German Luger

[flawless]

I sincerely hope this message is in the Military P-08 Forum, otherwise JS is going to scold me again! I have recently acquired some pistols from my Grand Father and I would like some information on them. I have previously listed a 1910 and a Nambu. This is the third Luger which I will describe as best as I can. The top of the gun has three intitials engraved DWM in fancy script font. There is a lever on the left rear which says GESICHERT. Just behind the barrel is a logo of some sort which is a crown over an N and just below that is the word GERMANY. On the right side of the pistol there are no markings at all. Looking straight down the barrel, just infront of the trigger guard are the numbers 826 with a logo just below it. On the bottom and on the back of the barrel are the numbers 826 with the crown and N just above that. There is another logo just below the numbers. On the back, just below the sight the numbers 26 appear. There are no other identifying characteristics that I can see? Any information will be deeply appreciated. Brenda

[RockinWR]

Brenda,
* 9mm or 30 Parabellum?
* Sounds like you have a Weimer Era (1919-1933) Luger made for the Commercial Market and exported from Germany. It likely was shipped to the U.S. and sold here sometime in the mid 1920's. The Crown N is the German commercial Nitro Proof mark. The "Germany" marking is the pistol's Country of origin required by US Customs for importation.
* The "logo" underneath the numerals 826 might be a suffix block letter. Lugers were generally made in blocks of 10000 pistols. Each block was designated by a lower case scriptic letter of the alphabet. This is part of the S/N. Look in this Forum's "Tech Info" section which appears on the left side of the screen if you enter using "www.lugerforum.com". Please report what lower case script letter you match as this will help clarify the approximate Yr. of Mfg. and collector's type of P.08 you have.
* Commercial P.08's can have the last two S/N digits, in this case "26", marked on the small parts in a hidden location. Look on the underside or hidden side of the strawed parts, for instance, to see if they bear this partial S/N identity. Pistol does have strawed parts I assume.
* If you have field stripped this pistol, the lug on the underside of the receiver, just aft of the barrel, will usually bear these last two digits as well.
* Have you checked the inside of the grips for numerals, acceptance stamps, etc.?? If attempted, extra care must be exercised in removal of the left grip so as to not snag/chip the upper right corner of the grip on the underside of the safety lever. These are checkered wood grips I presume. You might start with removal/inspection of the right grip panel. With the mag removed, one can generally see the inside of the left grip for markings without ever having to remove the left grip at all.
* Overall side, top and/or detail digit pictures would help to confirm this assessment. Certainly would help reduce the assume/presume quotiant.
* Trust this helps.
Respectfully,
RockinWR

[Big Norm]

Brenda,
The crown over the 'N' indicates that this is a commercial Luger and the stamp "GERMANY' is an import mark just saying that his gun was imported from Germany. The '826' would be the serial number and all the '26' numbers would be the last two digits of the serial number. If all the two digit numbers were '26' then you would possibly have what we call an matching gun. That is good. Check the see if the full serial number on the front of the frame has an engraved small cap letter. If so, then this would also be part of the full serial number, Since this is a commercial Luger then there would be no marks on the right hand side and that is proper. The 'GESICHERT' on the left rear is not 'God Bless You' after a sneeze in German. It is a safety indicator and is standard on most Lugers. The DWM on the top of the toggle are the initials for the manufacturer of the gun. Most, but not all, Lugers will have this on it and this is proper.

All of the other markings on the bottom of the barrel would probably be proof marks of some sort so don't worry too much about them.

To tell if you have an army or military type, or a navy type or an artillery type, I would have to know the length of the barrel and the location of the rear sight. The barrels customarily come in 4, 6 and 8 inch lengths. But other lengths are possible. Contact me by hitting the above logo of two people shaking hands next to an envelope and I'll try to fill you in on more. A picture, if you have, would help too.

Don't worry about JS. He is really a hard working sweety pie in spite of the mean looking picture of him.
Big Norm

[Roadkill]

Good to hear from you again, Brenda.

rk

[Big Norm]

RockinWR,
the crown 'N' does not necessarily mean Weimar Era. I have a 1906 Commercial Navy that has a Crown 'N' on it.

Brenda,
RockinWR is absolutely correct when he says to be careful in removing the left grip. The grip can break very easily at the top right corner by the safety lever. Its best to not remove the left grip at all if you can avoid it.
Big Norm

[Navy]

All,
To remove the left grip safely and easily, first remove the magazine, then remove the right grip, hold the pistol or lay so that the grip is completely aligned with the horizon (as in level)on a level surface, then tap the inside center of the left grip with the eraser end of a pencil.

The key success factor is achieving a perfectly horizontal position of the pistol grip that it eliminates any torque from the strike to the inside of the grip; this,combined with a crisp strike will dislodge the grip by dissipating all kinetic energy 90 degrees from the long axis of the grip panel. The buggering from the receiver horn and safety is thus eliminated.

Its easy and simple.

Tom A.

[Big Norm]

Tom A,
I agree with what you said. But sometimes those little bugger chips seem to be just waiting to fall off no matter what you do. If your planning to sell the gun soon then its best not to take a chance.
Big Norm