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Kyrie · 03-09-2001, 08:51 PM

Hi Marvin,

I think that's an excellent answer!

We need to remember that the youngest Luger is still more than fifty year old - and some are 100 years old! That's time for a lot of use, and abuse.

Over time even firearms made from the finest of materials (which Lugers, unfortunately, are not - at least my today's standards) develop weaknesses in their parts. Those parts that are the most highly stressed (either in terms of stress magnitude or repetitive stress) develop flaws that are not normally visible to the naked eye. These flaws start out as tiny voids, checks, or separations along the grain boundaries of the steel. Eventually these flaws progress to cracks, and once that happens parts breakage is imminent.

Over-pressure ammunition can certainly contribute to how fast these problems develop - as can weak springs, obstructed or constricted chambers or bores, or ammunition that is simply improper. But the bottom line here is the problem is not a poor design; it's advanced age.

Marvin is also right on target about the concerns that prevent people from firing Lugers with collector value. To have collector value, a Luger must be all original. Break a part, and it's not all original any more and no longer has any collector value. To illustrate this let me share a story.

Some years ago I was at a gun show chatting with a Luger collector at his table. Another fellow came up and he and the collector began negotiating on a stone mint 1916 DWM Artillery. The prospective buyer was examining the pistol when he unintentionally dry fired it. There was a "Snap!", "Ting!", as the firing pin broke and the tip of the firing pin departed for parts unknown. In that fraction of a second a $1400 collector Artillery became a $700 shooter Luger. All of us just froze in place when this happened. We all knew exactly what had occurred, and what it meant. The prospective buyer paid the collector $700 in cash, and walked away (without the Luger!). Everyone was just heartbroken, but it was Humpty Dumpty. The fellow who broke the firing pin was crushed, and mortified.

That's the risk in firing a Luger with collector value. It can stop being a collector Luger every time the trigger is pressed :-(

Best regards,

Kyrie

P. S. for reference, I'm going to attach a photo of a cracked P.38 slide. This crack probably started out years ago, and finally reached the surface after hundreds (if not thousands) of rounds after it started as a small check.

http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/P38CS.jpg

03-09-2001, 08:51 PM	#5
Kyrie User Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 757 Thanks: 0 Thanked 212 Times in 101 Posts	Re: Luger ammo Hi Marvin, I think that's an excellent answer! We need to remember that the youngest Luger is still more than fifty year old - and some are 100 years old! That's time for a lot of use, and abuse. Over time even firearms made from the finest of materials (which Lugers, unfortunately, are not - at least my today's standards) develop weaknesses in their parts. Those parts that are the most highly stressed (either in terms of stress magnitude or repetitive stress) develop flaws that are not normally visible to the naked eye. These flaws start out as tiny voids, checks, or separations along the grain boundaries of the steel. Eventually these flaws progress to cracks, and once that happens parts breakage is imminent. Over-pressure ammunition can certainly contribute to how fast these problems develop - as can weak springs, obstructed or constricted chambers or bores, or ammunition that is simply improper. But the bottom line here is the problem is not a poor design; it's advanced age. Marvin is also right on target about the concerns that prevent people from firing Lugers with collector value. To have collector value, a Luger must be all original. Break a part, and it's not all original any more and no longer has any collector value. To illustrate this let me share a story. Some years ago I was at a gun show chatting with a Luger collector at his table. Another fellow came up and he and the collector began negotiating on a stone mint 1916 DWM Artillery. The prospective buyer was examining the pistol when he unintentionally dry fired it. There was a "Snap!", "Ting!", as the firing pin broke and the tip of the firing pin departed for parts unknown. In that fraction of a second a $1400 collector Artillery became a $700 shooter Luger. All of us just froze in place when this happened. We all knew exactly what had occurred, and what it meant. The prospective buyer paid the collector $700 in cash, and walked away (without the Luger!). Everyone was just heartbroken, but it was Humpty Dumpty. The fellow who broke the firing pin was crushed, and mortified. That's the risk in firing a Luger with collector value. It can stop being a collector Luger every time the trigger is pressed :-( Best regards, Kyrie P. S. for reference, I'm going to attach a photo of a cracked P.38 slide. This crack probably started out years ago, and finally reached the surface after hundreds (if not thousands) of rounds after it started as a small check. http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/P38CS.jpg