New shooter
 

Picked up a shooter at a gun show here in NC last weekend . It is a 1939 - 42 marked PO8 . The numbers don't match and the finish is rough - just a basic shooter ! It does have a nice mag that has a waffenampt mark over the number 37 and fxo above that the mag is also stamped PO8 . I was told it was a Russian capture due to a X stamped on the left side . I was able to talk the guy down to $550 maybe a bit too much - I'll have some fun shooting her . My cell phone pics are not the best - my apologies !

Another pic

And another pic

Looks like a fairly decent gun for $550. Hope it shoots well!

I agree, but than any Luger is a good thing :)

Chris

Congratulations on your Luger it's quite a nice gun.

As I usually say to people that buy old guns to use at the range, have it properly checked first by a serious gunsmith, and as an additional warning all of these old Lugers should never be fired with modern high speed and high power ammunition because they may be structurally unsound.
Shoot safe.

Looks like a good deal to me if it checks out good and functions reliably. I would most likely made that deal if it were offered to me, as I enjoy shooting P08s.

Sounds like a great deal to me, regardless. There is more than $550 in parts there. In addition, if it is a VoPo/RC, it has been examined & suspect/out of spec parts replaced by East German armorers/original factory workers (who likely were captured and allowed to work in the weapon repair effort).

How's the bore look??? :)

Assuming it's complete and functional you can't go wrong for that price! Bill

Good find ! I'd buy it for that price.

Hi, and welcome to the forum from the Raleigh and Wilmington areas.

Some of the Lugers from 1939 had very thin salt blued finishes. This might have been one of them. The large "X" behind the serial number numeric digits on the left side of the receiver ahead of the trigger plate would indicate it was a Russian capture. It's also possible it was dip refinished, and then someone removed that finish.

Here's a picture of my 1939 with the thin finish for comparison to the appearance of your Luger (Note, I have since replaced the incorrect bakelite grips with proper unnumbered wooden ones...):

Marc

Thanks for the compliments on my new old toy gentlemen ! The dealer had a few to choose from and I really liked the been there - done that look of this one . Most collectors would pass on a Russian capture pistol but to me that is just part of the history that gives it character ! He was asking $625 to start with - I tried to get it for $500 but he wouldn't go that low . Took her out back and shot 3 rounds into a milk jug at close range and she functioned flawless - very pleased !! Looking forward to learning more about theses interesting pistols . Already looking forward to my next one !

:jumper:

Nothing beats a good ol' shooter Luger! ;)

If you change your mind, I'd buy it off you.