Barrel question

[Tuna]

Is there anyway that a standard .30 3 7/8 barrel can be bored out and turned into a 9mm? And if so who would be the best to contact about it? TIA

[Ice]

Yes. Redmans Rifling can do it. They routinely rebore .30 Mauser Broomhandle barrels to 9mm.

http://www.redmansrifling.com/index.htm

IMO I would either buy a repro barrel or get a donor barrel rather than ruin a perfectly good 7.65 Luger barrel ... unless its already ruined.

Charlie

[Tuna]

Thank you for the information. If the barrel was really good I would keep it as it is but like a lot of older firearms used with corrosive ammo and not properly cleaned there is quite a bit of pitting and and the rifling is worn down.

[sheepherder]

FWIW, I would think that just buying a repro barrel would be cheaper...I'm guessing disassembly would be required, too...You didn't mention if it was a commercial or military Luger, or whether the original barrel was an heirloon or valuable for sentimental reasons...if so, it can also be relined in the original 30 caliber, although you'll need a good gunsmith to do it...sadly, like everything else, most gunsmiths these days are just parts changers...all the real smiths are retired or passed on...

[Tuna]

The luger I have is a commercial 1920 with a three digit serial number. It has no sentimental value to me as I bought it awhile ago for it's condition (90% finish with all matching numbers)and to shoot. While I do reload, it is getting hard to find the correct bullets for it and I was just thinking if it could be rebored to 9mm it would be much easier to shoot on a steady basis and the barrel would of course still match the rest of the firearm. You are so right about the lack of good quality gunsmiths anymore. It is a an art form that is dying out.

[Sieger]

Originally Posted by Tuna

The luger I have is a commercial 1920 with a three digit serial number. It has no sentimental value to me as I bought it awhile ago for it's condition (90% finish with all matching numbers)and to shoot. While I do reload, it is getting hard to find the correct bullets for it and I was just thinking if it could be rebored to 9mm it would be much easier to shoot on a steady basis and the barrel would of course still match the rest of the firearm. You are so right about the lack of good quality gunsmiths anymore. It is a an art form that is dying out.

Hi:

The answer seems easy to me. By a replacement barrel, install it and save the old "matched barrel" incase you need to put it back on.

Don't forget your springs when replacing a 7.65mm with a 9mm, as your Luger will likely jam.

I think we have several qualified people on the forum that could help you with the replacement.

Just my thoughts.

Why are 7.65 componants getting hard to get. There seems to be an "adequate" supply of bullet types available, though certainly not as many varities as the 9mm.

Sieger

[John Sabato]

Not all the REAL gunsmiths are gone... There are just fewer of them. I understand that John Martz has not been in good health, but he is still working... just slower. The number of new gunsmiths that are not just parts changers... does seem to diminish as years go by. The reason might be that it is difficult to make a living at gunsmithing...

And then there are guys like me that still have the knowhow... but are no longer tooled to do the serious stuff... Just last year I bought a lathe, to replace the one I sold almost 20 years ago because I was moving, but I haven't had time yet to set it up properly to use it...and I haven't had access to a mill for years... Slowly I will be retooling to allow me to do things I haven't done in many years... in my "leisure" years I hope to fill my time building things I only thought about since I sold my tools... Gunsmithing isn't HARD... you just have to be careful and practice a lot before you try something on someone else's guns.

[Lugerdoc]

John S, I agree that the proper tools help a lot. I don't have a mill or lathe either and have to farm out that work, and find that those who do, are reluctant to do small jobs. Regarding reboring barrels from 7.65 to 9mm: I think that it's a good idea for the situation discussed above. You keep the original serial and to replace with a new barrel would cost at least $150 unless you are equipted to do it yourself. TH

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by Lugerdoc

...and to replace with a new barrel would cost at least $150 unless you are equipted to do it yourself. TH

If you're equipped to do it yourself, it'll end up costing a lot more!!!

[gymtom]

I ordered parts I needed for one of my lugers and "Eugene" lugerman hasn't come thru has anyone dealt with him? He sure charged Visa and said they were in the mail but haven't received them as of today. Thanks

[Sieger]

Originally Posted by gymtom

I ordered parts I needed for one of my lugers and "Eugene" lugerman hasn't come thru has anyone dealt with him? He sure charged Visa and said they were in the mail but haven't received them as of today. Thanks

Hi:

I recently had some one try to rip me off on a Spanish M93 Mauser advertised in new condition.

When the rifle arrived, at a cost of some $721, it was in poor condition. Upon my return of the rifle, the merchant claimed that the stock had been broken in the mail, and did't want to refund my money.

Visa allows you to charge back amounts that you feel were charged improperly. Read the back of your next Visa Statement and call your bank for instructions under "Regulation Z" Believe me, you will get your funds charged back, as I did.

Sieger

[Pistol Whipped]

There are serious issues with Eugene Golubstov (aka: Lugerman). There are several people out there who have been left holding the bag. Avoid him at all costs, he is not to be trusted with your gun or your money. I'm in the process right now of having my attorney file criminal charges against him and report him to the BATF and other law enforcement agencies as well as the Fairless Hill Police Dept.

[Sieger]

Originally Posted by Pistol Whipped

There are serious issues with Eugene Golubstov (aka: Lugerman). There are several people out there who have been left holding the bag. Avoid him at all costs, he is not to be trusted with your gun or your money. I'm in the process right now of having my attorney file criminal charges against him and report him to the BATF and other law enforcement agencies as well as the Fairless Hill Police Dept.

Pistol Whipped:

Fraudsters are usually pretty good at their trade, so good luck!!

Unless you have a specific written contract, it will be his "creative" word against your set of facts.

It's amazing what money will do to some people, now isn't it.

Sieger

[PhilOhio]

Tuna,

If your barrel is shot out, I would have it rebored and rifled, definitely; keep the matching numbers and markings. I understand Redman's does a fine job, but when I was shopping for similar services a few years ago, I found they were by far the most expensive place around. And there were alternatives, if you hunted for them.

At Redman's prices, a new barrel was cheaper, but there are situations where preservation of original barrel markings on a collector gun is more important than price. A good Luger is, in my opinion, such a case.

I had a totally shot out basket case C96 Broomhandle, a Korean War battlefield pickup from my overseas days, which I was restoring. A place in New England offered the whole reboring job for $80. What the heck? I gave it a shot, and was glad I did. I had the gun back in about three weeks, and the work was far better than expected. It was apparent that they did not even have to remove the barrel from the extension, although Redman's may do it a different way. Rifling was sharp and well defined, with a nice mirror finish. Fired bullets are not all scored up, the bore does not tend to lead, and it is accurate...so twist rate is correct.

I did have to build up the integral C96 front sight with weld metal and reshape it, to compensate for much different 9mm ballistics. With a Luger, you can simply slide in the correct 9mm front sight blade and install the correct recoil spring.

If only I could remember the name of the New England people who did the work.

In any event, I am sure Redman's (and perhaps others) can do an equally fine job, if the pricing is O.K. for you. You'll be happy with a gun you can shoot, using more easily obtainable/reloadable ammo.

[unspellable]

Keep in mind converting from 7.65 to 9 mm requires a change of recoil spring as well as the barrel.

[Pistol Whipped]

Originally Posted by Pistol Whipped

There are serious issues with Eugene Golubstov (aka: Lugerman). There are several people out there who have been left holding the bag. Avoid him at all costs, he is not to be trusted with your gun or your money. I'm in the process right now of having my attorney file criminal charges against him and report him to the BATF and other law enforcement agencies as well as the Fairless Hill Police Dept.

Originally Posted by Sieger

Pistol Whipped:

Fraudsters are usually pretty good at their trade, so good luck!!

Unless you have a specific written contract, it will be his "creative" word against your set of facts.

It's amazing what money will do to some people, now isn't it.

Sieger

I've been holding off from posting anything regarding my issue with Lugerman (Eugene Golubstov) because I've been waiting to see his reaction once I threatened to cry havoc and slip the dogs of war. This is what has transpired since I posted my message here.

On June 1st I emailed Eugene Golubstov (aka: Lugerman) asking when the Mauser Broomhandle I sent him over a year ago would be ready. His reply was 4 weeks. To my disapointment he again failed to follow through. 4 weeks passed and nothing more was heard from him. As much as I did not want to it was time to move on to plan "B".

I handed the matter over to my lawyer. He sent two letters of intent (one certified mail, one regular mail) informing Mr. Golubstov that if my gun was not ready by August 1st all legal remedies would be pursued. Once I was certain he had received the letter of intent from my attorney I sent him an email of my own. I spelled out to him that I would report the gun as stolen and charge him with Larceny by Conversion and report him to the BATFE, the local police where he lives, the Pennsylvania Attorney General and since this transaction was made through the the US mail it would also qualify for mail fraud so the Post Master General would also be notified. And I would also sue him in small claims court in Pennsylvania. I had already made the arrangements for all this to happen, all that was needed from me was to make one phone call to my lawyer to start the ball rolling.

This time he got the message. For the next two weeks I received updates on the gun's progress. On August 1 he told me the gun was finished and sent me eight photographs of the finished product. I will now send him payment first thing Monday morning for $500 and then I will call my lawyer and let him know that we will not have to peruse the legal option after all, which was what I was hoping for all along. I never wanted to make trouble for the guy, I just wanted my property back.

But I have to be honest here, if the photos of my Mauser are accurate he has done a fantastic job. As soon as I figure out how to post the pictures here I'll put them up. But this situation now puts me at a bit of a conundrum. There are not too many guys out there doing this kind of resteration work, and If it wasn't for the fact that the guy strung me along for over a year I would use him again but my past experience makes me very reluctant to risk a similar one with him again.

It's obvious to me that Eugene Golubstov knows what he is doing and does fine work but the guy is just unreliable when it comes to communication and meeting deadlines. If he had told me from the very beginning that it would be a year before he could get to my pistol I would have been fine with that. Instead he dodged and obfuscated and in the end I had to play the heavy. I hated doing it but it worked.

So now I'm looking for someone who can restore a shooter Luger for me. I've heard terrific things about Thor and that he's accepting work again. Do any of you know if this is the case? If he is I would like to contact him and see if he would be able to do this for me.

[John Sabato]

I don't know how long his lead time is, but at last report Ted Green (Thor) is accepting work... Just find any of his posts and click on his name and send him a PM. Whatever the length of time, you will not regret the work he does for you.

I wouldn't risk another gun with the "Lugerman"... you were darn lucky you got the first gun back.

I have seen his work previously in varying degrees of quality. He may have put extra effort in on your Mauser just to make sure you made the legal headache go away...

[Pistol Whipped]

Here are the photos Lugerman has sent me of my completed Mauser Broomhandle. I asked for a complete restoration with new grips.

I've got to be honest, I'm impressed.

[alanint]

Funny how you never see the serial number, so you KNOW its yours!

[Pistol Whipped]

You are a very observant man, sir. I'm surprised you picked up on that. Yes, I did omit one photograph because that one clearly showed the serial number. So there is no doubt about it, that's my baby.