70's Mauser chewing brass

[davidkachel]

Guys, remember that 6", 70's Mauser Luger I bought last year on an auction site, the non-Swiss flavor?
You guys knew I was looking for one and one of you turned me on to the auction...

Anyway, today I shot it for the first time. Yeah, sometimes I'm kinda slow. It shot very well, with only a couple of jams as one might expect with a new weapon (it may have been fired, but very, very little).

I have one significant concern and one minor one:

The weapon ejects OK, (straight up and I was under a canopy at the range... ever do the hot brass down the back of your shirt dance? The other people at the range think I must have wandered away from 'the home') However, it chews the brass. Each round had about a 5mm long triangle of gouged/shaved out brass at the mouth. The gouge also misshapes the mouth too of course. Now since I reload (not 9mm yet, but I have the dies and will start when the Wally World price goes over the top) this bunged up brass is a problem. I neither want to trust it or deal with it but I am saving 9mm brass for when I start reloading. This brass unfortunately cannot be saved (my perspective, others would possibly use it).

So here's the question: am I describing something already known to a lot of you or do I have a Luger than needs some gunsmithing? Is this a problem common to many Lugers or just the 70's retool? What can I do to make it stop mutilating my brass so I can reuse it?

Minor concern. I have other Luger mags besides the original Mauser that came with the pistol (need another BTW). I took with me a Mecgar and a nickeled Erma.

The Erma was very tight going into the Mauser, while the Mecgar was just fine. However, both failed to hold the toggle open after the last round while the Mauser mag did so every time.

Was there a significant difference in the 70's era Mauser mags such that I should use only those? Does this hold open problem sound familiar to anyone?

Oh, and the Mauser trigger pull is just awful. Is this a do-it-yourself-job or should I send it to Hugh or Lugerdoc? Or will it let up with time and use?

[Lugerdoc]

David, My initial thought on your dinged brass is that your recoil spring is a bit too strong for the ammo that you are using. I'd also check that your ejector is moving freely, since if it is sticking, this could cause late ejection. You could also try "flatting out" your sear spring and using a lighter trigger spring (I do have new FactorY Mauser ones in stock) to improve your trigger pull. If the problem is too much overlap of the striker with the sear, I don't recommend that you try that yourself, unless you are ready for multiple rounds firing with one pull of the trigger. Lugerdoc

[Dwight Gruber]

David,

The 'ding' on the brass is a common Luger characteristic. Although nominally ejecting straight up, the right-mounted ejector actually pushes the cartridge slightly to the left. As it exits the receiver, the case mouth bangs against the receiver rail.

--Dwight