Luger ejects brass 15' in the air.

[Robb]

Maybe more. Seriously. Is that normal?

I bought a '39 Luger for my son, cleaned and lubed although it didn't appear to need it, and yesterday we put 2 mags through it. The brass was trying to go into orbit.

I bought some Wolff replacement springs but haven't put them into the gun yet because the current springs seem to be very strong. Pulling the toggle back is stiff. I do not know if the springs currently in the gun are original to the gun. The gun appears to have been handled alot but fired very little. I have no other Luger experience so I have nothing to compare with.

I would appreciate if you wanted to share your thoughts.

[Olle]

My mixmaster shooter will throw them about 10', high enough to make it hurt when they land on my head. After all the hours I spent struggling with FTE's I'm kinda glad to see it do that.

[Zorba]

My wife and I were at the range the other day - she was not particularly amused when a spent cartridge landed on her head, ejected from the (range rental, top ejecting) Glock I was shooting!

[alanint]

Not too unusual, but you may want to use less powerful ammo or a new mainspring.
My indoor range insists that I lean forward when firing my Lugers. This after breaking a half dozen overhead bulbs on the shooting positions with ejected cases

[Robb]

Okay, I should have researched more before I posted here.
I believe it is normal for a Luger to eject brass like that. I've found a few other threads on the net saying the very same thing.

The ammo was probably 15 year old gunshow ball ammo I had laying around and commercial reloads too so I doubt it was loaded hot, but who knows.
I'll take the Luger apart soon and compare the existing mainspring with the new Wolff I have.

[lugerholsterrepair]

Normal in all respects! I just shot 75 rounds of Winchester white box this morning and most of the brass was piled up right behind where I was standing after a straight up trajectory.

[ithacaartist]

Kinda toasty when they go down inside your shirt!

Anyway, welcome to the forum.

[alanint]

My favorite is having them land and wedge between your shooting glasses and your eyebrow. Lovely smell and you get to walk around looking like Mr. Spock for a week.

[sheepherder]

Mine is an indoor range, with the aforementioned florescent lights above. I usually get whacked in the head with most of the ejected cases. I wear a hat.

My complaint is that although it's an enclosed range, and I police my brass before going downrange and sweep after shooting, I still lose 1 out of 5 cases...

With 9mm, it's not catastropic, as the police use the range and throw their expended ammo away. We fill a 55 gal drum with left-behind expended brass and then cart it off to the scrapyard [$$$]. I just count my cases and grab a few out of the barrel.

...But the 30 Luger/30 Mauser cases are another story. I'll spend a half hour looking for those boogers. In the end, I lose 5 or 6 out of 100...Don't know where they go...On top of the light fixtures maybe???...

[alanint]

Rich,

In this climate, you can make a lot more money by paying some kid to sort the brass and selling it online or at shows. Right now scrapping brass is a sacriledge, as our dear goverment will make it all disappear eventually, if they have the chance.

[Karl]

...But the 30 Luger/30 Mauser cases are another story. I'll spend a half hour looking for those boogers. In the end, I lose 5 or 6 out of 100...Don't know where they go...On top of the light fixtures maybe???...

Try spray painting the brass day-glo pink.
KFS

[Olle]

Originally Posted by alanint

My favorite is having them land and wedge between your shooting glasses and your eyebrow. Lovely smell and you get to walk around looking like Mr. Spock for a week.

The solution is obvious:

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by alanint

In this climate, you can make a lot more money by paying some kid to sort the brass and selling it online or at shows.

Not my call; I'm just a peon. The club also sells the lead from the backstop to the scrapyard. "Sorting" or even taking cases out (like I do) is prohibited. Closed circuit TV & video taped. I did explain at a meeting why I was searching all over the place for spent shells; there was a good laugh about it.

I like the sombrero. I had the idea of using a fishing net with a Xmas tree stand to make a shell catcher. For 1911's & Star BM's it works great. Not so good for Luger or C96/M30 mausers...

[ithacaartist]

My range is in the back yard, brass loss around 15-20%, which really puts the damper on .30 Luger. This summer, in addition to a tarp on the ground, I'm thinking of a lightweight, collapsible screen for deflecting and collecting the brass on the tarp. The portion of the screen overhead will be slanted up to the right, so that brass on its way straight up will bounce from it, over to the right. More news about this in three weeks to a year...

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by ithacaartist

More news about this in three weeks to a year...

Ain't retirement great??? Biggest decision I made today was deciding what cereal to have...

[rhuff]

Originally Posted by alanint

My favorite is having them land and wedge between your shooting glasses and your eyebrow. Lovely smell and you get to walk around looking like Mr. Spock for a week.

I have had this happen many more times that I would have liked......they really burn!!

[Ben M.]

dropping down a gals cleavage also happens. you know when you hear the screams at the range.

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by Ben M.

dropping down a gals cleavage also happens. you know when you hear the screams at the range.

If some 'gal' starts jumping around & screaming with a live weapon in her hand, you'll hear a lot of screams at my club...

[Zorba]

Originally Posted by Ben M.

dropping down a gals cleavage also happens. you know when you hear the screams at the range.

I'll need to warn my wife against this...