New Guy with 1918 Erfurt Luger

gunnertwo · 02-27-2020, 04:42 PM

There are many here that would say don't shoot your pistol. Some do. If you decide to, use caution on what ammo you select. Stay away from surplus or unknown or repackaged ammo. Some ammo is specified for machine guns and is high pressure. I have used name brand Win, Fed, Speer ball ammo. Defensive ammo (hollow point) should be avoided as it may not feed and is higher pressure. Stick to ball and you should be OK.

Regarding cleaning, I field strip the gun to it components, carefully remove the grip plates and give everything a good scrubbing with Hoppe's No 9. Even the grips using caution. The gun probably hasn't been cleaned in years. I use a brass bore brush and wipe with a worn bore brush wrapped with a piece of cotton. My old cotton t-shirts make great rags and I cut parts off for bore patches. I wear disposable gloves and use a trash can with liner sticking the parts inside while scrubbing with old tooth brushes. I also do it on my back patio, saves on the smell and makes the wifey happy. This may be more than you wanted to know but that's my procedure.

G2

runscott · 02-27-2020, 06:24 PM

Thanks. I just broke it down more thoroughly - everything that did not require a punch tool - and the parts are in great shape with no rust or damage that I could spot. It looks like someone cleaned it properly a while back. There are a few points that are tighter than they should be, such as the safety/sear block and take down lever. Also some bare metal contact where the toggle hits the frame on each side.

I've gone through three different results when breaking it down and putting it back together. At this point the toggle goes back to ****, but does not go all the way back to the lock point. This is the same whether or not it has a magazine in. The safety works, as I can't **** it when the safety is flipped. So I've got that going for me.

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02-27-2020, 04:42 PM	#1
gunnertwo User Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Nampa, Idaho Posts: 642 Thanks: 854 Thanked 957 Times in 373 Posts	There are many here that would say don't shoot your pistol. Some do. If you decide to, use caution on what ammo you select. Stay away from surplus or unknown or repackaged ammo. Some ammo is specified for machine guns and is high pressure. I have used name brand Win, Fed, Speer ball ammo. Defensive ammo (hollow point) should be avoided as it may not feed and is higher pressure. Stick to ball and you should be OK. Regarding cleaning, I field strip the gun to it components, carefully remove the grip plates and give everything a good scrubbing with Hoppe's No 9. Even the grips using caution. The gun probably hasn't been cleaned in years. I use a brass bore brush and wipe with a worn bore brush wrapped with a piece of cotton. My old cotton t-shirts make great rags and I cut parts off for bore patches. I wear disposable gloves and use a trash can with liner sticking the parts inside while scrubbing with old tooth brushes. I also do it on my back patio, saves on the smell and makes the wifey happy. This may be more than you wanted to know but that's my procedure. G2

02-27-2020, 06:24 PM	#2
runscott User Join Date: Feb 2020 Posts: 36 Thanks: 10 Thanked 45 Times in 12 Posts	Thanks. I just broke it down more thoroughly - everything that did not require a punch tool - and the parts are in great shape with no rust or damage that I could spot. It looks like someone cleaned it properly a while back. There are a few points that are tighter than they should be, such as the safety/sear block and take down lever. Also some bare metal contact where the toggle hits the frame on each side. I've gone through three different results when breaking it down and putting it back together. At this point the toggle goes back to **, but does not go all the way back to the lock point. This is the same whether or not it has a magazine in. The safety works, as I can't ** it when the safety is flipped. So I've got that going for me.