The Story of a Stoeger .22 lr Luger

[padredan]

Some of you may not consider a Stoeger .22 a real Luger, but you maybe interested in the story behind one. I bought this one in july of 1983 from Hands sports distributors in Albany Ga., price 125.00 It has remaimed unfired untill november of 2010. the pictures of it you are seeing as it was just rediscovered found at the bottom of one of my gun safes. Complete in the original box with all the paperwork as you see, now how did i come upon this long lost little luger .22? that is the story and i will leave you in a bit of suspense, or at least for a short time. thanks Padre

[padredan]

the pictures

[padredan]

It is a steel frame model, with a very good balance and shoots well. 10 shot magazine, walnut grips and as you can see in the pictures it was unfired at the time of these pictures. Now how did i come about actualy rediscovering this long misplaced little luger? The salespersons name was Jacquline Wingate and she and i have kept in touch over the years and have become good friends. she would later leave that job to join the airforce and later become a professional photographer. When she would need to consult on matters of firearms ,she would contact me. In one of the conversations she asked about the stoger .22 luger i had bought and it set me to looking for it. And now you see the results of that search. 1983 stoeger luger found, august of 2010.

[padredan]

Now for the rest of the story. that is Ms wingate firing the 1983 stoeger .22 luger for the first time november 19, 2010 at 4.11 pm cdt. hows that for a story, i kept it unfired till she visited , and let her fire it the first time and recoverd the fired casings and gave them to her as well as placing some of them back in the box with the .22 luger and it's paperwork. Now hows that for a true luger story.

[padredan]

over 27 years after Ms Jaquie wingate sold me this nice little Stoeger .22 luger it is fired by her on nov 19 2010, now hows that for a bit of providence, Oh by the way she is fishing and outdoors legend and "sage of the seminole" , the late " jack wingate's youngest daughter. http://www.albanyherald.com/news/201.../jack-wingate/ thanks for reading my little story, padre Dan

[sheepherder]

Great story!

Does it say anywhere in the box or paperwork who actually manufactured the Stoeger Luger???

[John Sabato]

Great story Padredan

Makes me wonder what other forgotten treasures and stories are about to surface after a
27 year nap in your gunsafe.

[John Sabato]

Great story Padredan

Makes me wonder what other forgotten treasures and stories are about to surface after a
27 year nap in your gunsafe.

[padredan]

Thanks to all, and perhaps there are some other firearms with some stories to come. Both the pistol and paperwork are marked Stoeger Industries, hackensack, n.j. all the number are matching/lol. i did fire the little .22 luger that day myself, alot of fun to shoot. this would be my oldest luger, as i never kept any of the others. One thing did come from this purchase a friendship that has lasted 29 years . I enjoy this forum very much and i have learned alot from it. I hope i maybe able to bring you a few more stories like this one in the future, thanks Again padre Dan

[padredan]

The rest of the story. Ms Wingate firing my 1918 dwm 9mm , near bainbridge ga. She learned to hit well with it after only a few shots.

[TheRomanhistorian]

Dan, what a great pair of stories and two Lugers side by side with their own unique stories to tell. Which one did Ms. Wingate prefer?

[padredan]

Well they both put a smile on her face, but that would be the stoeger luger, it is the start of our friendship and our love of shooting and firearms is a very strong bond. Shooting and outdoor sports runs deep in her family and if the name wingate might ring a bell you may enjoy one of the stories on her father fishing legend Jack Wingate http://www.bassmaster.com/news/jack-wingate-dead-82

[Shadowsix]

Very cool story padredan! You just never know what will happen over the years!

I have a similar story of a inexpensive gun disappearing on me for over 2 decades only to reappear in my life in the last year.

Back in 1981 while stationed at a USAF base in Idaho I bought my first cartridge revolver (I had built a kit 1851 Navy Colt replica in the mid 70's I loved to fire) which is a nickle plated Hawes Western Marshal .357 that was 20 years old then for $200.00. My parents bought a holster & sent it to me and I wore it around when camping or just in the wilderness in Idaho.

After the military I went to college back in Florida and one weekend in 1988 I went shooting with a friend in which I had left my gun at his parent's house afterwards. I was busy with classes & he with his first business so it stayed there long enough (2 monthes) to be a part of his parent's move to another place (I know, silly me). When they unpacked at their new place my Hawes and his guns were not to be found.

It was assumed the mover made them disappear but nothing was ever proven.

Fast forward 23 years and my friend's mother passes away and he has to go through her belongings which includes a storage unit with some boxes left unopened from that move in '88.

He opens a box marked toys from his room he grew up in and what is laying in amongst his old toys but the HAWES!! Seems his parent's maid at the time thought it was a toy & packed it in there. Considering the size weight of it, it is amazing that she thought it was a toy!

He gave it back to me on a visit I made to Florida last year and I brought it back home and had a gunsmith look it over and it is a great shooter still!

Unfortunately his guns (a M1911 & a vented stock M1) did really disappear.

For me it was fortuitous that it disappeared for 23 years because while I was married in the '90s my now ex-wife towards the end of our marriage pawned all my guns at the time and had it been with me would have been done away with too!

All my guns I own now are post her except for my Hawes. It's not a collectable but it is fun to shoot and I love it.

Below is a picture of it now. It did amazingly well for sitting in a cardboard box in humid storage in Florida for what in now a 50 year old gun!

P.S. although I definitely want a 9mm Luger shooter I am also considering also a Stoeger (steel frame) or Erma .22LR Luger too.

[padredan]

Hawes made some pretty good single action pistols, i remember several cow pokes carring them back in the 60's around the ranches and they seemed to hold up well, i think i may have owned one or two in .22 back in the day. How time slips away. I think Hawes may have made the great western single actions allso.