It would be interesting how many of our friend and members

[cirelaw]

have never shot a luger. I bet we will be plently surprised. I've own lugers for over ten years now and hav e never had the pleasure! This may suprise us! Eric I would bet its no more then fifty percent!

[mrerick]

I make a point of bringing a shooter grade Luger to the range regularly. Several friends had their first Luger experience shooting one of mine...

I've never had someone turn down the offer of firing one!

Marc

[cirelaw]

Once they shot, I bet they became believers!

[CJS57]

If you really want to have some fun, shoot your Artillery Luger with drum and stock! What a blast!

[Terry Tiell]

Owning a Luger and not firing it to me seems like a complete waste of a wonderful gun, but I guess I can understand if its a #'s matching perfect condition piece with capture/bring back paper work. But beyond that I couldn't imagine owning one and not firing it! That'd be like owning a classic Ferrari and never bringing out of the garage and thats just crazy talk!

That said my Luger will never win a beauty contest, has a questionable history (as to where it came from nothing illegal) and is chock full of brand new parts to make it work perfectly and ya know what, I wouldn't trade it for an above mentioned piece that I couldn't shoot just cause I couldn't shoot it! I mean come on what the hell is the point of owning the dang thing if you have never ever fired it nor will you ever fire it? At that point you have a beautiful PAPERWEIGHT and not a gun.


Legal disclaimer...The above is just my opinion and is not meant to start any argument nor to flame anyone for what they feel is best for their Luger or collection they may have.

[Patronen]

Lugers are like my Wifes dinnerware. Some plates you eat off of and one could care less if one falls to the floor, even if it's part of a set it's no big deal. Then there is the dinnerware that is passed down from Grandma that is sometimes brought out for special occasions like a Holiday dinner and if someone drops a plate on the floor and shatters it, now Grandmas wedding set is incomplete?

[cirelaw]

Wow!! What a perfect anology! I have a DWM 1917 P08 non unit marked that I could use and a 1917 unit marked artillery I would never use! Thank You both for your input!

[Terry Tiell]

IDK man a dinner plate you can put in a china cabinet and look at and admire and not be missing anything should you chose to use a paper plate instead as a paper plate does the same job just as well as grandmas fine china from the old country.

But to say a Glock does the same job just as well as your Luger I guess would be true if all you want is to poke holes in a target. But then whats the point of owning the Luger in the 1st place if the Glock is just as good?

I guess it would be on par with the classic Ferrari that just spends the rest of forever locked away in a climate controlled garage. Why bother owning it if you'll never enjoy driving it?


Dinner plates were meant to eat dinner from, cars were meant to drive, and Lugers were meant to be shot. Why own something if you'll never enjoy it beyond looking at it in a display case? If thats all you want why not just put a poster in a display case as it'll serve the same purpose.

[cirelaw]

Nothing beats the feel of a luger in your hand. Has any one fired 1920 carbine as it is compared to an artillery and is there a big diference or between between a 7.65 and a 9mm. load ? PS I love them!

[Terry Tiell]

I started another thread but I'll ask here too.

I got to thinking what parts of the Luger are so prone to breakage that people are afraid to fire them? I mean I've put about 2000 rounds thru mine in the past few months since I started redoing it and now you guys have me worried about parts breaking and being injured by it. So what parts on the Luger are so prone to breakage that people are afraid to fire them and what do I need to watch for in terms of catastrophic failure of my Luger?

[cirelaw]

Its seems those part serialed to the gun would be next to impossible to replace like a fireing pin! I beleive they are numbered!

[Terry Tiell]

How often do firing pins fail and what happens when they fail? Hey if you guys don't want to shoot your Luger's thats cool I'm just trying to figure out if I'm missing something that may be a problem.

[Curly1]

Why wouldn't anyone have at least one shooter to go along with the collector pieces?

To me part of owning them is to expereince the use of the design and judge it against other designs in my collection.

[cirelaw]

To get a real feel you would need at least 5 varieties of 'shooter' ie p08, Navy Artilllery, Carbine not to forget how many makers. It would be impossible to shoot one of each! You would wing up with a collection of 'shooters. 'They got their name for a reason. Have they been adequatly beem tested for intregity and by who? Someone should offer a line of reliable with maybe some parts replaced but a good first gun! I'm sure a inspected reliable piece by available between $500 -$700 maybe. Price does't always matter. Reliablity does! Eric

[cirelaw]

How would you judge a 'shooter'? Price, condition, commonality? Someone should offer a luger just for the shooting a seperate category just to have safe fun. Unfortunatly most are bought from a stranger with no promises of construction or integrety. Such a gun may be their first! The Luger is a piece of living mechanical art sometimes susceptable forgeries and some a mix and match. I buy only from one of our long time members who have seen and handled them all! We are gifted to have at our fingertips those who write the books or mention in them! Let your first as memorable as your First! Take advantage. Have fun, be safe! Eric

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by cirelaw

To get a real feel you would need at least 5 varieties of 'shooter' ie p08, Navy Artilllery, Carbine not to forget how many makers. It would be impossible to shoot one of each! You would wing up with a collection of 'shooters.Eric

Eric,

This has been my approach so far. Since most everything about Lugers, except my previously unrequited love for them, was new/not-yet-experienced, I wound up with 5 of mostly different caliber and barrel length (8" artie 9mm, 6" 29/70 Mauser 9mm, 4.75" and 3 3/4" '06 AE 7.65, and standard 4" 1917 p.08 military) so I could have experience across the spectrum. I went even further with even more Erma models styled after the Luger, in .380, .32, and .22lr, just to see how they feel, function, and shoot. Oh, and don't forget, an Erma .22 conversion that fits my 70's Mauser...

Tell ya what, Eric, I'm having a blast. Sometimes the hardest decision of the day is to decide which one to take out and shoot at my back yard range. Other than the fun, I'm finding this fairly affordable, as well. Since at least one issue keeps each of the original Lugers from barking with the big dawgs in the strictly collectibles kennel, they came pretty cheap, comparatively, even if from online auctions. For example, all the numbers on my artillery match, but some knucklehead had ground off the stock lug. This defect, however, allowed a hammer price for me of $1200. After I restore the stock lug by swapping/welding in a chunk of donor frame that still retains the lug (also touch up the finish disturbed by this process) I'll have a functional, good looking artie to have some fun with. And the holster/stock part of the rig is repro, but it works just the same as an original--at way less than half the potential outlay of $ for it.

By all means, get yourself a functioning shooter or three. I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

David Parker

[cirelaw]

David You have it made. It be great to cap off a few rounds from your back porch. I'm going to check our our gun range. I am going to take your advice and have George find me a safe and cool one! As alway a member with class! I have plenty of small mouth bass and brim! Not allowed to shoot the duck!

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by cirelaw

David You have it made.

Well, not entirely, as it turns out. Until I fashion some kind of setup to catch my brass, I've severely curtailed my shooting of .30 Luger, and must consider brass of all the other calibers as expendable. Even when I'm trying to keep track of it, my loss is about 30% on account of the danged GRASS! Having a spotter helps, but still a great waste of difficult-to-find 7.65 mm cases...