New Luger owner

[Sergio Natali]

Nice groupings, I bet that Luger can shoot even better than that.

Sergio

[garyed50]

Originally Posted by luger.parabellum

Nice groupings, I bet that Luger can shoot even better than that.

Sergio

I bet I'm guilty of all of those

Gary

[Sergio Natali]

Gary

Enjoy shooting your Luger, and shoot safe, that's what really matters.


Sergio

[hansfischer007]

..OK...got a question......lets just suppose./hope...... sometime in the near future....i run up on a russian capture like this.....and seeing it has the X on it and questions about the blueing....if I wanted to have it refinished........could the ..etched on number.....be taken off without too much trouble..?......Thanks for opinions......Danke....Hans Fischer

[DonVoigt]

Originally Posted by hansfischer007

..OK...got a question......lets just suppose./hope...... sometime in the near future....i run up on a russian capture like this.....and seeing it has the X on it and questions about the blueing....if I wanted to have it refinished........could the ..etched on number.....be taken off without too much trouble..?......Thanks for opinions......Danke....Hans Fischer

No, and then you would have a Luger worth even less than an RC.
As it would then be a "refinished" again Luger, don't even think about it, just buy one that looks the way you want it to in the beginning!

[Sergio Natali]

Hans,

Unfortunately Don is right, it would be even worse.
When I was collecting Mausers K98K (yes, I made also that mistake in life!) my first rifle was a "russian capture" with an excellent bore, BUT had that flipping serial number badly scribbled on the barrel, just something I could not stand, and in several other cases I saw the original swastikas badly erased !(but this is not the right term)

Sergio

[garyed50]

Hey guys

I was sitting oiling my Luger and found a number at the base of the barrel


is this a unit number?

Gary

[Ron Wood]

Nope. The 8,82 means 8.82mm which is the bore diameter measured land to land and indicates that the gun is chambered for 9mm Parabellum (Luger) ammunition.

[Mac Cat]

Have fun with this gun. You really should start off with a shooter! I mean, what's the point of collecting guns if you don't have one you can shoo? That sucker looks like it had a checkered history, which will be fun to figure out. The Russian's are always accused of messing them up, but there are plenty of American bring backs in just as bad shape. That nasty scribble on the toggle could have come from a local pawnshop, too.

I'm not any expert, but it clearly was captured and abused by somebody. But, the gun is 100 years old, so I'm not really surprised you had some stovepipe jams. There are several good reasons for that that, not the least that you may need to take it apart and lubricate the thing properly.

I have a 1917 artillery that I absolutely love to shoot. I keep it well greased and oiled. That main spring is almost 100 years old and it's a little rusty, but it seems to work great. I totally agree, there is no good reason to use military grade ammo (+P) or high powered stuff (hollow point self-defense rounds). Just good old target rounds - full metal jacket (FMJ) are fine. I ran 50 rounds through mine and never had a malfunction. It's smooth and just feels so right in my grip. You have to get used to the sights going away with every shot, but when they come back, that gun is usually right on target, ready to go again.

A lot of the problems with some--automatic guns aren't in the mechanisms or ammo, it's in the magazines. You may want to buy some after market magazines for shooting practice. The springs just get old and the magazine tubes get corroded. It only takes a little bit of corrosion to ruin the smooth action of advancing rounds into the chamber, to mess it all up. (While I haven't hand any problems with my Luger, I have seen this happen with cheap magazines in other modern semi-autos, so I'm must saying. It's also the best advice my retired police captain mentor gave me.)

Your gun should be fine, if it's all original matched parts. That's how they were designed, built, and tested. Problems with the gun don't generally crop up with the original parts. Ammo can be on source of problems, the wrong magazine is the other. Just my opinion and limited experience.

Keep sharing your experience. I loved your target photo. I'll post one, next time I'm out. My problem isn't accuracy, it's just being about to see anything 50 yards away. That's all about my age and vision, not the weapon.

[swelfelo]

Recently, I shot my 1906 Navy and experienced failures to go fully back into battery. I was using Magtech 115 grain target ammo, which felt a tad soft. I broke the pistol down and fully lubricated everything, switched to Blazer 115 grain, and she cycled like a champ after that.

The moral of my story is that different ammo and a little lubrication may be all that is needed. YMMV.

[mrerick]

The stovepipes are most likely related to how you are supporting the Luger as you shoot. Work on giving it good solid support (grip and upper arms) and you might clear up the issue. The timing of a Luger's mechanism during firing is critical, and a soft or not well supported grip can affect this.

If this doesn't help, get a new magazine. Try a MecGar or find a good milled (FXO / Haenel Schmeisser) magazine.

If that doesn't work, consider replacing the recoil spring. Get one of the Wolff spring sets with three different strengths.

Finally, don't put any money into refinishing or changing the appearance of your Luger .You won't improve it's collect-ability, and will never get the money you sink into it back.

You have a good choice for a first Luger already. A solid shooter is a good way to get started. After that, all bets are off...

Marc

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by luger.parabellum

Nice groupings, I bet that Luger can shoot even better than that.

Sergio

I've seen this chart before, and have been wondering ever since if it is for right-handed shooters?

[Edward Tinker]

Originally Posted by garyed50

I bet I'm guilty of all of those

Gary

welcome to the club

I am proud when I can get all the shots on the back of the range

[rhuff]

Originally Posted by ithacaartist

I've seen this chart before, and have been wondering ever since if it is for right-handed shooters?

I am nearly 100% positive that it is for a right handed shooter. My brain/memory allows for a percentage of error!!

[garyed50]

Originally Posted by mrerick

The stovepipes are most likely related to how you are supporting the Luger as you shoot. Work on giving it good solid support (grip and upper arms) and you might clear up the issue. The timing of a Luger's mechanism during firing is critical, and a soft or not well supported grip can affect this.

If this doesn't help, get a new magazine. Try a MecGar or find a good milled (FXO / Haenel Schmeisser) magazine.

If that doesn't work, consider replacing the recoil spring. Get one of the Wolff spring sets with three different strengths.

Finally, don't put any money into refinishing or changing the appearance of your Luger .You won't improve it's collect-ability, and will never get the money you sink into it back.



You have a good choice for a first Luger already. A solid shooter is a good way to get started. After that, all bets are off...

Marc

When I broke it down for cleaning I noticed there was little evidence of oiling on the rails and maybe a little on the toggle link. So maybe that and my not holding correctly add to the stovepipes

Gary

[Sergio Natali]

Gary

Out of experience I can tell you that a "stovepipe" generally may be caused by:
a loose grip, loose or damaged ejector, worn extractor, load too light for the recoil spring, (or spring far too heavy for the load), worn extractor or with a tension too light.

My 2 cents


Sergio