Need an opinion
 

I have the opportunity to buy this cutaway but I really need some good opinions as to it's potential worth. It in not an original but is of recent manufacture, considering the work that went into it what are your opinions as to it's value. http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/1luger.jpg http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/2luger.jpg http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/3luger.jpg http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/4luger.jpg http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/5luger.jpg

Hi Herb,

IMHO, a gun is not worth a cent if one cannot shoot it... :D

Regards,

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

Pete, is that a fact? How many times have you fired that Krieghoff you bought from Ralph three years ago??? <img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" />

Learning tool...

I wouldn't mind having one of these, get kids interested, show it to old guys (people over 45) etc. :D

Ed

For OPINIONS you have definitely come to the right place Herb... this forum is full of them. I really do like the stand it's sitting on! :)

Honestly Herb... This is a very subjective idea... I wouldn't mind having it on the mantel, but personally, I wouldn't put much in it as an investment.

Hi Herb,

Yup...

Every gun in my safe (including the pricey pieces) have been fired at least one time by me with 15-20 rounds. I first use my "dummy rounds" to make sure the actions work and then take them out to the range.

What is the fun of building a collection when you haven't used a gun as it is intended...for shooting.

Once that "first drive around the block" is done, those pricey pieces stay in my safe...I have a few shooter lugers to occupy my time thereafter... <img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" />

Regards,

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

A really tough call. It would be of some value for display in a gun shop or a table at a gun show, a paper weight, or just a curio. I think it falls into the category of a dug up relic, so it is probably of interest to someone. It may have as much as $100 worth of reuseable parts on it (too bad the sideplate is destroyed), so I would put a price of $200 to $300 on it, and I think the chances of getting your money back in the future would be pretty slim.

Making a cutaway out of this piece was probably a good idea. Someone has buffed the bejeebers out of it, so at best it was a $400 shooter. As to its value, it has no intrinsic worth so you would be paying for the skilled labor that went into creating it. I have no idea how much time went into planning, setting up and making the extensive cuts, and doing the final finish, but it had to be a bunch...I am guessing in the vicinity of 100 hours. How much does an expert machinist make per hour? If it is somewhere around $50 then you have a base price of $5400. For myself, I would not spend a fraction of that amount for this type of display piece.

I am unsure if it is the same guy, but there were several of these sold on gunbroker (?)(assorted guns, one was a luger) last year? And they were asking $700 / $800 or so.

I think they are interesting and show how the gun works. Probably will bring more interest to many non-gun folks than a lot of our own collections. Maybe get one of them interested in the hobby?

Ed

There is also a danger.

When aftermarket cutaways are made from low-end pistols and as a result fetch more than the pistol's value it may induce people to cut up perfectly decent functional lugers, just to make a fast buck.

I think a good price for this example is some 100USD below the market-value of a low-end shooter. Somewhere in the 200USD-range max for a 'stuffed luger' :)

Original factory-produced display pieces are a completely different ball-game, of course.