Erfurt 1918

[danielsand]

Originally Posted by CAP Black

Perhaps the right time for a serious thought: we are but custodians of these items and part of our task is to preserve and save for posterity. Breaking and replacing doesn't really fit into that duty and responsibility.
We uphold your right to your decision; the rest is up to you.
Just my 2 cents.
Jack

I know Jack. I've been collecting firearms since 1960s. the same dilemma was always present. And not only in the gun collecting community. For example,....the high end watch collecting is the same. MANY people pay upward of 100K for a rare, collectable watch, and stick it in the safe. never enjoying it. They are made to be worn. And I can see it in the case of NIB piece, but not if it was worn before.

Same with this Parabellum I was given. Original finish is WORN, straw is disappearing, it has few thousand (maybe more) rounds down the barrel, .....so what's the harm? Parts DO break, and they get replaced. I have two classic Jaguars (among others) in my garrage. With MANY new parts. The ONLY people that care about "matching" numbers, are serious collectors of VERY valuable and/or historical pieces (regardless of which product we are talking about). My Parabellum is none of the above. It survived who knows how many "owners" before me, and I'm sure it will outlive me. It was fired by the previous owner MANY times (his widow says), and it will be fired by me. With so many to choose from, it will not be fired much.

And the comment about being "the custodians" of these pieces, is exactly what I've been telling my family for decades. We can never "own" them, they "live" way longer than us. My guns are my tools, and I use them as such. They get the loving care in terms of cleaning, lubing, etc. and I never "ask" them to do something they are not made for. I also have a fully equipped machine shop on my ranch, and there is no part I can not make from scratch if needs to be.

There are MANY parts for P08 available. Some NOS, some from the other (less fortunate) guns. Parts can be "matched" by hand fitting, old (broken part) saved, and given to the next generation as such. I don't sell guns. (I only buy), so the "value" to me is what I can DO with the gun, and not how much I can get for it.

Since I spent 20+ years in the uniform, I am "anal retentive" (my wife's comment), and I don't stop with ANY research until I know EVERYTHING about it. So when I joined this forum, I was (and still am) reading EVERY post in this section (military P08). There are many posts on this same subject, and one caught my attention. The guy inherited grandfather's pistol, and was wondering to shoot or not. One poster told him (and I am paraphrazing here) "if shooting it, connects you with your grandfather, DO IT!" That's the best advice I've ever heard. Using this pistol as it was intended, connects me with all the history, and previous "custodians" that used it before me.

Just wanted to explain MY thinking on the subject, and I do respect the opinion of "the other side" of this eternal argument.

BTW, guys, I'm still hoping someone can tell me something about the alloy bottomed mag?

Thanks, and sorry for the long post. In my case,....short posts can easily be misunderstood, and I just wanted to explain MY thinking on the subject.