Pete,
I think this is a good and disturbing question.
I have been looking over the 1936 S/42 which I shoot, and have noticed that the serial number on the barrel has no suffix; the frame has the same numbers, with suffix. The barrel has the the appropriate land diameter marking, the typefaces and size seem to be proper, the barrel has the right proof. And yet...and yet...
The more I look at at this gun, the more I become suspicious that it has been rebarrelled. The witness mark is questionable, I begin to question the typeface of the barrel number (not having another Mauser with which to compare it), and the wear at the muzzle does not seem to quite match the wear on the rest of the gun.
Now, I do not suspect for a moment that this gun has been "boosted" in some fashion to enhance its value. It is not a prime 90%+ piece: it is ding-ed and pitted from use; and judging from the personalized, non-standard grips which it wore when I bought it, it is probably a vet bring-back.
I believe I recall reading here in the recent past, one of the more experienced heads commenting that our Lugers have been "messed with" more than we know. Your question, and my observations, make me wonder about the circumstances which might bring a Luger in to a repair depot, and just what the practices were regarding maintenance and repair.
Ed, don't you -dare- quit posting!
--Dwight
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