[ithacaartist]

Gerhardt,

First, I'll extend my welcome to the forum!

Next, I'll tell you that I live near Ithaca.

And last but not least, is some of what I think about what everybody calls Luger University:

I kind of agree with Ed, in that the learning curve in the time frame you mention is asymptotic to vertical. Though a virtually lifelong fan of the Parabellum pistol, my actual hands-on experience is scant more than a year. Previous to that, I'd only seen a few in person in a guns shop, and had the opportunity to see a collection that stupefied me at the time, in its presentation of so many variations and numerous accoutrements. My reading on this forum has helped me identify/confirm the stuff I remembered seeing back then (in the 70's!) but I think I have forgotten more than I remember for sure, and most of it is now a dull, Luger-y blur. At the gun shop, they had a bunch in a display case, but all I took away from that encounter was "DWM", "matching serial numbers", and "$400"--I guess was the price for a collectible one. And since I wouldn't have a pistol permit for another 40 years, I could look, as it was held out in front of me, but I couldn't even touch!

Last year, I filled out the paperwork and purchased the official fingerprinting and processing because I'd decided I was to be a Luger owner. And though I hope to have made a little progress in my freshman year at L.U., months ago I was ignorant as a stump about any Luger.

April 2011, my permit was on the way, and I bid online on some Lugers at auction and wound up with the 5 I have now. I had learned enough about pricing from reading the forum to bid in a way that I really didn't overspend at all, and now I have five shooters of different barrel length and caliber, and also a .22 conversion kit. I replaced a couple broken or missing parts here and there, to minimize their issues, and they are actually pretty nice now. (The big project will be to restore the ground-off stock lug of the 1917 LP.08)

In the meantime, reading, reading, reading...every book I can get my hands on, including Jan Still's excellent latest edition, and reading, reading, reading the forum. Practice by trying to evaluate the configurations of Lugers posted on the forum, then check my work by reading what the WAY more knowledgeable and experienced collectors--the guys that started when I probably should have, and before, have to say. Many here much younger than I am have tons more expertise in checking these things out than I do. Collectibles occupy a higher economic niche than shooters, with maybe some overlap. Nobody wants to overpay for an investment gun, or be hoodwinked by a clever manipulation of parts, and eventually I think I'll have the educational and analytical clout to make a fairly reasoned choice in the purchase of a strictly collectible Luger. And if circumstances allowed, I would ALWAYS post good pics and description here on the forum, of any prospects. It's done all the time, and I think it's the best resource available for a potential collector/aficionado.

To sum it up, I believe that there's no end to learning about the Parabellum pistol If one is said to have "graduated" from Luger University, don't worry, they're still there, doing graduate work, then doctoral theses such as the reference books generated by the Luger historians and authors on board. And once these guys get their PhL's, they're doing post-doc work! There's always something to learn about Lugers and their history.