new barrel to 7.65?
 

I picked up a new to me 7.65 Erfurt a few months back. I have been trying to research this one and can not quite figure it out. I can not seem to find an Erfurt with a long barrel that is 7.65. Could it have been changed to 7.65 for some reason? I am guessing a 1914 Military in 7.65? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Re-barreled
 

No Erfurt was produced in 7.65. The gun was re-barreled; probably in the 1920's.

I'll go out on a limb here and say you have a long-shank barrel (but not military spec) fitted to a short-receiver. I can see the adapter ring between the barrel flange and the receiver.

The barrel profile does not meet the military blueprint specifications/dimensions, or if so, it has been 'massaged'.

Most likely an aftermarket barrel fitted to a military [Erfurt] receiver. Barrels wear out, and get replaced.

Looks heavily buffed. Probably barrel replaced at the same time.

It's also a Revisions Commission Erfurt.

Just my $.02... :rolleyes:

Appears that the stock lug has been removed too. Can you describe the finish, is it plated or blued?
Regardless, it should get lots of oooo's and aaaahhhh's at the range.
dju

It is plated and a lot of fun to shoot. The grips are some my dad had laying around from a luger he had at one time. would this be considered a 1914 or 1917?

I'm not seeing anything suggesting 1914. Why do you ask?
dju

It is a Model 1914 dated 1917.
Ron

Thank you all for your quick response to my problem. In your opinion, did I get hurt by paying $750 for it? I know it is almost impossible to tell without seeing it personally but just curious for future reference. Thanks again.

$750 for most any functioning Luger seems to be a pretty good deal from what I have seen on here and at shows/stores that have any to display. I certainly don’t think you didn’t bad with it.

It also appears that it was an artillery model in the beginning.

A functioning shooter, for $750, that you don't have to worry about decreasing collector's value? Sounds like a deal to me.

All original Erfurt Artillery models are dated 1914...True
All post 1914 Erfurt PO8s have "artillery cuts"...Not True
most have cuts but some 1916 and 1917 uppers have been observed without the cut.
I own one dated 1917 without the cut undoubtedly original.

What are "artillery cuts" mentioned above?

If you look down on the gun, just forward of the date you will see a flat surface, which was milled away so that the original artillery rear sight could lie flat instead of slightly raised.
Your photos 6 & 7.
dju

I am glad I joined this forum. You all have been a great help in this. My father and I are going through his lugers and trying to gather information and identify what he has. I will continue to research on here and in the books but if I have more questions, I'll definitely post them. Thanks again.

Make sure to get a copy of our LugerForum FAQ PDF document. It has quite a bit of useful reference material.

Will do. Thanks.

Just looking for opinions. Do you think this would be a good candidate for being a slow rust bluing project? Or should I leave it as is? how difficult is it to remove plating?

It is difficult to fully remove plating without having to buff again - if say nickle or chrome, then it can come off, but when I had mine done (I cold removed the nickle), the refinisher for me said that he had to manually take left over plating in crevices, etc.

If you want one that is original, then you can find a shooter for cheap (Don has one for cheap right now).

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Otherwise, cost of removal and rebluing you are talking $300-$600 and thats almost a new shooter

"Do you think this would be a good candidate for being a slow rust bluing project? Or should I leave it as is? how difficult is it to remove plating?"

A good candidate only if you want to learn and practice the process. Otherwise it is an absolute waste of money. Removal of plating isn't necessarily hard IF you have the equipment to electrically reverse the plating process. But as Ed mentioned, additional buffing may be necessary, effectively cursing the end results.

Unless you are enamored with either this gun or undertaking a project for your own entertainment, leave it alone and invest money in what you want.

dju

Okay, thanks for the advice. I just picked up another shooter that is blues. I would like to try the bluing process some time. I'll leave this one alone and possibly try it on a different one. I'm sure I'll be asking for more advice. Thanks again.