Artillery Luger Trigger Problem

trias10 · 07-14-2008, 11:14 AM

I purchased my first artillery luger from my local gun store about 2 weeks ago. I have been going there for years, and they occassionally get some really nice collector's pieces such as lugers and p-38s, so it was a bit of a spur of the moment type purchase, as I knew very little about lugers, but had always wanted to get one (mainly to shoot it, but also nice to have the collector's status as well).

I was really excited, but as I didn't know much about Lugers, I didn't have much time to research. The artillery luger is a 1917 DWM, with matching parts and original WW1 magazine (with the wooden bottom), although I can't recall if the magazine is also matching. The bore is excellent (almost near-mint) condition as far as I can tell (i don't know lugers too well, but I'm pretty familiar with guns in general, and this bore is nicer than even my brand new glock or sig bores). The rest of the gun is in fairly good condition. I'd say 92% blue, with some pitting on the barrel near the rear sight, and some light barrel wear (from being in a holster).

Once I brought the gun home, I took it apart and cleaned it using Break Free. I also noticed that the bolt itself (the one that tapers off into the firing pin) has the number 83 on it whereas all other parts on the gun have the number 45. I'm guessing I just got screwed on the sale?

Regardless, my main goal was to have a reliable artillery luger to shoot at the range. My first time shooting it was this saturday. I started off with 25 rounds of MagTech 9mm. The gun performed just fine, no jams or misfires. I then packed it away, went out for lunch, then came back to the range. This time I decided to shoot 150 rounds of PMC 9mm. The gun was still warm from my first 25 rounds, but now it fired incredibly poorly. It jammed a lot, almost always on the last 1 or 2 rounds fed in from the magazine. However, the really scary thing that happened was pulling the trigger with a round in the chamber would not fire the round. It was ridiculously strange, I would keep pulling the trigger over and over and nothing would happen. I'd wait a little bit, and then pull the trigger again and it would fire. This went on until I finished all 3 box of ammo.

The gun was extremely accurate and fun to shoot when it would actually work. I'm thinking I either over-oiled the gun on my first cleaning, or it was switching to the PMC ammo which caused the gun to malfunction so much. I'm mainly worried about the trigger pull not firing the gun as this is a pretty big problem in my book, and I'm curious if there is a way to fix it.

Sorry I've only taken one photo of the gun. I will take more detailed photos and post them later. The price of the gun was $2600.

Thanks in advance for any help or comments.

07-14-2008, 11:14 AM	#1
trias10 User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Chicago Posts: 6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Artillery Luger Trigger Problem I purchased my first artillery luger from my local gun store about 2 weeks ago. I have been going there for years, and they occassionally get some really nice collector's pieces such as lugers and p-38s, so it was a bit of a spur of the moment type purchase, as I knew very little about lugers, but had always wanted to get one (mainly to shoot it, but also nice to have the collector's status as well). I was really excited, but as I didn't know much about Lugers, I didn't have much time to research. The artillery luger is a 1917 DWM, with matching parts and original WW1 magazine (with the wooden bottom), although I can't recall if the magazine is also matching. The bore is excellent (almost near-mint) condition as far as I can tell (i don't know lugers too well, but I'm pretty familiar with guns in general, and this bore is nicer than even my brand new glock or sig bores). The rest of the gun is in fairly good condition. I'd say 92% blue, with some pitting on the barrel near the rear sight, and some light barrel wear (from being in a holster). Once I brought the gun home, I took it apart and cleaned it using Break Free. I also noticed that the bolt itself (the one that tapers off into the firing pin) has the number 83 on it whereas all other parts on the gun have the number 45. I'm guessing I just got screwed on the sale? Regardless, my main goal was to have a reliable artillery luger to shoot at the range. My first time shooting it was this saturday. I started off with 25 rounds of MagTech 9mm. The gun performed just fine, no jams or misfires. I then packed it away, went out for lunch, then came back to the range. This time I decided to shoot 150 rounds of PMC 9mm. The gun was still warm from my first 25 rounds, but now it fired incredibly poorly. It jammed a lot, almost always on the last 1 or 2 rounds fed in from the magazine. However, the really scary thing that happened was pulling the trigger with a round in the chamber would not fire the round. It was ridiculously strange, I would keep pulling the trigger over and over and nothing would happen. I'd wait a little bit, and then pull the trigger again and it would fire. This went on until I finished all 3 box of ammo. The gun was extremely accurate and fun to shoot when it would actually work. I'm thinking I either over-oiled the gun on my first cleaning, or it was switching to the PMC ammo which caused the gun to malfunction so much. I'm mainly worried about the trigger pull not firing the gun as this is a pretty big problem in my book, and I'm curious if there is a way to fix it. Sorry I've only taken one photo of the gun. I will take more detailed photos and post them later. The price of the gun was $2600. Thanks in advance for any help or comments. Attached Thumbnails