Info on BYF 42 rig?

[Danewfixer69]

Hi all!

New guy here. Thanks for providing this great resource!

I'm excited to get my first vintage collectable firearm: a 1942 numbers-matching Mauser Luger (BYF, S/N: 7965) w/ holster (A279) and takedown tool (655). You can see the pictures in my album here. (I read the helpful newbie post on how to post useful pics, hopefully they're good enough.) I was able to track down specifics on where the holster was made. Interestingly, the company's still around, only now they make O-rings. (Details are provided in the holster picture if you're interested.)

I have a few questions about this pistol I'm hoping some of the knowledgeable folks here can answer.

• Looking at the pictures, what's your estimation of the condition and value of this rig? I'm mostly interested for insurance purposes, but also to reassure myself that I (hopefully) didn't horribly overpay for this thing.

• Does the serial number (7965) indicate when or where the pistol was made in 1942?

• Is there any way to find out where this specific pistol was used (e.g. police, SS, wehrmacht, etc.)? For example, whether this serial number batch was issued to such-and-so unit.

• I've read online it's not a good idea to fire a numbers-matching pistol such as this since if something breaks, like the firing pin, then the pistol's value decreases tremendously. This seems like sound advice, but part of me really wants to shoot it too. Thoughts?

Thanks!
- Kemp