John has far, far more experience than I in this arena, but I admit that I have about concluded that it is very difficult to tell from photos on sites such as Auction Arms and Gun Broker what the real condition of a luger is. I don't know that I would really dare to buy one so offered.
In isolated instances, and to me the instances have really been isolated, excellent, detailed photos do begain to tell the story. But they still come up short of the impression made and facts provided when a luger is in one's hands and right before one's eyes.
Some of the best detailed photos of lugers and their marks and stamps that I have seen have in the three months that my interest in these nice weapons has been renewed have been right here on this forum and not on any site offering them for sale or auction. However, I must allow that I probably have not seen all the sites that offer such weapons.
I suspect that I have would rigidly adhere to the warnings of others on this forum who have considerably more experience than I and who insist before bidding on a three to five day return privelege if they were to be the high bidder. This might solve most of the questions that could otherwise arise.
But, even then, I do not know enough about a luger to dare take one apart to verify matching of stamps on internal parts. I would have to turn to a competent gunsmith to do so since I would not want to damage a pistol provided on approval that I might want to return.
Buying one of these admirable relics is considerably more involved than I ever imagined.
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