It would be interesting how many of our friend and members

[cirelaw]

To get a real feel you would need at least 5 varieties of 'shooter' ie p08, Navy Artilllery, Carbine not to forget how many makers. It would be impossible to shoot one of each! You would wing up with a collection of 'shooters. 'They got their name for a reason. Have they been adequatly beem tested for intregity and by who? Someone should offer a line of reliable with maybe some parts replaced but a good first gun! I'm sure a inspected reliable piece by available between $500 -$700 maybe. Price does't always matter. Reliablity does! Eric

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by cirelaw

To get a real feel you would need at least 5 varieties of 'shooter' ie p08, Navy Artilllery, Carbine not to forget how many makers. It would be impossible to shoot one of each! You would wing up with a collection of 'shooters.Eric

Eric,

This has been my approach so far. Since most everything about Lugers, except my previously unrequited love for them, was new/not-yet-experienced, I wound up with 5 of mostly different caliber and barrel length (8" artie 9mm, 6" 29/70 Mauser 9mm, 4.75" and 3 3/4" '06 AE 7.65, and standard 4" 1917 p.08 military) so I could have experience across the spectrum. I went even further with even more Erma models styled after the Luger, in .380, .32, and .22lr, just to see how they feel, function, and shoot. Oh, and don't forget, an Erma .22 conversion that fits my 70's Mauser...

Tell ya what, Eric, I'm having a blast. Sometimes the hardest decision of the day is to decide which one to take out and shoot at my back yard range. Other than the fun, I'm finding this fairly affordable, as well. Since at least one issue keeps each of the original Lugers from barking with the big dawgs in the strictly collectibles kennel, they came pretty cheap, comparatively, even if from online auctions. For example, all the numbers on my artillery match, but some knucklehead had ground off the stock lug. This defect, however, allowed a hammer price for me of $1200. After I restore the stock lug by swapping/welding in a chunk of donor frame that still retains the lug (also touch up the finish disturbed by this process) I'll have a functional, good looking artie to have some fun with. And the holster/stock part of the rig is repro, but it works just the same as an original--at way less than half the potential outlay of $ for it.

By all means, get yourself a functioning shooter or three. I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

David Parker