On the hunt for a Luger

[135C/C]

First off.......I'm obviously new to this board. I stumbled upon this board by way of surplussrifle.com. Wow....wish I would have come across you guys earlier . VERY cool site.

I've always wanted a Luger since I was a kid. I recently decided now's as good a time as ever, and have began hunting for a Luger to add to my collection.

I'm just looking for a "nice shooter". Could care less about all matching numbers and the premium price that goes along with them. That's not to say I want a piece that's been built from a pile of parts guns though (from what I've read that could cause reliability problems.....correct?)! I'm not opposed to a re-blue, in fact, in a way I might even prefer it as I want a "NICE shooter". I would prefer 9mm just for availability of ammo & reloading components, one in .30 cal would work for me as well if the price were right. Opinions of what kind of budget I should set for myself?

I have the "Standard Catalog of Luger" by Aarron Davis. Is this a good start for research and values? The book was published in 2006 so I'm not sure how much stock to put in the $ value tables in the book, but at least I don't feel as "Luger Ignorant" as I was before I read it.

What would be a good source for Lugers? I've been checking Gunbroker and have even bid a few times, but so far haven't gotten lucky. In Wichita Kansas, the Lugers I've seen at the gun shows are usually JUNK and are WAY OVERPRICED, even compared to those on Gunbroker. I even called the pawn shops in town and all I could find was a NICKEL PLATED one with "Nazi Markings" (his words) for $900...no thanks, I'll pass buddy. I've got my C&R License and lately have been regularly checking the Classic Arms, AIM, SOG, Century Arms, Empire Arms, Brock's (as of earlier this week) web sites but so far when I do find something, it's usually a "collector", not a "shooter" and is out of my price range. Any that I'm missing?

Any advice, info or guidance you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated.