bore corrosion

[Ron Wood]

Arvin,

I have tried to remain out of the discussion of what is safe and what isnâ??t to some degree. However, experience has to count for something. You seem to be overly cautious concerning bore corrosion and ignore the comments of individuals who have actually owned and fired Lugers and other firearms with less than perfect bores. I respect and applaud safety, but there is a broad distinction between caution and unwarranted fear. I can only assume that either you have experienced a catastrophic failure of a weapon with a pitted bore or personally known someone who has. If this is not the case, then I suggest you might condescend to let Luger owners enjoy their 80+ year-old guns and not rush out to destroy what cannot be replaced.

Removal and replacement of an original barrel is seldom a successful process. To attain and maintain the proper headspace of a barrel when installing requires a crush fit in the final tightening of the barrel to the receiver. The elastic properties of both barrel and receiver after over a half century is unlikely to allow a re-installed barrel to sustain the same torque required to properly align the barrel and maintain headspace. Not to mention the damage that is almost certainly to be incurred in the process, as pointed out by Rick W, unless accomplished by skilled gunsmith with the proper tools and experience. And even then, success is not assured.

With regard to â??it doesn't take much for a pistol to kaboomâ?�, I will say it takes a lot to make a Luger â??kaboomâ?� and a pitted bore isnâ??t one of them. Your assertion: â??To me once pitting starts there is no way to stop it. It just keeps going unless you can remove the pitting entirelyâ?� is, in my opinion, another over-statement that does not have any relevance to occasional firing of a collector grade Luger.

I totally agree with you that it is better to be safe than sorry. I only admonish that if you have that much concern about safety, get a shooter Luger and do with it what you wish. Donâ??t mess up a collector Luger nor encourage others to do so. There is a diminishing supply of original Lugers, and we are the caretakers of what remains to be able to pass them on to future generations.

I respect your opinion,I just disagree.
Ron