S/42 luger family heirloom
 

Hello all! New user here. I wanted to get some help from you pros on my most prized possession. My grandfather fought in wwii in France. He brought back with him many guns but this one being the best in my opinion. All matching serial numbers, It even had the matching magazine, which has been lost unfortunately.

I was hoping you could educate me on where it was made and anything of historical importance you think I should know about it. I have read there were straw and blued versions and I don't know which I have honestly. And if anyone could educate me on what each stamp represents that would be a bonus. Thank you in advance!

Welcome, Sean, Your S/42 was made in the latter half of 1937, the year which Mauser changed from rust bluing to hot salt bluing. Its frame was made by Mauser and not DWM stock moved from Berlin to be used up first, evidenced by the "Mauser hump," the swelling on the top portion of the back ends of the barrel extension. It looks like an honest war-horse to me. Enjoy your family heirloom!

Find that matching magazine! Could be worth $300-500 added to the value of the gun.

Wow! Thanks for the info. Is there a way to tell the difference between the two bluing processes?

I know... Trust me I've looked high and low and still haven't come across it. It makes me sick when I think about it. :(

The easiest way to tell the difference is the trigger and safety lever are a golden/brown color, aka "Straw", on the earlier guns, and blued on the later guns. Hard to describe the differences in blue, experience helps there. Try going to Simpson, Ltd, and visually compare pre-1937 vs. post 1937 guns. If I had to try and describe the differences, I'd say that the rust blue is slightly lighter, more "gray" than salt blued guns.

I would like to refer you to our FAQ area in this forum. It has a treasure chest of CORRECT Luger information. I believe that you will enjoy it, and learn a lot.

As an FYI, your Takedown Lever Spring is missing.

Never even noticed! Does it insert into the right side of the frame on the other side of the locking lever?

No, you must first remove the lever. The spring will lie in a channel for it on the bottom of the boring for the lever. Put an empty mag into the gun and pull back the action to lock it open. The lever will rotate at this point. If the spring is missing entirely, the lever should just about fall out. If a functional spring is there, the lever won't come out unless you take it out. Once the lever is removed, you'll see the spring or its remnants, or no spring. It may simply have a short "leg" which isn't readily visible in the tiny hole from the outside. In this case, The lever will rotate from locked to unlocked and back without a tendency to fall out. But if it is missing after all, or in pieces, score one from lugerdoc. And, of course, check the FAQ for guidance in installing the replacement. It's not difficult, but there are tips to make it less tricky in the discussions about the process. When you're done, you'll say, "Piece of cake."

Noted. Thank you! I ordered a triple k replacement mag for now. I'll have to wait until it gets here before I can do a takedown :(

Sean, welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your excellent family heirloom WW-II bring back Luger.

Here's a link to our FAQ document:

http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthread.php?t=13121

It has a wealth of detailed Luger information, and it's free from our forum.

If you have a holster that goes with the Luger, look in the magazine pocket. It might be with the holster.

If you find it, don't store the Luger in a leather holster.

You have a Mauser made Luger. It was produced in Mauser's building "D", at Oberndorf an Neckar, Wurttemberg, Germany. This is South and West of Stuttgart.

Your Luger was made later in 1937, and has both the rust blued finish and the "hump" shaped Mauser Luger frame. These are very well made pistols.

The stamps are military contract inspection and acceptance markings and proof marks.

You can disassemble and re-assemble the Luger without a magazine. Just be careful and don't lose parts.

The takedown lever spring is a small flat "L" shaped spring with a section in the center milled away in a curve. Tom (LugerDoc) can provide some for you. Don't try and shoot the pistol without this part properly installed.

The Triple-K mag is probably a mistake, unless you use it just for display. Mec-Gar makes the best Luger replacement magazines; Greg Cote has them in stock. GT here on the forum can dress it up for you, and even make improvements, if desired. :rolleyes:

I should say I THINK it's a triple K. It actually doesn't specify on the site. I had triple k on the brain cause i was looking for Magazine for the enfield. I attached the photo they have on the site.

Exactly the type of info I was looking for. Thanks for taking the time to type all that out :)

So this may sound silly, but I notice how everyone compliments the Mauser pistols for their high production quality. Of the major ORIGINAL manufacturers (I.E. not Stoeger, Mitchell Arms, etc) are any of them poor quality? I know Erfurt finish quality is a bit rougher than the other manufacturers’ are, but are Mauser made pistols noticeably higher quality than, say, Simson or DWM produced examples?

You have to compare apples and oranges - middle of the war - how many years it was used etc

military vs commercial

I think most people would say krieghoff is the nicest finished, then Mauser which is close to DWM but I would say has the edge, although a commercial DWM is really nice

Then I would say Simson and Erfurt are about the same

HOWEVER - any nice piece that is original, they are all very nice...

I personally think that Mauser used better metallurgy in Lugers than the earlier German manufacturers. While there is nothing wrong with DWM, Erfurt or Simson I believe that Mauser used a later and better alloy of steel. I've never had a Krieghoff so can't comment on their Lugers.

The Swiss in Bern probably used an even higher quality steel and more precise manufacturing techniques and quality control. While the German pistols are excellent and outstanding, the Swiss had even higher standards.

This is mainly opinion that is borne out of some of the history that is known about steel and the evolution of alloys in the periods in question, as well as some of the records. It's also based on my experience with a number of Lugers.

The post war Mauser made Lugers are also outstanding in quality.

Thank you both for your input. I don’t mean to hijack the thread at all. My Mauser military shooter does look much better than my 1920 DWM commercial, but it also seems that whoever had that DWM before me liked to shoot it...a lot. It shows signs of much use both in wear around the typical spots from holstering and very silky smooth mechanical action(including takedown procedures) from use. Then again, my Mauser shooter was acquired from G.T. and as many of you had attested, he has lots of magic in his fingers when it comes to working with Lugers.

If there is "nothing wrong" with the other makers of lugers, then Mauser or Swiss use of "different" steel is irrelevant.

Personally I think Mauser wrote different specifications, using the language of the day- rather than the older terms used earlier by others. These "sound" more sophisticated, but in reality are essentially the same specs used before.

The Swiss actually "modified/simplified/cheapened" several parts of the luger to make it easier and less expensive to make. these parts were the side plate, safety lever and its attachment, and the grip safety itself. They did improve the extractor to make it stronger. They also changed the profile of the front strap of the frame to reduce mfg. time- and at the same time gave it an ugly proflie instead of a classic, flowing style. Again JMO.

As far as tolerances go, I fail to see how any tighter tolerances(than DWM, et al.) could be achieved and still result in a functioning pistol.

Marc and I see this from two entirely different points, I see quality as "suitability for use", anything more or extra adds un-necessary expense- and the luger was expensive enough already. ;)

All of course being JMHO. :)