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Pete Ebbink · 04-11-2005, 10:15 PM

I showed this piece around at the recent Reno gun show, allowed anyone who had interest to do a take-down...here are some of the opinions I received :

1. Advanced Swiss luger collector, Bob Lewis of Modesto, CA., compared my pistol to one he had on display that was only 80 numbers or so higher than mine. His was a long frame; mine is a short frame. Finish of both gun side-by-side were almost identical. Bob's had some rough machining marks under the thumb safety, as well (although not as rough as mine). I told Bob that I thought mine was a Bern redo...he said it was too close to his and his was not a re-do. Bob said he actually liked my luger better since the short frame for a M1934 Swiss Mauser is quite rare.

2. Advanced luger collector, expert, and dealer, Mike Krause of San Mateo, CA, thought mine was a very old Bern rework. He did note that there is lots of patina and rust coloration under the finish all over the piece. He spotted the fact that the barrel was probably a Bern replacement with new shallow serial numbers added to the underside of the barrel. Mike aslo noticed the area of the barrel/receiver witness marks was a bit "flat" as would be when the original witness mark on the receiver was filed down and restruck after a new barrel was placed. (Dwight Gruber's sharp eye also noticed this same "flat" spot, when Dwight looked over the piece later in the day.)

3. Our own Rod Wood of El Paso, TX was most curious to detemine if my short frame was merely pulled from Mauser inventory and modified/adapted for its Swiss grip safety. After a detailed take-down and inspection, Ron concluded he thought my short frame was forged/cast with the necessary blocking to accept the grip safety.

4. Ralph Shattuck of WOL had a quick look at my luger. Ralph said it was very nice, rare, but he thought the middle part of the Mauser Banner was a bit too shallow and might indicate a rework.

5. Jan Still had a chance to see/hold the piece. Jan admitted not much experience with Mauser commercials and just commented that it was a "pretty gun".

Overall...I was glad that I was able to let some very advanced luger follks look over my luger. Considering that the only other lugers of this small contract I have seen over the past 2 years had price tags of $ 6500, $ 7500, and recently in Louisville, $ 8000...I am quite happy with the re-finish price I paid for this piece...and it will stay in my collection.

Regards,

Pete...

04-11-2005, 10:15 PM	#8
Pete Ebbink User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The USA Posts: 5,919 Thanks: 0 Thanked 7 Times in 5 Posts	I showed this piece around at the recent Reno gun show, allowed anyone who had interest to do a take-down...here are some of the opinions I received : 1. Advanced Swiss luger collector, Bob Lewis of Modesto, CA., compared my pistol to one he had on display that was only 80 numbers or so higher than mine. His was a long frame; mine is a short frame. Finish of both gun side-by-side were almost identical. Bob's had some rough machining marks under the thumb safety, as well (although not as rough as mine). I told Bob that I thought mine was a Bern redo...he said it was too close to his and his was not a re-do. Bob said he actually liked my luger better since the short frame for a M1934 Swiss Mauser is quite rare. 2. Advanced luger collector, expert, and dealer, Mike Krause of San Mateo, CA, thought mine was a very old Bern rework. He did note that there is lots of patina and rust coloration under the finish all over the piece. He spotted the fact that the barrel was probably a Bern replacement with new shallow serial numbers added to the underside of the barrel. Mike aslo noticed the area of the barrel/receiver witness marks was a bit "flat" as would be when the original witness mark on the receiver was filed down and restruck after a new barrel was placed. (Dwight Gruber's sharp eye also noticed this same "flat" spot, when Dwight looked over the piece later in the day.) 3. Our own Rod Wood of El Paso, TX was most curious to detemine if my short frame was merely pulled from Mauser inventory and modified/adapted for its Swiss grip safety. After a detailed take-down and inspection, Ron concluded he thought my short frame was forged/cast with the necessary blocking to accept the grip safety. 4. Ralph Shattuck of WOL had a quick look at my luger. Ralph said it was very nice, rare, but he thought the middle part of the Mauser Banner was a bit too shallow and might indicate a rework. 5. Jan Still had a chance to see/hold the piece. Jan admitted not much experience with Mauser commercials and just commented that it was a "pretty gun". Overall...I was glad that I was able to let some very advanced luger follks look over my luger. Considering that the only other lugers of this small contract I have seen over the past 2 years had price tags of $ 6500, $ 7500, and recently in Louisville, $ 8000...I am quite happy with the re-finish price I paid for this piece...and it will stay in my collection. Regards, Pete...