1937 S42 questions

[Vlim]

Hi,

Got offered a 1937 S42 via the local police station. A member of the shooting club passed away recently and amongst his belongings were this luger.

I examined it and found enough traces to identify it as a restored piece.

Barrel has been replaced and has file marks on muzzle sides, which were reblued.

Light pitting on frame that has been blued over.

Serial number places it well before the salt blueing (1xxb), but all parts are salt blued, no strawing. Numbering is present, except on the fire pin lock and the rear toggle locking pin.

Grips were stuck to the frame and appear to be new. Magazine is numbered to the gun, an extruded type with the pierced knob. Numbered 1-1xx.

So this seems to remove the collector's interest and makes this one nice looking restored shooter.

But...The departed gentleman had paid about 1400 EUR for it in 2001 and I feel that he has been taken for quite a bit...My feeling is that this gun's true value is about 700 - 900 EUR...

Any ideas about this matter? I'm thinking about making a 1000EUR offer, which seems very reasonably to me. (I can offer a bit more, since this thing fell into my hands, removing the need for travel, expenses, etc...).

[John Sabato]

Gerben, IMHO I believe that you are correct in your assumption that it's current value lies in the range you specified. Your expenses are something unique to your Luger acquisitions so only you can judge that value... but I think that a 1000 Euro offer would be more than generous... more than that would not be generosity but charity to the family of the departed...

Post some photos when you can.

[Vlim]

Hi John,

Thanks, you confirmed my thoughts.

Well, we struck a deal and this shooter is coming my way, including a nice haenel-schmeisser mag

Along with it are a 1970's mauser parabellum manual and shabby looking cardboard box that doesn't appear to have any link to the gun rather than it's size

I still feel that the previous owner struck a lousy deal when he bought it, so I'm trying to find out who sold it to him to add that seller to my 'bad dealer list'.

I comfort myself that I offered a very acceptable price for a gun being sold in this situation. (some 150 EUR in charity funds

I'll post pictures as soon as I have it, may take a while with all the paperwork here.

[Vlim]

Well, that was fast! Exactly one day of paperwork.

Here are some pics, the grips are replacement NILL grips, magazine is 2/1001 coded and force-matched to the gun, a really nice shooter with some restorations under it's belt.

Barrel has only a crown-N proof and is a replacement.

Anyone recognize the cross stamped in under the 'b' on the front of the frame?

[John Sabato]

Gerben! What a NICE shooter! Looks like an East German arsenal rebuild to me... except for the grips which look like recent additions. If it looked any nicer, you would think that THOR did the rework magic... The magazine is definitely POST-WW2 East German manufacture.

Bet it shoots great too!

[Pete Ebbink]

Luger Forum member, Bill Munis, sent me this info. regarding the variation in the 1937 S/42's last year or so.

Thought I would post it here for folks info. and further discussion...

Based on the guns serial number, should this luger have had strawed parts, originally, or not...?

Bill's Info :

" Hi Pete,
The "Mauser Bumb" -- I call it the mauser hump -- is usually found on the early K-dates, but is actually scattered throughout the whole K-date production. Later later K-dates seldom have the "hump" though and all G-dates and 1936's do not. In mid 1937 the "hump" became a standard production proceedure and it is found on all Mausers after this. The 1937
S/42 is a neat year with lots of variations -- one of them is the strawed guns with a hump -- as all strawed 1937's did not have the hump until the very last ones -- a transition gun -- and all the all blued 1937 S/42's have the hump. Hope this answeres your question. If not, write me back and I'll try to help you out. -- Bill Munis "

Regards,

Pete... <img border="0" alt="[typing]" title="" src="graemlins/yltype.gif" />

[silver leaf]

The cross under the b on the front of the frame looks like a typical Russian capture mark. I have observed them on many of the lugers and P38s that were imported into the USA in recent years.

[Edward Tinker]

Gerben, hey great deal!

I mean, why look at it any other way <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

Some extra karma went to you, you got a nice shooter, no, I think you did ok.

<img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" />

Ed

[Lugerdoc]

Gerben, Did I see a scratched out crown on the trigger guard of the above, or are my eyes playing tricks on me? TH

[Vlim]

Hi Tom,

The trigger guard shows traces of blued over wear, could be remains of blue-removal or removal of something that was engraved there.

John, the VOPO rework scenario crossed my mind as well, but this gun looks very crisp and it's angles are nice and sharp and I remember the VOPO blueing to be much duller in appearance. My first reaction when I first saw the gun was turning it over and look for thor's 3-dots

The grips are Nill grips and are relatively new, great fit, I had a hard time removing them.

I guess it's either one of the better East-German reworks, or one from the Russian storage facilities that was reblued only a few years ago.

I have some russian grips lying around and I'll put them on for some pictures



As one can see, these are not the most elegant grips...

Can't wait to try it out on the range. Also, seeing and handling this 1937 luger made me appreciate the quality of my 1913/28 KNIL even more. If a 1928 upper does 2.5 cm groups on 25 meters, how would a 1937 with a fresh barrel handle?

So apart from the unfortunate circumstances that brought this gun into my hands, I'm very satisfied.

[Vlim]

Hi Pete,

An interesting idea, I thought the general assumption was that the salt blue versions started in the T and U range and since this is a relatively early B-block with a hump (which should, therefore, be strawed in theory), it doesn't match Bill Munis's explanation of only the latest strawed guns having humps.

It would be nice to hear of more 1937 S/42 versions in order to establish a more clear pattern, especially those before the T and U range.

Although this gun might have been force-matched somewhere during it's life, I very much doubt it, since all the 'fives' on the gun match the design of the mauser-5.

[John Sabato]

Gerben, allow me to stray from your subject for a minute to ask about the grips you have displayed. I have frequently wondered if I "NEED" a pair of those grips, because having examined some good photographs of them they appear to be well made and would probably serve well on a shooter class gun... but I would have to say that the vertical grooves instead of checkering certainly doesn't look to be very comfortable in the hand... How do they feel when you hold them in your hand. If you had a choice between these grips and the VOPO grips with the bullseye on the side, which would be your preference for comfort while shooting?

[Vlim]

Hi John,

Strangely, these Russian grips are actually quite comfortable in the hand, although the fit on the gun is not very good and they need some minor tinkering to make them fit well. The VOPO grips have a superb fit and feel, as they are a little rounder than the wooden grips, adding some volume to the lower parts of the grip.

I would prefer the VOPO grip for shooting above the wooden and the russian grips. The VOPO's are really good quality, fit quite well, look good and can easily be modified to fit 1906 pattern guns, since they are hollow inside. They also reduce drag and wear on the magazine sides.

So my vote goes to the VOPO grips. The Russian grips have more of a 'curiosity' value, but feel better than the wooden grips so I consider the original wooden grips to be the only flaw in the Luger design

I really think the VOPO's are underestimated and deserve more credit than they currently get.