Identifying
 

Hello,everyone thanks for letting me join ya'll forum.Here's what i got would appreciate your help identifying Luger 1918 barrel is 4" long,serial # 7107,.30cal,the mag # 820,& + mark,rifling is excellent.under the grips are mark on frame with a (0) & ought side a (n)

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

First, you have a 9m Luger, not one in .30 caliber.

The letter under the serial numeric digits on the frame and barrel is a suffix, and part of the serial number. I can't quite make it out, but it's probably a "f".

Odd to see the "GERMANY" stamp on one of these.

The lack of paint on the safety area, and the grainy looking finish make me think that it might have been refinished at some point. You would typically see halos around the serial number digits stamped into the barrel on an original finish gun.

It's marked in the military way, and may have been something unissued that was brought into the USA between the wars.

Any specific questions?

thanks for lnfo,when i purchase the gun i was told it was .30cal i put 50 rounds threw it.hope i didn't hurt it? i was told it was test Luger they had no paperwork.I gave $1000.what do you think the value is? and it is a f.

:eek: You shot 50 rnds of .30 Luger out of this pistol? I'm assuming you didn't hit anything you were aiming at....the barrel markings clearly show it as a 9mm Luger. I'm amazed it functioned....I bet you have some funny looking empty brass!

Yes it did the brass expand pretty bad that's why it didn't cycle.

As said it likely is still 9mm, it would have had to have been re-lined to .30 to be a .30 cal.; it started life as a 9mm.

Sounds like you confirmed it with funny brass and not cycling.

Value- what you paid + or - a bit. Depends on if it is refinished, matching and if it has any unusual markings or not.

You need to check the barrel rifling for damage before trying to shoot it again.

This guide will be helpful:

http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthre...ight=.30+luger

Thank you very much for the information big help.

I am surprised that it could fire, doesn't the 9mm seat into the chamber until the case can't go any further. So, I would expect a 30 luger (7.65mm) to pop to far into the chamber.

Further, whomever sold it to you, should have known better. Generally a 'germany' marked is 30 luger, but as said above I am sure it was sold on the market in the 20's by a retailer from Germany to the USA.

BTW, the 8,83 is the land to land measurement and unless it had been relined, would equal a 9mm. Which I had a 9mm that had been relined to 30 luger (note; 30 luger was easier to get in the 30's than 9mm in the USA)

Ed

Ed, I think the extractor will hold the cartridge firmly enough to allow the firing pin to strike the primer.....but I'm not gonna try it with any of mine! Failure to extract is no surprise either....the case mouth probably expands into the beginning of the rifling.

The expanded cartridge won't reach the rifling.
The no extract is due to the fact that there is little recoil, as the the .30 slug in a .357 bbl builds almost no pressure.

It can't recoil enough to extract or eject.

The bullet will do no damage to the rifling, even if it hits it.

I'd say no harm done, just clean the chamber and barrel well and proceed.

Thanks again for your time when I got the Luger I took it to my 1911 guy he told me why it wasn't cycling the ammo.back in the day was a lot stronge then today's ammo. So he put new springs in it weaker ones now I will be putting the original springs back and use a 9 mm.

Your "matching" mag should also have the f suffix below the serial number to be the original military issued mag. If not, your mag is most likely a Police replacement. Do your pistol have the mag &/or sear safety, which would also indicate use by the police. Tom

as the the .30 slug in a .357 bbl builds almost no pressure.

Probably not enough to recoil the barrel extension and eject, but I wouldnt say "almost no pressure"....the cartridge case is fully contained in the chamber, and I'd about guarantee you that .30 bullet would rattle down that bore and come out with enough velocity to kill someone.

I believe that the back side of the 9mm cartridge is the same size as the 30 cal.; therefore can't enter the chamber any farther than the 9mm. Am I correct?
Jack

This is sort of a head scratcher. Have we mentioned the #2 pencil test? We need to measure the bore to determine if the barrel has been sleeved down to .30.
dju

The mag has a f on it. you see in picture

So we still don't know if its a 30 Cal are a 9mm. Okay what do I need to do to find out what caliber is. What other information do y'all need on this Luger

Just look/measure the bore(at the muzzle). A 30 Luger projectile is .309 in. in diameter. A 9mm projectile is .355in. in diameter. There is also a sticky on this forum considering this very question.

The .30 Luger round chambers a bit more than fully--just a tad too far in for the extractor to grab it, though not far enough for a possible light strike by the f.p. I just tested by trying one.