Help with my 1900 Military???

Lugers down under · 06-10-2007, 10:23 PM

I am totally confused.
My wife kindly bought me a copy of Aarron Davis Standard Catalog of Luger and I have been reading page 39 on the 1900 Swiss Military.
The book claims the serial number range is 2001 to 5000 and that the guns are BUG proofed and the barrel has German commercial proof (page 40).
I have, what I had believed to be a 1900 Swiss military. It has DWM dished toggle, cross in sunburst on the chamber. Early long frame with grip safety. 4 &3/4Ã¢?Â barrel in 7.65mm.
Proofs on the LH side of the receiver is a Swiss cross and Heer Vogelsang insectors stamp.It has a Swiss cross on the barrel LH side , another on the rear toggle link and another cross above the lanyard loop on the frame rear. It has no German proof marks whatsoever.
It has a knurled thumb safety lever with the long knurled style.
It is almost identical to the Swiss Military shown on page 80 of Vittorio BobbaÃ¢??s book Parabellum
With the exception that the knurling on the safety lever is the earlier longer style.
From the Parabellum book I have deduced that what I have is a 1st series 2nd Variation 1900 Swiss Military Luger.
The serial number of my gun is 781 (all matching numbers). On page 71 of the BobbaÃ¢??s book is a photograph of three Swiss Lugers in which the bottom LH gun is a 1st series 2nd Variation gun serial number 634 which is only 147 guns less than mine own.
What have I got, and who is right about the serial number sequence ?
Davis claims the Military serial number range is 2001 to 5000 and the commercial range 01 to 21,250 and 5001 to 5100!!
Help please!

drbuster · 06-10-2007, 11:56 PM

Aarron Davis's first book (and also his second) have many errors that have been exposed on the Forum from time to time. Your luger is correct as depicted in Bobba's book. As they say: "It is what it is!"

Ron Wood · 06-11-2007, 12:22 AM

Bless your wife's kindly heart. My wife bought for me my first Luger book, Datig's "The Luger Pistol".
After all that has been posted on this and Jan Still's forum about the errors in Davis' book(s), you always need to double check with more accurate publications. Aarron is a nice guy but he resorts to "cut and paste" from variation to variation and he and his editors do not pick up on the gross inaccuracies. Swiss military variations do not have BUG proofs...period.

Pete Ebbink · 06-11-2007, 12:25 AM

Good book review over on Jan Still's Gun Boards in this discussion :

http://luger.gunboards.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9327

06-10-2007, 10:23 PM	#1
Lugers down under User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Great Barrier Island, New Zealand Posts: 228 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 2 Posts	Help with my 1900 Military??? I am totally confused. My wife kindly bought me a copy of Aarron Davis Standard Catalog of Luger and I have been reading page 39 on the 1900 Swiss Military. The book claims the serial number range is 2001 to 5000 and that the guns are BUG proofed and the barrel has German commercial proof (page 40). I have, what I had believed to be a 1900 Swiss military. It has DWM dished toggle, cross in sunburst on the chamber. Early long frame with grip safety. 4 &3/4Ã¢?Â barrel in 7.65mm. Proofs on the LH side of the receiver is a Swiss cross and Heer Vogelsang insectors stamp.It has a Swiss cross on the barrel LH side , another on the rear toggle link and another cross above the lanyard loop on the frame rear. It has no German proof marks whatsoever. It has a knurled thumb safety lever with the long knurled style. It is almost identical to the Swiss Military shown on page 80 of Vittorio BobbaÃ¢??s book Parabellum With the exception that the knurling on the safety lever is the earlier longer style. From the Parabellum book I have deduced that what I have is a 1st series 2nd Variation 1900 Swiss Military Luger. The serial number of my gun is 781 (all matching numbers). On page 71 of the BobbaÃ¢??s book is a photograph of three Swiss Lugers in which the bottom LH gun is a 1st series 2nd Variation gun serial number 634 which is only 147 guns less than mine own. What have I got, and who is right about the serial number sequence ? Davis claims the Military serial number range is 2001 to 5000 and the commercial range 01 to 21,250 and 5001 to 5100!! Help please! __________________ Lugers down under

06-11-2007, 12:22 AM	#3
Ron Wood Moderator 2010 LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Santa Teresa New Mexico just outside of the West Texas town of El Paso Posts: 7,019 Thanks: 1,090 Thanked 5,173 Times in 1,701 Posts	Bless your wife's kindly heart. My wife bought for me my first Luger book, Datig's "The Luger Pistol". After all that has been posted on this and Jan Still's forum about the errors in Davis' book(s), you always need to double check with more accurate publications. Aarron is a nice guy but he resorts to "cut and paste" from variation to variation and he and his editors do not pick up on the gross inaccuracies. Swiss military variations do not have BUG proofs...period. __________________ If it's made after 1918...it's a reproduction

06-10-2007, 11:56 PM	#2
drbuster User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: San Mateo, California Posts: 1,432 Thanks: 2 Thanked 71 Times in 56 Posts	Aarron Davis's first book (and also his second) have many errors that have been exposed on the Forum from time to time. Your luger is correct as depicted in Bobba's book. As they say: "It is what it is!"

06-11-2007, 12:25 AM	#4
Pete Ebbink User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The USA Posts: 5,919 Thanks: 0 Thanked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Good book review over on Jan Still's Gun Boards in this discussion : http://luger.gunboards.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9327