My new to me 1938 Luger.

[spangy]

Originally Posted by Sieger

Spangy,

Let's not forget Thor's fine work as well.

Sieger

Thanks Sieger ... i meant to put THOR but I am in horrible pain all week and I can't focus my mind at all.

[WWII Luger]

Sorry about the photos guys, it is what I was given. I will take more when I get home

[MikeP]

You paid a high price for it, but they ain't making anymore of them.
I am from the old times-re bluing a matching original piece like this would be sinful.
Might want to take care in shooting it a lot.
A spare extractor and firing pin are good things to use if you want to fire it.

[WWII Luger]

I was wondering if this was a shooter or a collector. I was thinking of shooting it once just to say I did. I DID order a spring kit for it. Was thinking about getting plastic grips to shoot with. No now I need to think about extractor and firing pin too.

[Vlim]

Or get a nice affordable shooter to go with it.

[F4phantom]

Looks great the way it is. I wouldn't touch it. As an aside I have a S&W Victory model 38 special. I was going to get it Parked and was talked out of it by some knowledgeable people on another forum. I'm glad I did because the make over would have ruined the gun. I like my Luger and S&W scars and all. They both came from war and what do you expect.

[MAUSER88]

Leave it alone. It looks nice and original to me.

[K.Wilhelm]

Congratulations on your "new" prize. I love the Mauser Lugers and would be happy to have it in my collection. Thanks for your service and hope you get home soon. Bill

[Thor]

Personally I would leave it like that if it were mine. I think it looks great!

[DonVoigt]

Leave it alone, shoot it if you want to-it has been shot a good bit already.
I see nothing but normal wear; no prep or anything of the sort. The "polished" ramps are just from firing.

If you are afraid to shoot it, do as suggested already - buy a shooter- instead of spending money for spare parts for this one. JMHO.

Re-bluing a luger is usually a bad thing, you can spend $200 or $1000 on it and have a refinished pistol that is worth what you paid for it or less- depending on the quality of the finish job.
Again JMHO.

[mrerick]

I'm late to this party...Congratulations on your Luger.

It looks like an all matching and collectible Luger in original finish.

Stop obsessing about the finish. If you refinish it, you'll spend that money plus eliminate it from collector interest, and drop it's value to about $1100.

Mauser went through several periods of difficulty when they switched from rust bluing to salt bluing in 1937. I also have an original Mauser Luger (all matching) with very thin original finish. It's from 1939. I don't think it's work or messed with to the point that the finish appears so thin. It just left Mauser that way - probably under pressure to meet contract deadlines.

If you want to shoot a Luger, get a shooter Luger. Breaking numbered parts will reduce your new Luger to "shooter status" after you spend the money to repair it.

You need to treat collectible Lugers a little different than you do other guns you've bought.

Be sure to check out our forum FAQ PDF document.

[WWII Luger]

I want to say thank you for all the replies to my thread. However, I am not going to have the Luger re-blued. I bought it for my WWII collection and that is where it will stay. However I do plan on shooting it once, just to say I shot my luger. I did buy new springs, just because.

[WWII Luger]

So..... I got to go home for a short time in Jan, but was unable to take my new toy out and shoot it. HOWEVER, I did get to hold it and look at it. We are getting shut down over here and coming home for good, so I will be able to shoot her this summer.

Still looking for a set of grips stamped 67 and mags stamped 3667. Thanks to everyone who has offered advice

[Kiwi]

Be good to have all of you home, thank you for your service

[Stu]

Just one shot can break a numbered part, matching gun lost forever. Just my opinion.

[Heinz]

That is a nice original apparently un messed with Third Reich Luger. Given the fact that all Lugers made after 1918 are basically reproductions :-) I think you did well. Third Reich lugers seem to draw premium prices now. The bluing on this one may be thinning a bit but certainly not much. I think you paid a reasonable price for a nice WW2 Mauser built P08.

[Michigan Gunner]

The price is a bit high but not much. In five years the price might look like a steal! If you shoot it you may want to get a new magazine. Mec-Gar make very nice ones, I have two of them.

Check Six!------------and---------------Lock and Load!

[Stu]

I think the price is very fair, Looking on the open retail market. I'd buy it for that price.

[Mac Cat]

I think you did quite well.
It's an original and complete P.08 Luger.
Considering it was an auction, I think you did particularly well !

When I travel, I try to check out guns in the local pawn shops.
One of the secrets I learned is to always ask.

One time, an elderly widow (my age) went back to her safe and came back with her LP.08 (artillery) which was a gift from her late husband. It was re-blued, but it was lovely and she would have considered selling it, too.

[Elapid]

Originally Posted by WWII Luger

yepper. had to pay for shipping, but that was $20.

As for bluing. I have a 1911 that was built in 1913 and would never even consider re-bluing it. Why does it seem that it's ok to re-blue a luger?

Because it's not OK.