favorite 9mm load for your P08 and P38's

[Sieger]

Originally Posted by K.Wilhelm

Sieger- will you expand on the slide cracking problem with byf43's? Was this a widespread problem specific to that year's Mauser P38s or what? Was a cause determined? Thanks, Bill

Hi,

Sure. I read about this years ago, I think, in the American Rifleman.

This was the first year of mass Mauser production of the P-38.

It really is quite simple. Where the locking block engages the slide, the area there is quite thin compared to the other areas of the slide. Right at that point is where the failure occurs, and usually, for some reason, on the right side of the slide.

Later production cured this issue, with some modification. I don't know whether the heat treating was involved or not. This problem persisted into the postwar models as well, and the frame and slide of the pistol went through several modifications.

Fast forward to our adoption of the M9. The M9 also had slide cracking issues in early production, because it uses a similar locking block as did the P-38. This system can be traced back as far as the locking block used on the Mauser C96 pistol.

Hope this helps.


Sieger