[Eugen]

Originally Posted by ithacaartist

My Texas Stainless 9mm does pretty much the same thing. I marked some rounds for orientation and discovered that they were hitting the left, inside corner of the extension's slots so violently that it raised a burr on one side of that slanted mark. I looked at the extractor, and its claws weren't symmetrical, the left side was visibly longer than the right. I dressed it back with a needle file, and now, although the shells still suffer the mark, there is no burr raised--and I'm happy enough with that. If the brass is just bent, I figure the reloading dies will handle the situation. Replacement parts for the Houston SS Lugers are apparently non-existent, but I was lucky that a Mauser ejector fit in the place of the original stainless part, which had been over-ground, was thin/weak because of that, and bent. Most of these American-made pistols have a reputation for sloppy fit and even sloppier finish, at least-- There is play everywhere, and they're over-buffed to the extent that flat surfaces were made wavy and nice, sharp corners are rare. I understand that stainless steel was a material from which the P.08 was never intended to be constructed, and using it to make the guns was quite a challenge--adventures in tolerances, hardening, and different specs and configurations are displayed by examples branded by the different companies that ordered them (Stoeger, Mitchell).

Thank you for the very informative post. Great info there.

In my limited experience I tend to agree. I favor German design and mostly German made pistols like Sig and HK. Quality engineering and control seems a cut above. Even Kimber, premium priced US made pistols, falls short from my experience.