Help needed dating luger

[BCMike]

This is my first post here. I'm out of my element with lugers and hope this is the correct place for this question. I'm trying to ballpark a year of manufacture on this poor sorry looking gal for a friend. Story is it spent a long time under water and it looks like it. Very beat up and obviously will never fire, especially with no trigger assembly but it would be nice to get the era correct as it is a family keepsake. No visable marks of any kind including serial number I guess due to corrosion on the pistol except the DWM script on the toggle assembly so no letter to help date the number on the mag. No grip safety.

Serial number on mag is 6582. The mag looks like it spent a long time with the pistol as they both have equal parts of the c**p beaten out of them.

If I could get an approximate year and place of origin he would be happy.

Thanks for any help.
Mike

[alanint]

Is the hole above the trigger guard drilled or corroded through?

[Edward Tinker]

Well, hard to say, if no date on the receiver then it is likely post 1921 but before 1930


Place of origin is DWM factory Germany, they weren't made anywhere else (a few exceptions, but slim that it is one of those)


Curious, found in water, a family mistake or found where?


Ed

[BCMike]

Originally Posted by alanint

Is the hole above the trigger guard drilled or corroded through?

Drilled. Looks like factory - trigger assembly connecting point?

[BCMike]

Originally Posted by Edward Tinker

Well, hard to say, if no date on the receiver then it is likely post 1921 but before 1930


Place of origin is DWM factory Germany, they weren't made anywhere else (a few exceptions, but slim that it is one of those)


Curious, found in water, a family mistake or found where?


Ed

Even with all the corrosion I'm sure there was never a date stamp on the receiver. Someone told me it might be a very early year before dates were stamped but I have no luger knowledge so don't know fact from fiction at this point. I'm getting the family history soon. Hard to tell fact from fantasy with family stories.

Is the aluminium base mag from later?

[BCMike]

This is a reply from another forum. What do you think?

"Seems what you have there is a military P08 configuration, pre-1914 because it doesnt have the stock lug attachment. Date on chamber would be 1910 to 1913 (a rarity would be a 1914 date as few of these were produced without the stock lug during the transition period) An undated chamber, combined with left side receiver (bbl extension) proofs would indicate a 1908 type pistol which was the first model Luger adopted by the German Army.

Mag is a 1940-42 production, extruded body with either FXO markings (1941-42) or 122 markings for a 1940."

[alanint]

The information you received from the other forum is correct. I was going to mention the same lack of a stock lug as well as no chamber date. It is one of the earliest issued guns.

Is the toggle being held open by corrosion or is there a "hold open" device keeping it raised as in the photo? There is no clear indication from your right hand side photo that a hold open device was added, which did not come on these early factory guns. The photo is not sharp so the added hold open pin may de there, I just can't see it.

The drilled hole was done by someone other than the factory. There should be no hole in that area at all. Maybe an attempt to "add" a trigger by someone who did not understand how the mechanism works or for display purposes?

[BCMike]

Here's where my ignorance shows. By stock lug do you mean a lug as a means of attaching a longer stock at the back?

Although somewhat stiff, the pistol action functions and the toggle will stay up until pulled back and released.

So I understand the pistol is an early one but is the aluminum base magazine later production?

A few more pics:

[mrerick]

Yes - the Aluminum based extruded blued steel magazine (by Haenel) is from a later era. It's from the late 1930s through 1942 period.

There is normally a hole in the frame for mounting the trigger. This one may have been drilled out as it appears slightly larger than normal.

Your take down lever has been snapped off.

The stock lug would be at the bottom of the rear frame strap near the magazine well.

Yes - the stock lug is used for attaching a carbine stock. See this site for pictures.

[alanint]

The trigger mounting hole does look larger than normal

[BCMike]

Thanks all for the great info. I see some lugers with grip safetys and this one doesn't have one. Is that a further indication that this pistol is an early model? Were grip safetys instituted on a certain date or year?

Mike

[Ron Wood]

Actually, a grip safety is generally an indication of an early Luger. The first production Lugers in 1900 had a grip safety and that feature continued through the Model 1906. The grip safety was abandoned with the first German army contract in 1908 never to return except in some commercial and foreign contract guns.

[BCMike]

Thanks Ron,
You know I never was a luger guy even when we played war outside with two bring backs that my friend's dad got in WW2. My main interest is the early 1911 but I'm starting to like the luger enough to the point of maybe getting one. I keep feeling sorry for this poor old thing...

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by BCMike

...even when we played war outside with two bring backs that my friend's dad got in WW2....

...Huh???...

I keep feeling sorry for this poor old thing...

I think it would make a most excellent desk trophy, dude!!!

[LugerVern]

Can you show us a picture of the front of the frame and the underside of the barrel ?

I would like to see the SN.

I am not fully convinced that this is an early P08.

Vern

[BCMike]

I have some more pics and I’m puzzled that I can’t find any serial number in the places they are supposed to be even taking corrosion into account. There is a number “57” (shown) underside of slide and what looks like a number “1” (shown) at the rear underside of slide. A number “57” (not shown) also appears on the frame. I’m assuming the 57 is the last two digits of the non-existant to my eyes serial number. On other pistols I see this done on many parts but on this example only stamped in the places mentioned. Unless a serial number is buried on a part I can’t access there is none on the gun.

Is it possible that this luger was not serial numbered? It seems odd as those couple of places have the two digit numbers. Is it possible that there were mix and match or rebuild parts that weren’t serial numbered?

Regarding playing war with real handguns – I grew up in small town Newfoundland in the early ‘60’s with no thought of today’s paranoia about firearms.Our arsenal consisted of a mixture of very real looking play guns with a few real war trophys mixed in that we snuck out of our dad’s hideaway spots. Two Lugers, A P-38, a couple of Colt 1911’s and a strange I think Russian pistol that had a star on the grip or frame. No ammo involved and back then it’s just the way we played.

If you want close-ups of these pics use the trick of holding down the keyboard ctrl key and rotate the mouse wheel forward.

[DavidJayUden]

You know Mike, I've shot Lugers that looked worse. A trigger, side plate and takedown lever, etc. So long as the bore is reasonable (open). It's not like you are risking hurting it.
dju

[Vlim]

Same here. Shot a P08 that spent some 30 years in the Neckar river last year. It was overhauled at Mauser after being found, as a sort of 'fun project'. With new springs and a new barrel liner, it is still going strong after some 30 more years

[BCMike]

Originally Posted by Vlim

Same here. Shot a P08 that spent some 30 years in the Neckar river last year. It was overhauled at Mauser after being found, as a sort of 'fun project'. With new springs and a new barrel liner, it is still going strong after some 30 more years

Interesting. How do you put in a new barrel liner and have it stay 9mm?

[lugerholsterrepair]

I was at the Chantilly show this Summer and a couple of fellows showed up at the table with one about like this only with fresh red rust in most of the crevasses..there were portions that had NO rust at all and you could tell it was a mint pistol before it was rusted. 1915 DWM. A good friend offered to remove the rust with an acid bath so I took him up on it. When I saw it next it was blackned but all the rust was gone. I had to hammer it apart...once I got it all apart I wire brushed every part and inspected it. I had to change out the flat sear spring, the flat mag release spring and the trigger. A couple of links on the mainspring broke off but I didn't have another so I just put it back in. Didn't seem to affect it. Magazine has deep rust on it but it still works..an all matching pistol too!
It's completely in the white now but I shot 100 rounds thru it with no problems. for a $50 Luger it's a good shooter!

Jerry Burney