Re: Pair of WW1 Lugers
be careful here. Not all WW1 Lugers are created equal. Some are more scarce as others and just saying they are 80% is not good enough of a description. Collecting Lugers is pretty much the same as collection coins. Not all silver dollars are worth the same. What are the dates? Who manufactured the guns or minted the coins? Do the Lugers have any pitting? I once had an Erfurt artillery with zero bluing but no pitting. It was stored in an attic for a long time and had a light freckling rust on it that after removing the rust left no bluing. Just saying 80% bluing does not say much. One mans 80% is anothers 60% and anothers 90%. Its a judgement call.
There are, in fact, some good restorers out there but if you have a scarce Luger then having it restored will dramatically reduce the value of that Luger. Collectors are the people who pay the big bucks and they do not want restored guns and most certainly will not pay big bucks for them. I recently bought a Erfurt artillery with what you may be calling an 80% bluing but it had a good bore, crisp proof marks matching mag and stock. I will not restore that gun.
If you have original grips and magazines then remove them and do not use them. Buy repros and use them. They have value but be careful in removing the left hand side grip. It can break off at the safety area. On the magazines, the button on the side can break and ruin the value. The magazines value can also be deminished if you put nicks in the wood or breaking the wood. Both are possible.
Shooting the luger is subjective. Shooting a few rounds will do no damage to it. But shooting a thousand rounds a week will wear out the bore. But in any case, you should used a hotter load in order for the mechanism to work properly. Many indoor ranges require a lighter load to protect their buildings. A local indoor range here in Michigan required that I use their ammo and I spent more time unjamming my gun than I spent shooting. But the Luger will frequently jam with a lighter load.
Big Norm
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