[RShaw]

Well, whether they went overboard or not will continue to be a debatable question.

Fact is, there are collector guns- (original finish, all matching parts original Lugers, P38's and others out there with numbered parts, which implies- best fit and therefore optimal functioning, as well as all original parts and finish as from the factory) I think a force matched gun can be distinguished from an original matching pistol by a skilled experienced Luger enthusiast... Halo's, fonts, stanping depth and position, characteristics, etc. In the same way, people skilled with handling cash, can tell a bogus bill from the real thing. Takes a practiced eye and a trained hand....

And then there are the "shooters" (many matched, some nonmatching, with finish issues, pitting, etc etc, which are not so interesting to a collector, but are great to shoot.) Many nonmatching shooters are known to be reliable and accurate at the range.

The history buff / collector side of me continues to be annoyed over breaking the matching holdopen in my shooter, while my "shooter side" realizes I will get over it. Let's face it, it's not a life threatening event. So I order another holdopen, take care of this gun and shoot this special firearm.

The collector side of me also keeps my collector DWM off the range; that gun is my first Luger ever... it has a different place for me really. That place is not the range!