I am new to this discussion so if I am repeating something that has been said before, please excuse me.
Some Lugers don't have hold opens. They were added to the military Lugers in late 1913. Field strip your Luger and look inside the frame to see if you have one. If one is there, stick your pinky finger inside to see if the hold open is free to move around. Put your empty magazine into the gun and see if it actually moves the hold open. It might not be a bad idea to remove the hold open and spring and clean them and the slot that it fits into. These guns are quite old and dirt and old oil does accumulate. The hold open is easy to remove. Just slide it to the rear of the gun but don't bend the spring too much. Just enough to remove this assembly. if you remove the hold open, examine it for breakage or cracks.
I have found that some new commercial springs for the hold open have a gauge of wire that is too thick for the hold open. Don't let a gunsmith talk you into grinding the hold open more to allow the new spring to fit into its slot.
From previous discussions on magazines, I have learned that some old original magazines had trouble moving the hold open on the last shell. If you have a new commercial magazine, then this should not be a problem.
If ammo was a problem, then you would have other problems too. Problems like 'stove piping' where the shell casing would not fully eject and the casing would hang up between the toggle and the barrel and it would look like a stove pipe sticking up out of the gun.
A faulty main spring in the grip on the Luger may be the problem if your problem is consistant a. The main spring is a pretty strong spring and should not be a problem. But these guns are old so it could be a consideration. Problems like 'stove piping' and the toggle not closing all the way could indicate a bad main spring.
Commercial ammo does not have the quality that some people expect that it should have. But you have tried different ammo and gotten the same results, then you have pretty much removed ammo as the source of your problems.
Examine the rear of the bore and the cone. Maybe a good cleaning and examination might explain something. If the rear of the bore in corroded or dirty, then the toggle might be lossing energy by having the spent casing slightly stuck in there. This is a regular problem in my 742 Remington deer rifle.
I would start the process by closely examining the ejector, its spring and how the mag makes it all function. The button on the mag has got to push that assembly up. Don't go buying a whole bunch of stuff until you closely watch how that works.Maybe just a little cleaning and some silicone spray will solve your problem.
Of course, this is assuming that your Luger is an 'all matching' Luger and not some put together miss matched shooter. If your gun is a miss match, then there is no telling what someone else put into it.
Big Norm
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