pre-WW1?
 

I just inherited a Luger--DWM, no other marks on top. lazy Crown/N on side of receiver and one on the underside of the barrel; S/N 2436 with a script "r" underneath; all matching, wooden base magazine (not matching), 3 7/8" barrel, geladen on left side of extractor, GESICHERT on thumb safety, no grip safety, stock lug present. I'm new to lugers, but dying to shoot it. Maybe 30% strawing visible, some rust on the grip, top of gun most bluing is good. What do I have? Thanks for any help! mailto:ebevers@oriok.netebevers@oriok.net</a>

Hello,

In 7.65mm I guess...A 1920 COMMERCIAL...

PICS are always appreciated!

kidvett

Ebeavers, I agree with Kidvett. Probably a .30 Luger cal. Would be unusual to be 9MM. Congratulations on your inheritance, I prefer the .30 Luger to the 9MM . Shoots really nice but expensive unless you reload. Jerry Burney

In the revised designation system, as explicated by Still in Weimar Lugers, this is an Alphabet Commercial. It will be crucial to know the calibre of the gun. The 3-3/4" lengths were manufactured in .30 Luger, but Still notes that a small number of the r block guns were manufactured with 4" barrels in 9mm, for military or police use. This would be a fairly uncommon Luger.

Pictures would be very useful here. If you determine that the gun is 9mm, do a search thrugh the forum on "sear safety" and "magazine safety" and see if it has either of those.

According to Still, the DWM Alphabet Commercial r block guns were manufactured in 1928, nearly at the end of true DWM manufacture--BKIW, the company's successor, took over production in the s block.

Congratulations on owning a very interesting Luger.

--Dwight

Thanks for the responses. Since my first posting I have discovered that this must have been owned by a near-sighted person--two of the parts have "56" rather than "36" stamped on them! Also no numbers on the firing pin--how many parts should have matching numbers?

I also know that it must be a 7.65 mm because nothing else seems to fit. Can 7.65 ammo be had reasonably easy and cheap? There are letters stamped on the parts in various places as well. Any insight on the letter stampings?

The firing pin should have the last two numerals of the serial number. Here's the list:

Frame, full serial number with suffix
Under barrel, full serial number with or without suffix
Left side of the receiver, full serial number without suffix.

All the following parts have the last two numerals:

Firing pin
Extractor
Sear bar
Breechblock
Front toggle link
Rear toggle link
Locking bolt (takedown lever)
Side plate
Trigger
Safety lever
Safety bar
Hold-open latch
Grips (inside)

Note, that the rear toggle pin was not serial-numbered until 1932, and would not be proper for your gun.

There were two "styles" of serial number marking, Commercial style and Military style. In commercial style some of the numbers, noteably the side-plate and locking bolt, were stamped underneath in a way which did not affect the surface look of the gun--military serial numbers were stamped on the visible suraces. If your mismatched parts are stamped highly visibly they likely come from military guns.

The letters stamped in various places are workers' stamps. I have never come across a source which explains them in detail.

Commercial 7.65mm--.30 Luger--ammunition is not easy to find, and is not cheap. Also, it may be too underpowered to make your Luger function properly. Do a search on .30 ammunition, there have been a number of discussions on the forum which have dealt with this topic pretty thoroughly.

--Dwight