1938 Mauser S/42 Luger P08

[cyanghost]

I won an auction for a genuine WWII Luger P08 pistol and when I received the call from my FFL to go pick it up, I ran out of work faster than I ever have to get it! Complete with the original holster, two magazines (not matching but period correct), a small tool (I don't know its purpose is) and the pistol itself, I now have a Wehrmacht issue Luger P08 in my possession.

All serial numbers on this pistol are matching. The first thing I did when I brought it home is I pulled out the Hoppe's 9 cleaner and lubricant, field stripped the pistol, then cleaned and oiled it inside and out.

The pistol along with its holster smell like an old library book, much like my GI issue 1943 Remington Rand 1911 pistol did when I initially received it. Now that I cleaned it, the smell isn't as evident but it's still faintly there. In my opinion, that gives it character.

I have not fired this pistol yet, but I plan to as soon as I can. I purchased some GECO brand 9mm, 124 gr ammo for it. It's not only German made ammo (how fitting!) but I read that it burns pretty clean. I know some get concerned over older guns being fired, but I can assure that I will only fire it seldomly.

One of the mags I received with the gun does not have the little button slide, so I can't use it. I tried to force the 9mm rounds like you'd do with a modern magazine, but I couldn't get any in past the third cartridge. I ultimately ended up purchasing a Mec-Gar magazine and it seems to be pretty well made.

The holster has the following markings on the front and back: "F. S. Fransen 36971935". I figured "Fransen" sounded like a German name so I was convinced it was a German soldier that carved it. I was later informed that it was likely an American GI that carved their name into it.

I did some searching of WWII enlistment records on ancestry.com and I think I might have found out who carried it! I believe his name is Ferdinand Slogget Fransen from Eagan, IL! According to the information I found, he was drafted in late 1943. I did a Google search of his name and based on the information I found and discovered that he's still alive and currently resides in Byron, IL.

Originally, I had a list of questions I was going to ask him because I'd gathered an address and some phone numbers related to him. After giving it some thought and after reading some replies on another forum regarding the subject, I've decided the best action is just to leave it alone, as much as it pains me to do so. It's not my intention to upset or hurt anyone and I don't want to dig too far and end up doing just that. That would make owning this pistol become a bad memory for me, in which case I'd feel compelled to get rid of it.

To further the point, I reached out to the the seller I purchased it from a few times and he'd not gotten a response from the previous owner despite the previous owner saying they would give me some history behind the pistol. I reached out again a few days ago and seller said he still hadn't heard back regarding the history of the pistol. He also mentioned in the email that he'd gotten the impression that the previous owner did not really want to share any information. However, it's still possible that I may still hear back from the seller, but the outcome does not seem likely.

Ultimately, I think it's just best to leave the story up to the imagination.

For what it's worth to anyone reading this, whether it's the previous owner or even Mr. Fransen himself, I can assure you this pistol will remain in my hands for the rest of my life and I will take great care of it.

If I have more to say later on, I will reply to this thread. Some photos are attached - forgive me for the dust on the table, I didn't realize it was like that until I saw the photos. Thanks for reading!