Will it hurt the value?

[mrerick]

Hi Brennan and welcome to the forum.

I like these Interarms / Mauser Lugers and have two of them.

Here is what I would like to know:
1) Will me firing it devalue it any, being that it's not a war gun?

Yes - there are only a limited number of these that have not been fired since testing at the factory. If your's is in that category it will have more value than one that has been fired. Firing these will lead to subtle marks that will be noticed by a collector that is interested in them.

2) What would you guys roughly appraise the value at?

These routinely sell for $1000 - $1200 in high fired condition with box and all papers. An unfired one would be worth a little more. Are the papers and all accessories with it? I don't see the loading tool in the box. The box damage would reduce value a little bit.

3) Would you consider this a shooter, or a collector gun?

Every high condition gun is somewhat collectible. People interested in wartime Lugers won't be interested in this one. There are people that collect these, and a full book was recently written about "The Parabellum Is Back" discussing Mauser's efforts in the 1970's through 1990's.

4) Should I run lighter (115gr winchester/federal/blazer) or heavier (thinking 124gr or 147gr stuff) rounds in it IF I shoot it?

If you shoot it use standard velocity ammo. 115gn should work well. Don't use surplus ammo or anything +P

5) Is there any special care that I should be aware of for it besides the usual newer guns treatment? I imagine I should always take care to wipe off the firearm with some silicon lube or something to neutralize the acids from my hand.

Silicon can adhere to blued steel and leave an odd cloudy sheen. I don't use it on guns. Standard preserving gun oil is fine. I lightly use spray oils like those from Hoppes, Remmington and others. I oil and wipe it down after handling. Don't store it in a holster and (to avoid further damage) don't store it in the box.

These are very well made modern versions of the Luger. They were only made for a few years and (as they are used) like new ones are growing more rare. They were so expensive to manufacture that Mauser eventually had to give up the project.

Marc