1917 Erfurt

Kyrie · 12-17-2001, 01:37 PM

Hi Orv,

Alas, the story that the side plate was removed to make the pistol safe is untrue :-(

The cannon of a Luger is a fully functional firearm in and of itself. Removing the side plate just exposes the sear bar plunger and the front of the sear bar. If there is a round in the chamber pressure on the sear bar plunger or the front of the sear bar will cause the cannon to discharge.

Moreover, the side plate and trigger bar were hand fitted parts. Swapping side plates between Lugers can create Lugers that cannot be fired, or that fire with light (or no) pressure on the trigger.

Field striping a Luger results in three parts assemblies; the frame assembly, the cannon assembly, and the side plate assembly. The side plate assembly is by far the smallest and the easiest to lose - which IMHO is why so many side plates are mismatched.

Hope this helps!

Best regards,

Kyrie

12-17-2001, 01:37 PM	#11
Kyrie User Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 757 Thanks: 0 Thanked 212 Times in 101 Posts	Re: Sideplates Hi Orv, Alas, the story that the side plate was removed to make the pistol safe is untrue :-( The cannon of a Luger is a fully functional firearm in and of itself. Removing the side plate just exposes the sear bar plunger and the front of the sear bar. If there is a round in the chamber pressure on the sear bar plunger or the front of the sear bar will cause the cannon to discharge. Moreover, the side plate and trigger bar were hand fitted parts. Swapping side plates between Lugers can create Lugers that cannot be fired, or that fire with light (or no) pressure on the trigger. Field striping a Luger results in three parts assemblies; the frame assembly, the cannon assembly, and the side plate assembly. The side plate assembly is by far the smallest and the easiest to lose - which IMHO is why so many side plates are mismatched. Hope this helps! Best regards, Kyrie