Luger with short barrel
 

I have seen a code 42 Luger with a shorter barrel of 51 mm. instead of the standard 81 mm.
The owner told me it is the Luger version for the
fallschirmjager (parachutists).
Can anybody tell me if there indeed exists a formal, german model for the para's with a barrel length of 51 mm?
If not what else can it be?

Willem I have never heard of a model such as this, nor read of one. It could exist, but why would the "extra" short barrel make much of a difference? Maybe for plains clothes cop, but for a paratrooper?

Or I would guess it was a damaged barrel and the barrel cut down, or that the owner simply wanted a shorter barrel?

Ed

There were no military Lugers manufactured with a barrel that short...for the falshirmj�¤ger or anyone else. There have been custom Lugers made with shortened barrels. The owner is either:
a. misinformed
b. the victim of a fraud
c. attempting to perpetrate a fraud himself

Hello Willem,

Do you recall what the barrel band on this luger looked liked...?

Regards,

Pete... <img border="0" alt="[typing]" title="" src="graemlins/yltype.gif" />

Ah, the old gunshow story! I remember being told very seriously that the small tool pouch inside every Luger holster was to carry a single cartridge with which to commit suicide if captured. Had the floor not been littered with all sorts of trash I would have rolled around laughing, as it was I almost split my sides...These ignorant people dream up the craziest things...Ron Wood has it pegged.
1. Idiot
2. Idiot victim
3. crook

William, invest in a few rudimentary books on the subject. They are extremely interesting to read and you will learn much so you will be able to tell fact from fiction.

To look on the other side of this coin of the realm it is intirely possible as said above that you have run into a baby luger someone has purposely cut down. The barell is shortned and the grip as well by one cartridge usually. This is a very expensive procedure and if done properly this would be a desireable pistol to some.
Jerry Burney

Let me see.

Outgo:
"Shooter" Luger...........$500
1/2 hour with lathe.........50
20 min with miller..........30
Quick reblue job............30
Total...........................610

Income:
Genuine paratroop Luger..$2500

Profit........................$1890

Makes sense to me. Now where did that old Luger get to?

Jim

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by Pete Ebbink:
<strong>Hello Willem,

Do you recall what the barrel band on this luger looked liked...?

Regards,

Pete... <img border="0" alt="[typing]" title="" src="graemlins/yltype.gif" /> </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Hello Pete, let me find out and come back to you.

Regards,

Willem

Hello Edward,Ron, Jerry and Jim
Thank you very much for the professional and sobering facts you give.I am an new comer to the realm of the Luger and scanning through Luger forum I now realise how mutch there is to learn from you guys!
Regards

Willem de Boer

There are or were a couple of gunsmiths in Germany who turn out some very exotic Lugers. AFAIK, there is no intent to deceive anyone, but they do not have the same attitude of almost worship that U.S. collectors have toward the gun. It is just an old pistol that can be updated, customized, shortened, lengthened, engraved, etc., etc. Just like American gunsmiths did on the GI 1911's before they too became high price collectors items.

See:

http://www.touri.de/werle/Luger/luger.html

for some interesting items.

Jim

I have a good idea where this “short Luger” falshirmjÃ?¤ger nonsense comes from. The falshirmjÃ?¤ger and the gebergsjÃ?¤ger troops had a special shortened rifle made just for them, the G33/40:

http://boards.rennlist.com/lfupload/RobertBallPhoto.jpg

And you guessed it, these specimens tend to be worth about twice as much as the typical Kar.98k rifle. Once again, anything a dealer can do to jack up the price. Trouble is, I bet some kid at a gunshow will buy into this BS. I once saw a kid with a post-WW2 Yugo M-48 Mauser that the dealer had told him was an “authentic German WW2 rifle”. I didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth, he was so incredibly enthusiastic about his rifle.