Mitchell Arms P.08

[ithacaartist]

I basically have two, made by Aimco, who made all the stainless Lugers. One is a P.08 9mm and the other is the 1900/2000 .30 Luger commemorative. Neither impresses me as to fit and finish, but although I have never examined one in-hand, I'm led to believe by photos I've seen that the Stoeger branded ones look a lot better than most, which were over-buffed and look "wavy."

I had to dress the claw of the P.08's extractor to keep it the expended round from striking the frame on the way out, hard enough to raise a burr. The ejector is replaced with one from the 70s Mauser, as the original was bendy--because it was ground down too thin at the factory.

The mag well of the commemorative is grossly oversized. Feeding is sketchy when using the mag that came with it, but the flat-sided mags from earlier versions works OK if I fatten it up with a couple strips of masking tape. Not exactly plug and play.

Some original parts will fit on the Aimco pistols, although not the version of extractor on the P.08, unless I grind one's "ears" off.

"Collectible" is in the eye of the collector, so I'll diverge and never say never. They are as rare or scarce as just about any of the originals because there just aren't that many of them. But I wouldn't buy one for a shooter. An original will be at least as robust, and you can actually get parts in the event of a mishap.