First Luger/First Post
 

Hi folks,

I've been a gunnut forever but finally picked up my first Luger. I was looking for a shooter and came across this one, now I don't know what I have or if I should turn it into what I want.

First off, it's a 1937 S/42, 90% condition, strawed small parts, .30 Luger, mismatched sideplate. The grips are in good shape but a little loose and the mag is missing.

I'd like a 9mm shooter not a collector. Would it be cost effective to screw a 9mm barrel on this piece or should I sell it as-is and buy a 9mm?

Opinions?

Sam, it is tricky for you to add a barrel, some have done it, many have tried on the forum. I think it would be under $200 to have someone add a 9mm barrel to yours. Is the sideplate totally the wrong number? Being a 1937 S/42, I didn't think they came in 30 luger? So, maybe the barrel was already changed once?

ed

Sam,

Welcome!

You have a "Frankenluger".

If you like it, have a competent gunsmith trade barrels. No muss, no fuss and pretty cheap.

The thing will not have collector value in our lifetime, so enjoy!

Tom A.

Hi Sam, I was told a few years ago that it was near impossible to change the old barrels out. AND it is "NEAR IMPOSSIBLE" the first time. But if you buy a good quallity repro barrel you can change it yourself if you have some prior gunsmithing "know-how". It is risky and you must be careful not to bend the receiver forks. ( I couldnt afford to have mine done professionaly. My father and I do all the repairs on our guns, so it seemed pretty standard.) Until you try to get the old barrel to turn, Thats a pain. We made a tool from a block of wood to hold the receiver without damaging it (broke first wooden tool). Finally it came loose and then we screwed in the repro barrel. It had to have the shoulder filed to get the extractor slot to line up (used gunsmithing files from Brownells for trimming by hand, a LITTLE at a time.) Once it was tightend we checked the headspace and it was OK. It shot great! I have since tried differnt lengh barrels, but settled with a six inch. I dont like doing it this way, but if you are as broke as me (cant remember what a five dollar bill looks like), Then try it at "YOUR OWN RISK" because you might ruin the gun, or yourself if you try to fire it without the proper headspace.

I call that brute strength gunsmithing Adam and I don't recommend it for the faint of heart...

Only amateur gunsmiths with a LOT of experience in changing barrels on other old firearms should attempt themselves... the risk of damage to the Luger if it is not done with the proper tools is VERY HIGH...

John, I agree. It does take a LOT of brute strenght to remove and original barrel from a Luger! As I mentioned it is very risky to the gun and the shooter. My father has done minor gun repair for over 30 years (for our family and friends. Never made a profit,just did it for the enjoyment of working on differnt types of guns. I have been learning from him since I was a young teenager and do most of the work myself now, but still enjoy having him there while I work. We are just farmers, so we have to fix a lot of things all the time because we cant afford to pay someone else to do it. Couldnt survive without good old Duct-tape!)For anyone who has the money, it is best to have an expert like Thor do the work, He has the tools and the experience.

let me add here that I strongly discourage the installation of new Luger barrels with Duct Tape! :D

You guys have already answered my next question...how hard is to to pull the barrel. I've pulled barrels from "rusted on" Mausers to just plain tight Enfields, can this be worse?

Numrich has inexpensive barrels or is there a better source?

Thanks for all the input so far.

If you have done Mausers, you can do a Luger, however you need correct tools too keep from bending the reciever, and I have seen GPS barrels that needed a finish reamer too clean them out. Lets see how can I underline this..you need proper headspace gages!...this is not something to be taken lightly.

It seems to me that the easiest way to convert to 9mm is to rebore. They do this successfully to Broomhandles every day, so why not with a Luger? Last I heard it costs less than $100 and you end up with a bright new minty bore to boot.

I have a 1942 Mauser that came to me with a five inch 7.65 mm barrel on it. It's darn well going to stay on it too! I'll admit to having other Lugers chambered for 9 mm, but I like the 7.65 chambering. I also like the five inch barrel length. It's not very common but it looks "right", not too long, not too short. It's my favorite shooter.

Samb, save the cost of rebarreling and buy another Luger in 9mm, then you can enjoy both cartridges! Now that you have your first Luger, it probably wont be long before you buy another. There's just something about this firearm that makes people crazy. It happened to me. After my first, I bought 3 more within 3 months. Enjoy.