Shooting My John Martz Restoration In An IDPA Match

JonS/42 · 10-22-2014, 06:39 PM

Once a year I like to shoot my John Martz-restored 1938 Mauser P.08 in an International Defensive Pistol Association match, which in this case was a 7 stage match, often in steady rain.

Briefly, as I've mentioned this on the forum before, and don't want to be too repetitive, my Luger was a Soviet capture piece, discovered by the Ukrainian government after the Ukraine achieved their independence in the 1990s. One of some 1400 select pieces imported in the country, mine was dip-reblued, and had a dent in the left receiver (a romantic would say "battle damage;" as a former troop leader and field grade Army officer, I say that it's more likely "PFC with a crowbar"). The grips were authentic, but clearly mismatched to the gun, and very wear-worn; additionally the left grip had a chip in the vicinity of the safety lever. All other parts, however, matched, and the gun overall was in pretty decent condition-certainly worthy of the restoration I had in mind, and for being used as a shooter.

Contacting John Martz, we decided to have fun with the gun. I wanted it to be thoroughly restored, mechanically checked and refurbished, and provided a pristine finish. My intention was to use it in steel plate matches from time to time, and as a "barbecue gun." John was a pleasure to work with, and, as many of you know, a superb craftsman-he is much missed. Basically, aside from the mechanical restoration, the gun was deep rust reblued by Charles Danner in Tennessee, including nitre blueing and strawing of appropriate parts. Although a 1938 gun, when overall salt blueing was the finish norm, this was to be a fun, usable presentation piece, not one that would be mis-interpreted as a counterfeit, hence the choice of finish.

After blueing, it went to John's friend George Sarkissian, who hand-crafted a magnificent set of 1899 Borchardt-Luger transition grips, checkered with a panel border, out of English Presentation grade walnut. John then performed a final action job, and provided and tuned several FXO magazines in addition to tuning and/or discarding several of the magazines that I possessed and had provided to him for evaluation.

The gun, as are most Lugers, is exceptionally accurate, and is a joy to shoot, and compete with. It's superb balance makes strong-handed firing exceptionally easy when required. I had a great time using it in the match, and gave several friends the opportunity to handle and fire it apres match.

The gun performed flawlessly, often in steady rain, where I used a Tactical Tailor cordura nylon outside the waistband holster and their dual magazine pouch, which worked quite well. (and not to worry-immediately after the match, the Luger was field-stripped, cleaned and lubricated). Several times the toggle hold-open failed to actuate, but I suspect that that may have been more of a magazine issue inherent to a specific magazine that I'll have to chase down-it certainly wasn't a show-stopper.

And yes, here are some obligatory self-serving images:

Best, Jon

10-22-2014, 06:39 PM	#1
JonS/42 User Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Auburn, WA USA Posts: 32 Thanks: 4 Thanked 19 Times in 4 Posts	Shooting My John Martz Restoration In An IDPA Match Once a year I like to shoot my John Martz-restored 1938 Mauser P.08 in an International Defensive Pistol Association match, which in this case was a 7 stage match, often in steady rain. Briefly, as I've mentioned this on the forum before, and don't want to be too repetitive, my Luger was a Soviet capture piece, discovered by the Ukrainian government after the Ukraine achieved their independence in the 1990s. One of some 1400 select pieces imported in the country, mine was dip-reblued, and had a dent in the left receiver (a romantic would say "battle damage;" as a former troop leader and field grade Army officer, I say that it's more likely "PFC with a crowbar"). The grips were authentic, but clearly mismatched to the gun, and very wear-worn; additionally the left grip had a chip in the vicinity of the safety lever. All other parts, however, matched, and the gun overall was in pretty decent condition-certainly worthy of the restoration I had in mind, and for being used as a shooter. Contacting John Martz, we decided to have fun with the gun. I wanted it to be thoroughly restored, mechanically checked and refurbished, and provided a pristine finish. My intention was to use it in steel plate matches from time to time, and as a "barbecue gun." John was a pleasure to work with, and, as many of you know, a superb craftsman-he is much missed. Basically, aside from the mechanical restoration, the gun was deep rust reblued by Charles Danner in Tennessee, including nitre blueing and strawing of appropriate parts. Although a 1938 gun, when overall salt blueing was the finish norm, this was to be a fun, usable presentation piece, not one that would be mis-interpreted as a counterfeit, hence the choice of finish. After blueing, it went to John's friend George Sarkissian, who hand-crafted a magnificent set of 1899 Borchardt-Luger transition grips, checkered with a panel border, out of English Presentation grade walnut. John then performed a final action job, and provided and tuned several FXO magazines in addition to tuning and/or discarding several of the magazines that I possessed and had provided to him for evaluation. The gun, as are most Lugers, is exceptionally accurate, and is a joy to shoot, and compete with. It's superb balance makes strong-handed firing exceptionally easy when required. I had a great time using it in the match, and gave several friends the opportunity to handle and fire it apres match. The gun performed flawlessly, often in steady rain, where I used a Tactical Tailor cordura nylon outside the waistband holster and their dual magazine pouch, which worked quite well. (and not to worry-immediately after the match, the Luger was field-stripped, cleaned and lubricated). Several times the toggle hold-open failed to actuate, but I suspect that that may have been more of a magazine issue inherent to a specific magazine that I'll have to chase down-it certainly wasn't a show-stopper. And yes, here are some obligatory self-serving images: Best, Jon Last edited by JonS/42; 10-25-2014 at 08:22 AM.