What is it?
 

All matching P08 with a 1916 chamber date.

Has this gizmo. What is it?

(Don't know if my picture attached ot not.)

There is acorresponding cut out in the grip.

Magazine safety.
No mag no fire.

This confirms that your Luger was used as a police weapon sometime after WW l.

Police sear safety, installed before reissue....

That one has been "dis-abled" by clipping in two places.
It no longer functions as a magazine safety.

The picture above is of the magazine safety.

Police re-issue?
 

If it is a police re-issue I would have thought it would have the 1920 permission date but it doesn't. Also I don't think it had any other police issue markings. Were they all marked for police use?

I have seen the sear safety on police Lugers. This is the first time I have seen a magazine safety. The upper looks like standard mil issue P08.

What's been cut away?

How common was the magazine safety?

No offense, but there are some wrong items here. What you have is a World War I luger that at some point went into police usage. could've been right after the war or it could've been 10 years later. it was probably in police usage and then in the mid 30s if I remember right, 1934 it received a Sear and magazine safety, after a few years the magazine safety was disabled because they did not work correctly, so at that time all were subjected to be disabled. all of them were either cutoff while some were removed. it depends on who did it at the police armory or at the police unit.

Please see FAQ for some of the questions you are looking for.

You say your upper does not have the sear safety??? (or at least the pin hole and sideplate cut)???

Does it have frame-matching numbers???

Not all military or police pistols received the "1920" property stamp.
Many had no police unit markings.

I've done several threads on the mag safties , one not too long ago- try a forum search for "magazine safety".
http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthre...agazine+safety

If I spot it I'll put in a link here; but you can do a lot of informative and enjoyable homework on your own by using the search feature and reading the stickys and FAQ.

Yup, mag safety. At least you have part if it, I don't even have that.

1929 DWM Police Luger
 

Here is a 1929 DWM Police Luger with both the sear and mag safety.

I have never seen a mag safety luger without a sear safety that matched

I have many times seen sear with mag or sear without mag, but never a mag without a sear

If matching, I would expect that the hole for the sear is there (if no safety) - if sideplate is not cut, then it is a replacement sideplate

This is why a complete gun, showing serial numbers matching is important. :)

Another look
 

A friend has this pistol. I only had a quick look. Went by today and had another look. It does have the sear safety although it is not working. Seems to be all there. Maybe the p[in is shortened inside where I can't see it.

Why the pin hole in the side plate? This pistol has no pin hole in the side plate. The upper lip has been cut away to make room for the sear safety spring.

It has a magazine with an aluminum bottom. I am thinking a 1916 would have a wooden bottom. During its police career would a new magazine have been numbered to it?

It is all matching, save the aluminum bottom on the magazine which does carry the same serial number. The holster doesn't match, has a 1940 date. Serial number is in the "i" block if I read the suffix correctly. I'd think 1916 would have been a high volume year.

I do not know about a pin hole in the sideplate, pictures are required

magazines were replaced and after 1926 aluminum replaced wood - pictures required

You took the cannon assembly off to check??? If it is all there, it should only function [not fire] when the cannon is removed.

...But of course, after reading the FAQ, you know this... :thumbup: