absence of "halos" around the numbers, and the finish looks pretty uneven to me, possibly suggesting some cold bluing.
It should be discussed further, but I'm wondering if this one isn't a candidate for professional restoration.
But, anyway, the G date makes it worth a bit more than other similar-condition Lugers, and certainly a neat heirloom.
Congratulations!
dju

when did they stop the bluing that made halo's? Well the banging of the numbers causes the halo's. This might have had some work, but it could just be the lighting.

I would say its a pretty decent G date and would ensure I did not clean it up to much. I think its pretty nice example if you have only one that dad owned :)
\
Ed

Ed:
It is my understanding that you should see halo's all thru the rust bluing era, ending mid-1937. No?
dju

There is halo on barrel numbers.

The grip panels... gun oil soaked?? They are so dark, looks being saturated on oil. Many non-collectors are very generous on gun oil -- oil everything, including wood panels.

Hello, welcome to the forum, and congratulations on your new Luger .

You would expect to see the number "40 or "41" stamped on the inside of the trigger plate. The finish appearance of this plate looks different from the rest of the gun, so I expect that it was replaced at some point. It was common for the Wehrmacht soldiers to throw away the plate if they knew they were about to be captures (to prevent the Luger from being used by a GI on a German), so this is not that unusual.

I also think that this one has been refinished at some point. Several things point to this, but the use of flash in the photography tends to wash out the details of the finish, so it's hard to judge.

As a result of a refinish and parts replacement, if correct this would not be considered a collectible Luger, but a "shooter" which you can feel comfortable firing.

It is, without question, a wonderful family heirloom, and the generosity of your Father.

Congratulations again! Marc

First of all welcome to this forum.
Then for what I can see from your pictures it's quite a nice gun, to keep as a remember of you father.
I'm not that sure that could be a valuable "collectible", as the use of the camera flash hides any visible halos.
In any case in 1935 MAUSER made not that many (about 55 thousand) of those "G" marked Lugers.
So after all, even in case it got somehow rebuffed, it is a bit of a special Luger.

Sergio

Marc,

I've sure never heard that one before. Where did you read about it?


Sieger

While I agree that the gun has been refinished, I don't see any major issues with the sideplate. The font on the numbers is similar to the balance of the gun and although the inner numbers aren't apparent in the photo, they may be there under different light.

Sieger, I can't attribute the information about throwing away side plates, but there are a number of people that have said that this was happening. It might be an "urban legend" but it makes sense.

The same thing happened with Garand rifles on the US side. When a weapon was about to be captured with a soldier, they often removed the trigger group and threw it away to prevent the firearm being used.

Marc

Thanks, everybody, for the replies. I'm actually happy to hear that it's a shooter, as I own no safe queens. It's time to get it oiled up and out to the range.

I'd like to try and find a period appropriate mag for it, but I'm not sure of the markings to look for. I guess W154, and???

Thanks again, Steve

Steve

Use a fairly recent mag, and remember that old Lugers should NEVER be fired with modern
high speed and high power ammunition because they may be structurally unsound.
Enjoy your Dad's gun but shoot safe.

Sergio