LugerForum Discussion Forums - View Single Post - Collectables - to shoot them or not to shoot them- that is the question

4 Scale · 12-03-2016, 01:27 AM

My personal calculus on this is:
1. Cosmetically acceptable shooters cost about $1,100;
2. A numbered part breaking reduces the value of the Luger by say 1/2;
3. Therefore any Luger valued at $2,200 or less is a shooter candidate ($1,100 x 2 = $2,200), and those valued above this level shouldn't be fired.

This calculation basically uses the $1,100 shooter cost as a sort of market indicator of risk tolerance, i.e. you shouldn't spend more for insurance than you might lose if you didn't have insurance.

I have a couple collectibles that I value at under $2,000, and I do shoot them occasionally, but when shooting any collectible I swap the parts most likely to break (grips, extractor, ejector, firing pin, hold open, rear toggle axel pin).

Any Luger will turn heads at the range, even those with significant cosmetic flaws.

In particular, I'm fairly comfortable shooting collectible Mauser Lugers with a value of less than $2,000 or so, as the metallurgy was better on those and the risk of breakage therefore somewhat lower than on earlier pistols. I'm also somewhat comfortable shooting .30 Luger collectibles valued under $2,000, as that cartridge has less energy than 9mm and it just feels (subjectively) like a tamer round and therefore less likely to cause breakage.

So I've settled on this sort of hybrid approach. I think each collector must assess their own tolerance for risk and reach their own conclusions on this.

12-03-2016, 01:27 AM	#11
4 Scale User Join Date: Nov 2014 Posts: 544 Thanks: 194 Thanked 490 Times in 251 Posts	My personal calculus on this is: 1. Cosmetically acceptable shooters cost about $1,100; 2. A numbered part breaking reduces the value of the Luger by say 1/2; 3. Therefore any Luger valued at $2,200 or less is a shooter candidate ($1,100 x 2 = $2,200), and those valued above this level shouldn't be fired. This calculation basically uses the $1,100 shooter cost as a sort of market indicator of risk tolerance, i.e. you shouldn't spend more for insurance than you might lose if you didn't have insurance. I have a couple collectibles that I value at under $2,000, and I do shoot them occasionally, but when shooting any collectible I swap the parts most likely to break (grips, extractor, ejector, firing pin, hold open, rear toggle axel pin). Any Luger will turn heads at the range, even those with significant cosmetic flaws. In particular, I'm fairly comfortable shooting collectible Mauser Lugers with a value of less than $2,000 or so, as the metallurgy was better on those and the risk of breakage therefore somewhat lower than on earlier pistols. I'm also somewhat comfortable shooting .30 Luger collectibles valued under $2,000, as that cartridge has less energy than 9mm and it just feels (subjectively) like a tamer round and therefore less likely to cause breakage. So I've settled on this sort of hybrid approach. I think each collector must assess their own tolerance for risk and reach their own conclusions on this.