[lugerholsterrepair]

OK guys..A good Friend here in Yuma, Bill Baumbeck and I took a new Numrich Arms drum and loader out of it's package this afternoon. I was impressed right from the start. Both items are very high quality. Finished in a gloss black paint? The loader is very smooth in operation. Good strong spring. Nothing is in the white or straw finished seperately like an original. It's all black. The handle seems to be cast? There are mold lines along the sides. The body appears to be folded sheet steel. The mag locking spring works well and smoothly.
The drum is really a thing of beauty. VERY close to an original in so many ways. It has the same gloss black enamel paint finish as the loader. It is B/N marked. The loader has no markings. The quantity numbers spaced along the rim are correct..not like the rusty repro loaders that we have observed for the last few years. I could go into great detail about many things..construction details etc but would rather not here. One thing I will mention..it has NO serial numbers front or back. This fact alone will help seperate this drum from an original.
Next it was time to load. I slipped the loader onto the drum and it fit like a glove. locked right in. I used some of my reloads so as not to make my test too easy. FMJ 9MM loaded with 4.8 grains of Red Dot powder. All 32 rounds loaded up smoothly. There was no getting in 33..when I hit 32 it stopped. I unlocked the lever and was ready to head out to shoot. The lever lock worked very well. Locked into it's slot and when tension was placed on the handle it popped right up to release it.
Bill and I made a short drive out to the edge of the bombing range to test fire..I used my old Mexican shooter beater..a 1916 DWM 4 inch. Barrel is pretty much shot out but it is a sure feeder. Spits out bullets with regularity.
I seated the mag into the pistol and tugged on it to make sure it was properly in place and fired off 15 rounds. Had a jam I am pretty sure was the fault of a slightly overlong cartridge. `Kicked it out and fired off the rest. SUCCESS! A working drum!
One thing to consider is that this was right out of the box. I didn't oil it..just loaded and fired it. I am all kinds of pleased with this set. The price is one any Luger collector can afford and initially the quality seems impressive. I can't say what might happen after 500-1000 rounds. All I know is it works first time out.
This will open up a new experience for many collectors who always wanted a working/shooting drum but didn't want to buy one for $1500-2000 with a $500-1500 loader.
I have no affiliation with Numrich Arms and the sale of these drums..but I highly advise anyone who wants one..or who thinks they might want one in future or even if you have no use for one now..BUY THIS! Your crazy if you don't. It's the ONE Artillery accessory that has been a long time coming but now it's here..That and you can use it on any Luger 4-6-8 inch.
On an aside..it WILL affect the original drum and loader market. There is a segment of collectors who mostly like original items and I am one of those but considering the good price and the fact that they are high quality and work. It will fill a very necessary niche, those who want to load and shoot a drum at a reasonable price.