1902 Carbine

Imperial Arms · 01-17-2008, 12:30 AM

One of my favorite Lugers is the M1902 Luger Carbine, and I enjoy very much doing the research on this type of Luger.

It is hard to believe that the Luger Carbine was a dismal product for DWM. It took DWM about 20+ years to sell their inventory of 2,500-3,000 carbines even with all the advertising which appears in various dealer catalogs. A possible reason for the lack of sales for the Luger Carbine probably came from the requirement of '+P' (DWM 471A) ammunition which was not widely available - even President Roosevelt had difficulty obtaining ammunition for his Luger carbine! The 471A cartridge had a flat projectary, but the size of the bullet had limited its use as a hunting carbine, and the largest animal that it could easily kill was a large ram or some 'pests' such as foxes. None of the information that I have read mentions that the carbine was suitable for deer hunting.

The earliest dealer catalogs listing the Luger Carbine are from 1906 and it continues to appear in some American dealer catalogs until 1929. If I had to make a WAG, I reckon that the first Luger carbines (with Tangent sights) were made in 1902 and the next model (which we name the M1902) was probably introduced in 1903. For example, a few of the presentation Luger carbines, such as the HCR carbine, is dated 1903. It is surprising that it took nearly three years for the standard M1902 carbine to be accepted by some retail stores such as A&F and SD&G.

It seems that the best sales period for the Luger Carbine was around 1910 and afterwards it started to rapidly decline. There was an attempt by DWM to reintroduce the carbine in 1920, but I guess that they just wanted to finish using their old inventory and using the new toggle.

Some collectors want to believe that a carbine was made in 9 mm Parabellum, however, it is my opinion that this was very unlikely. EVERY piece of European and American documention that I have on the Luger Carbine lists it being available ONLY in caliber 7,65 mm. The H. Tauscher catalogs also describe it as being available in one caliber. I would be very suspicious of any Luger Carbine in caliber 9 mm.

Albert

01-17-2008, 12:30 AM	#11
Imperial Arms Banned Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Malta, EU Posts: 579 Thanks: 0 Thanked 7 Times in 7 Posts	One of my favorite Lugers is the M1902 Luger Carbine, and I enjoy very much doing the research on this type of Luger. It is hard to believe that the Luger Carbine was a dismal product for DWM. It took DWM about 20+ years to sell their inventory of 2,500-3,000 carbines even with all the advertising which appears in various dealer catalogs. A possible reason for the lack of sales for the Luger Carbine probably came from the requirement of '+P' (DWM 471A) ammunition which was not widely available - even President Roosevelt had difficulty obtaining ammunition for his Luger carbine! The 471A cartridge had a flat projectary, but the size of the bullet had limited its use as a hunting carbine, and the largest animal that it could easily kill was a large ram or some 'pests' such as foxes. None of the information that I have read mentions that the carbine was suitable for deer hunting. The earliest dealer catalogs listing the Luger Carbine are from 1906 and it continues to appear in some American dealer catalogs until 1929. If I had to make a WAG, I reckon that the first Luger carbines (with Tangent sights) were made in 1902 and the next model (which we name the M1902) was probably introduced in 1903. For example, a few of the presentation Luger carbines, such as the HCR carbine, is dated 1903. It is surprising that it took nearly three years for the standard M1902 carbine to be accepted by some retail stores such as A&F and SD&G. It seems that the best sales period for the Luger Carbine was around 1910 and afterwards it started to rapidly decline. There was an attempt by DWM to reintroduce the carbine in 1920, but I guess that they just wanted to finish using their old inventory and using the new toggle. Some collectors want to believe that a carbine was made in 9 mm Parabellum, however, it is my opinion that this was very unlikely. EVERY piece of European and American documention that I have on the Luger Carbine lists it being available ONLY in caliber 7,65 mm. The H. Tauscher catalogs also describe it as being available in one caliber. I would be very suspicious of any Luger Carbine in caliber 9 mm. Albert