Help me buy 1st Luger

4 Scale · 08-23-2015, 08:08 PM

John welcome and I can sympathize. I am a new collector and have purchased three Mauser Lugers in the last 9 months (they are like potato chips, very hard to stop at one). One is a true 'shooter' (mismatch). In getting the three I spent a lot of time looking and at this moment feel like I know your gun type/market pretty well.

The pistol you seek can be had at $900 to about $1,500 depending on where you find it, finish and parts matching or not. The best buys are generally from private collectors you meet on the forum or in your town. Gun shows, local dealers, auctions like GB and then the internet retailers like Simpsons, Legacy all have shooters from time to time but it's sort of a screwy, relatively small market in terms of guns coming up for sale. That's why so many advise patience, which I agree with. If you are in a hurry you run the risk of paying more. I absolutely see people buy shooters on both ends of the quoted spectrum and everywhere in between.

But like I say it is a funny market. Eight months ago I decided to take the plunge and buy a WWII era Luger. I went to a local gun show, stopped at the first table with a Luger and found a nice 1939 with a good bore, decent finish and a mismatched hold open and firing pin, offered at $1,050. I bet I could have got it for a bit less, but passed because I "knew" it was not wise to buy the first one I looked at. I lost the deal by waiting, and it would have been a wonderful shooter that fit the bill perfect. So, you never know. Set out with patience but hope for some luck I suppose.

Hope this helps. Good deals on Lugers are where you find them, and if you look they will come along. Be sure and tell us how your search ends up.

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08-23-2015, 08:08 PM	#18
4 Scale User Join Date: Nov 2014 Posts: 544 Thanks: 194 Thanked 490 Times in 251 Posts	John welcome and I can sympathize. I am a new collector and have purchased three Mauser Lugers in the last 9 months (they are like potato chips, very hard to stop at one). One is a true 'shooter' (mismatch). In getting the three I spent a lot of time looking and at this moment feel like I know your gun type/market pretty well. The pistol you seek can be had at $900 to about $1,500 depending on where you find it, finish and parts matching or not. The best buys are generally from private collectors you meet on the forum or in your town. Gun shows, local dealers, auctions like GB and then the internet retailers like Simpsons, Legacy all have shooters from time to time but it's sort of a screwy, relatively small market in terms of guns coming up for sale. That's why so many advise patience, which I agree with. If you are in a hurry you run the risk of paying more. I absolutely see people buy shooters on both ends of the quoted spectrum and everywhere in between. But like I say it is a funny market. Eight months ago I decided to take the plunge and buy a WWII era Luger. I went to a local gun show, stopped at the first table with a Luger and found a nice 1939 with a good bore, decent finish and a mismatched hold open and firing pin, offered at $1,050. I bet I could have got it for a bit less, but passed because I "knew" it was not wise to buy the first one I looked at. I lost the deal by waiting, and it would have been a wonderful shooter that fit the bill perfect. So, you never know. Set out with patience but hope for some luck I suppose. Hope this helps. Good deals on Lugers are where you find them, and if you look they will come along. Be sure and tell us how your search ends up.