Inherited 30 caliber Luger - Help with Markings and Origin

[mrerick]

Hi Kirk and welcome to the forum.

We have an expert on leather holster restoration on the forum that can probably help you with your holster. I'm not familiar with the marking... Watch for Jerry Burney on the forum.

Your Luger was a commercial rather than military Luger. It was manufactured for export from Germany to the United States in about 1923. The variation is commonly called a "DWM Alphabet Commercial" Luger. The Crown over N (C/N) symbol is a commercial Nitro proof mark.

The full serial number is "2297l" and the suffix letter is a "l" as in "lima" character.

I think that your Luger is in it's original rust blued finish, but someone has cleaned all the cream colored paint from the "Geschert" safety mark from the receiver.

Another member, Hugh Clark or Gerald "G.T." may be able to help you get the left grip repaired.

Be careful taking this to a regular gunsmith. Very few are actually familiar with the Luger mechanism and several subtleties associated with it and it's tuning.

This would normally be a .30 Luger caliber handgun.

The gun was manufactured in Berlin by
Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken



Marc

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by mrerick

Be careful taking this to a regular gunsmith. Very few are actually familiar with the Luger mechanism and several subtleties associated with it and it's tuning.

I have actually gotten a Luger sent to my FFL receiver assembled incorrectly. A 'gunsmith' would likely know how to examine a Luger, but actual 'gunsmiths' are a dying breed [literally].

These days, every gun shop owner thinks he is a 'smith', but most only rack the toggle and pull the trigger and pronounce it "shootable".

This old, it should have someone familiar with Lugers check it over, meaning a fairly deep disassembly and inspection of parts prone to breakage that may not be visible from a cursory examination (firing pin spring guide for instance).