Tom,
There were the Portuguese contract (diversion of the last army batch) and the occassional commerially made pistol. Pistols were assembled and distributed amongst Mauser workers, some as anniversary gifts and we also observed Mauser pistols that were assembled and finished during the late war years and distributed amongst local farmers as personal defense against possible looting forced labourers. They all fall into the 'assembly' category, but since they were made at Mauser by Mauser staff during 1942-45 they are "Mauser Production".
Hutch: there weren't many ground breaking design changes. The fluted firing pin helps to make it more reliable when the gun is dirty and a grip safety (1906 style) would be a good extra for a carry gun. Equipped with a new MecGar magazine and flatnosed 9mm rounds you can do worse. The remarks about having to carry it loaded are surely valid, which is why an extra safety (like the grip safety) wouldn't be too bad.
The German army used it as a carry gun for almost half a century, The East Germans did, the Dutch did until 1960, the Portuguese until well in to the 1970s, Norway well into the 1980s. It's a pistol that saw active service for about 80 years non-stop.
The luger is no 'empty whole mag, then run' pistol like many of today's 9mm hand guns. It's accuracy and extremely good natural pointability make it an excellent gun. Although the German holsters were pretty useless for any serious fast draw action.
Come to think of it, today's European police 'Action' rounds (hollow points with a plastic tip for reliable feeding) should work well in them....something to test
