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Doubs · 07-20-2002, 12:59 PM

[quote]Originally posted by Roadkill:
<strong>I have heard that the sear safety was often removed from the guns for military use, and that the sear safety was a definite indicator for police use. I was not aware that a sear safety could be added to a military or commercial gun for police use. And using the timeline of it was a police pistol, it was dated 1920, it was not used by the military therefore it was used by the police, is there any way of knowing what types of guns were used by what kind of police (city/state/SD)in the era referenced? Thanks for your reply in advance.
(Bottom line: I've got a 1918 police erfurt, would love know more about it) RK</strong><hr></blockquote>

RK, the sear safety, in conjunction with the magazine safety, is a definite indicator of police use. If you'll notice, where the sear safety exists, the lower left frame immediately above the grip and in line with the rear of the mag release will be slotted. The slot was part of the magazine safety mod and that is the one that is most often missing on police guns as they were removed or deactivated. I'm looking at my 1916 Erfurt police pistol as I type this and the slot on mine has been very professionally filled in with only a mark visable where it used to be. The mag safety had a piece of metal passing between the frame and mag release - under the grip - that prevented the trigger from being depressed all the way if the mag was out. Inserting a mag levered the metal tab out of the trigger's path, allowing full travel.

Many hundreds - if not thousands - of Imperial military Lugers were so modified after the war. The only means of identifying which police force used them is if they were stamped with police unit markings.

I agree that Jan's serial number range is only a guide and I should have made that clear in my first post. I was not suggesting that there's anything improper about the Luger in question; only that it extends the known serial number range of the commercial pistols used by police by quite a bit.

Unless your Erfurt police pistol has been stamped with unit markings, there's no way to ID who used it. Like mine, it's one that served as a police gun. They were issued to police with two mags marked on the base 1 & 2 and the serial number. My Erfurt has a mismatched mag with the number 2 on it. My East German police rework - a 1917 Erfurt - has two matching mags numbered 1 & 2.

07-20-2002, 12:59 PM	#7
Doubs User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Byron, Georgia Posts: 1,743 Thanks: 826 Thanked 1,790 Times in 591 Posts	[quote]Originally posted by Roadkill: <strong>I have heard that the sear safety was often removed from the guns for military use, and that the sear safety was a definite indicator for police use. I was not aware that a sear safety could be added to a military or commercial gun for police use. And using the timeline of it was a police pistol, it was dated 1920, it was not used by the military therefore it was used by the police, is there any way of knowing what types of guns were used by what kind of police (city/state/SD)in the era referenced? Thanks for your reply in advance. (Bottom line: I've got a 1918 police erfurt, would love know more about it) RK</strong><hr></blockquote> RK, the sear safety, in conjunction with the magazine safety, is a definite indicator of police use. If you'll notice, where the sear safety exists, the lower left frame immediately above the grip and in line with the rear of the mag release will be slotted. The slot was part of the magazine safety mod and that is the one that is most often missing on police guns as they were removed or deactivated. I'm looking at my 1916 Erfurt police pistol as I type this and the slot on mine has been very professionally filled in with only a mark visable where it used to be. The mag safety had a piece of metal passing between the frame and mag release - under the grip - that prevented the trigger from being depressed all the way if the mag was out. Inserting a mag levered the metal tab out of the trigger's path, allowing full travel. Many hundreds - if not thousands - of Imperial military Lugers were so modified after the war. The only means of identifying which police force used them is if they were stamped with police unit markings. I agree that Jan's serial number range is only a guide and I should have made that clear in my first post. I was not suggesting that there's anything improper about the Luger in question; only that it extends the known serial number range of the commercial pistols used by police by quite a bit. Unless your Erfurt police pistol has been stamped with unit markings, there's no way to ID who used it. Like mine, it's one that served as a police gun. They were issued to police with two mags marked on the base 1 & 2 and the serial number. My Erfurt has a mismatched mag with the number 2 on it. My East German police rework - a 1917 Erfurt - has two matching mags numbered 1 & 2.