[davidkachel]

gunsrfun1

I haven't learned a lot since I've been a member of this forum, but I've learned this much:

Matching numbers shooter at price X = uglier gun.
Mismatched numbers shooter at same price (X) = prettier gun.

If you have a matching number gun and break a part shooting it, its value goes down because of the mistmatched replacement part.
If you have a mismatched number gun and break a part, the value remains the same after the replacement part.

If you have a matching number gun that you use as a shooter, you'll always worry about breaking a part. With a mismatched gun you won't worry nearly as much.

The matching number shooter of today will become the matching number collector's piece of tomorrow... there are only so many Lugers in the world.

Your mismatched number shooter will eventually also become of interest to some "collectors" for the same reason.

Unless you are planning on becoming a Luger collector yourself, you'll probably realize as I did that those matching numbers don't really mean anything to you. If I stumbled on a nice matching number Luger I would probably trade it to Hugh or one of the other guys, knowing they would appreciate it and care for it more than I would. To me, everything is a shooter, so there are some guns I just shouldn't have.

Whichever route you decide to take, you've lucked into the right place. This is a great bunch of guys and the one place I am certain you won't get skinned.