More info on Finnish Lugers

First of all, please forgive me for my limited knowledge of the Luger as a whole, for my interest is really in the Finnish military weapons.


As indicated, and to the best of my knowledge, the M23â??s purchased by the Finns were new production (and I understand Kyrieâ??s point on what is â??newâ?�) 1920 Commercial DWM .30 cal with the Versailles treaty stipulated sub 4â?� barrel. From the research that I have done and the data I have found, they did not have dates and were all matching. Being somewhat limited in my knowledge of Lugers, I donâ??t know if some/all/part of the 1920 Commercial DWM .30 cal came without date and matching numbers.


The .30 that I have does not have a date and I am not sure it ever did. If it did, whoever ground it off did a superb job of it, for it is polished and seems to have the original finish on it. In inspecting the gun, all the numbers match.


As I sort of alluded to earlier, the Finns were very practical in their weapons. Being a small country and not having a truly large weapons industry, they made due where they could. This included using all sorts of captured weapons as well as purchasing/receiving what many people would consider â??inferiorâ?� weapons (i.e. Italian M-38 Carcanos, French Chauchat MGâ??s, etc.). They were also very industrious in maintaining the weapons they had. This is evidenced by their ability to refurbish, remanufacture and manufacture Mosin Nagant rifles. As this relates to the Lugers, it is exemplified in the eventual mismatched parts and dull â??phosphateâ?� finish and the new barrels to the more powerful 9mm. Additionally, since there were German troops in Northern Finland during the war, I am sure that many of those Lugers ended up in the Finnish inventory.


Anyhow, thanks for the exchange, it has been most pleasant and informative.


Robert C.


P.S. I will see if I can get some shots to the M23 and Finn marked P08 I have.