1936 Mauser 42

Greetings.

I just purchased a 1936 Mauser Luger today. I couldn't resist its charm. I am having trouble Identifying it correctly though. It looks just like this one from SteveM in the owner's gallery.


Here's my questions.


1. The chamber inscription reads '42' and there is a 79 near the toggle knobs and also a 79 near the thumb safety. What does the 79 denote.


2. In SteveM's photo the trigger is golden (strawed I guess?) and mine is blued. Does that mean mine was replaced or did they manufacture both kinds?


3. I believe there is the a small cursive 'f' under the serial on the trigger guard. Does that mean this is an 'f' model?


4. The serial number of my gun reads 92XX and there are no letters with it. Is that significant?


Thanks I would really appreciate the help as I am just getting started.




http://www.lugerforum.com/owner_gall...36MauserLt.jpg

[Thor]

Dear SWAMPGASI just purchased a 1936 Mauser Luger today. I couldn't resist its charm.)I FULLY UNDERSTAND, BEAUTIFUL PICTURE AND LUGER!!


(1. The chamber inscription reads '42' and there is a 79 near the toggle knobs and also a 79 near the thumb safety. What does the 79 denote.) THAT SHOULD BE THE LAST TWO NUMBERS OF THE WEAPONS FULL SERIAL NUMBER LOCATED ON THE FROM OF THE FRAME ABOVE THE TRIGGER GUARD. YOUR TOGGLE CODE SHOULD READ S/42 TO BE CORRECT IF CONSIDERED ALL ORIGINAL FOR A 1936 MAUSER. THE ARE SOME DOCUMENTED CASES OF MISMATCHED TOGGLE/CHAMBER DATE COMBINATIONS, BUT THOSE UNFORTUNATELY CAME LATER.


(2. In SteveM's photo the trigger is golden (strawed I guess?) and mine is blued. Does that mean mine was replaced or did they manufacture both kinds? ) ALL 1936 MAUSERS WERE ISSUED WITH STRAWED SMALL PARTS. MY GUESS IS YOURS HAVE BEEN REFINISHED AT SOME POINT.


(3. I believe there is the a small cursive 'f' under the serial on the trigger guard. Does that mean this is an 'f' model?) THAT SMALL CURSIVE f IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE WEAPON'S SERIAL NUMBER. SEE TECHNICAL INFO SECTION AND GO TO MARKINS AND SUFFIX 1 TO SEE OTHERS.


(4. The serial number of my gun reads 92XX and there are no letters with it. Is that significant?) ACUTALLY YOUR WEAPON WOULD BE SERIAL NUMBER 9279"f" FROM YOUR DESCRIPTION, THIS SHOULD APPEAR ON THE FRONT OF THE FRAME. THE 9279 WOULD APPEAR ON THE LEFT RECEIVER AT THE FRONT AND THE FULL SERIAL WOULD BE TWO LINES ON THE FRONT OF THE FRAME 9279 WOULD BE THE FIRST LINE AND "f" WOULD BE THE SECOND. THIS LUGER WOULD HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE FIRST ONES BUILT IN 1936


(Thanks I would really appreciate the help as I am just getting started. ) ANYTIME, LOTS OF PEOPLE HERE TO HELP. THESE ARE GREAT GUNS AND WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF LUGERING. ~THOR~

[Thor]

Opps, you said the chamber inscription says 42? Do you mean the front toggle link is inscribed 42. Over the chamber should be the date 1936? Please clarify chamber marking and toggle code on front toggle link! Mauser made military Lugers with the S/42 code during the years 1934 (K Date), 1935 (G Date), 1936-1939, then switched to the 42 code during years 1939, 1940 and 1941. A byf code was used during the years 1941 and 1942. Notice there are some years (1939 and 1941 where more than one coding was used) ~Thor~

Thor thanks for the help. Ok I'm getting confused now so let me try to clarify a few things.


First the photo is of SteveM's gun, not mine, I posted it for reference only since it so closely resembles mine.


Second. The serial number of my gun is actually 9221 and the 21 is in all the places on the (left) side of the gun.


Third, Looking down on the gun, starting with the barrel it reads 1936, then the 42 (opposite direction) and then the 79 facing the same direction as the 1936 but almost to where the knobs are. Then there is a small 79 on the place where you might rest your thumb.


So is the top half of my gun from another one? The barrel has the correct serial number too.


I don't know how you guys keep this stuff straight for all these guns. Thanks again.

[Thor]

Sounds like your toggle train is from another Luger.

Still, they are great guns, a lot of fun to shoot and admire. Seems like my mistake on the picture, sorry! It is late and I have been bluing Lugers all day,





Ted's Luger Strawing Service

The little f is the first one on the suffix 2.


So I pretty much bought a shooter gun for 500 smackers. Youch.

[Thor]

Hey, you didnt do bad! A nice shooter for $500 is a square deal IMO. Some will tell you $350-$400 is more like it, but these shooters are drying up and they will increase in price IMO. Always better to learn more BEFORE you buy next time and you came to the right place for a Luger education. Better to be a smart buyer but when you see a pretty Luger and you can afford it, most people will get it and ask questions after the adrenaline rush is over. Lots of us have done this so welcome to the club. Lugers will make you do crazy things, that is much of the appeal IMO! Enjoy your Luger! I think it will be worth it to you! ~Thor~

Thor, Thanks very much for your help. I think you are right on about everything in your last post.


Plus, now that I know I won't be hurting the value, I can shoot it guilt free! Hehe.

[Thor]

That is true, enjoy it SG! Thor

[Marvin]

Hello Swamp Gas,


Welcome to the Forum and please come often! I think Thor has answered the questions about your Luger and you did OK on the price so don't worry about that part. Enjoy it, but also take good care of it; it still has history behind it. If the Pistol is not import marked and dip blued, you never know who actually changed the toggle parts; it could have been done during it's use as a field repair. I have one Luger that I bought from a veteran who got it near the end of the war and the entire toggle train was replaced with another S/N, so i know it was probably replaced by a field repair unit.


Since you have not fired the pistol yet, here a couple of items. Don't dry fire the pistol. The firing pin tip may break. They need a dummy for this practice. be sure to clean the pistol well before firing and lube the sliding surfaces. Clean the magazine well.


Once at the range, make sure you grip the pistol in your hand. If you loosly grip it, they tend to not eject and pick up a new cartrige sometimes. These pistols are getting a little old and you never know how they have been treated in the past. Sometimes the springs are a little weak and they can cause problems. The magazines is usually the culprit, but the spring can be replaced in them also if needed. After firing, let us know how it went and what you think of the pistol. If there are any problems, let us know and someone on the Forum should be able to help.


These are great pistols, fun to shoot, accurate, and people at the range are amazed at them. Many of the shooters now only know them from pictures and when the show up at the range everyone is very interested in them. let us know the outcome and enjoy the pistol.


Marvin

Here are a couple of suggestions regarding your luger. First, for safety, inspect very closely your toggle and receiver parts for cracks and fit. Because your luger is a combination of parts from at least two lugers and those parts are in high stress firing train, you want to take a little extra safety precaution--the toggle/receiver are not fitted and proofed factory assemblies. That said, these tend to be ok--just be sure to look over carefully. The toggle might be replaced because a shooter tested it with handloads and broke it, for example, (I have seen a similar example here in Colorado recently).


Second, if it has original walnut grips from the 1930s, shoot your luger with some new inexpensive reproduction grips. The right grip has a thin rib and left grip likes to chip--the grips are selling for $75 and more a pair and they are old and fragile having been exposed to much use. Repro grips=$25 and orig grips = $75 so save yourself some harm. If the right grip wiggles -- it is probable the rib is already cracked.


Inspect the mag lips for damage, too. Mags can influence feed reliability and hold open on last shot. If damaged or just to protect the investment in a $100 orig mag, consider installing a $30 reproduction magazine.


Congratulations on having the best gun ever invented.


Dave

"Marvin said: Enjoy it, but also take good care of it; it still has history behind it."


That was what put me over the edge as far as purchasing it. I don't collect war memorabilia, but if there was one thing I've wanted since I was a kid, then it would have to be the Luger. Plus the history is an attraction too. I somehow feel a responsibility to preserve this piece of history now that it is in my hands.


If the Pistol is not import marked and dip blued, you never know who actually changed the toggle parts; it could have been done during it's use as a field repair. I have one Luger that I bought from a veteran who got it near the end of the war and the entire toggle train was replaced with another S/N, so i know it was probably replaced by a field repair unit.


Well that is what I believe might have occured to this one. There are only 2 different S/N on the gun. There seems to be more blueing on the toggle train than on the rest of the parts. Also the trigger is blued. So isn't the 42 consistent with the 1936 date?

David said:"Here are a couple of suggestions regarding your luger. First, for safety, inspect very closely your toggle and receiver parts for cracks and fit. Because your


luger is a combination of parts from at least two lugers and those parts are in high stress firing train, you want to take a little extra safety precaution--the


toggle/receiver are not fitted and proofed factory assemblies. That said, these tend to be ok--just be sure to look over carefully. The toggle might be replaced


because a shooter tested it with handloads and broke it, for example, (I have seen a similar example here in Colorado recently)."


Thanks David, that's just the kind of advice I need.


David said:"Since you have not fired the pistol yet, here a couple of items. Don't dry fire the pistol. The firing pin tip may break. They need a dummy for this practice. be sure to clean the pistol well before firing and lube the sliding surfaces. Clean the magazine well."


Eek, I did dry fire it twice. I will get a dummy round. Thanks more good advice. If I would have known you Luger guys were this friendly and helpful I would have bought one years ago!


Yes it does have the original grips. Superficially they aren't too bad, some oil soaking. But yes the rib is broken and I found that out the hard way. So I'm already planning on getting some repro grips or cheap ones. Anyone have any suggestions on cheap grips?


David said:"Inspect the mag lips for damage, too. Mags can influence feed reliability and hold open on last shot. If damaged or just to protect the investment in a $100 orig mag, consider installing a $30 reproduction magazine."


The magazine appears to be in excellent shape and the spring is really strong, but I'm not positive it is an original period magazine. I will start a new thread about it soon, because I want to find out.


I'm not going to use it anyway because today I purchased two aftermarket mags. So I'm all set. The springs appear to be strong.


I guess before I go shoot, I will take it apart, inspect and clean it. But I must say the gun appears to function flawlessly from my novice standpoint so far. It feels really tight.


I must say the energy and enthusiasm you guys have here is pretty amazing. I am very impressed with the Luger crowd! Thanks again for all of your guy's help.

No 42 was used on 1939 and 1940 dated Lugers and on 41 also. Your Luger should have a S/42 for Mauser on toggel.

Ok now I get it. Sorry I'm obviously very new at this. I appreciate your paitience. So it should look like the top one in this picture then.




http://www.lugerforum.com/lugermarki...arkings-02.gif

Right and a 1936 where the G is shown.