Another .45 Caliber Luger Mystery

[John Sabato]

Hey Guys, just a word of encouragement and support for Monty. I have known Captain Monty and about him for a long time over on the Subguns.com boards... He has a good reputation there in a community of Class 3 users where a good reputation is hard property to come by, and unless proven otherwise, I will have to accept his information and photos in good faith... He is a gun owner and user, but not big on the technical details... he just wants them to shoot!

Other photographs are forthcoming and he will gladly photograph any area that you wish to see... the only delay is that he is snail mailing them to me on a CD because they are so large. I will mount them all in the Member Gallery album I created just for this purpose when they arrive. I am of the opinion that some gunsmith created this gun, without being knowledgeable enough to know if the safety margins of the design have been exceeded... time will tell.

I have requested photos of all sides, all markings and the gun frame without the grips installed.

Captain Monty, please also include a good shot of the bolt face, and the chamber area.

Other facts that I have received by email since yesterday...

The other side of the magazine DOES have a mag loading button. The holdopen is not functional when the toggle is pulled back on the empty mag.

The mag only holds 5 rounds, and they are held at a much steeper angle than the top round that is ready to be fed.

This gun may be a one-off attempt by someone to imitate a Wyatt or Martz, who carried things one step further with a functional mag. That certainly doesn't mean that the gun is safe to fire if enough metal has been removed or that it would be reliable... just that it is barreled and chambered for .45 ACP there are a lot of gun-mechanics out there who often blow themselves up... Let's hope this piece is a little sturdier than that.

This gun HAS been fired, as Cap'n Monty indicates above... But I recommend that it not be fired again until after the forum has had a good chance to examine the changes that have been made. If it IS fired again, I recommend that only mild reloads or standard GI ball issue ammo be used.s

Monty also says that he sees no signs of welding, but thinks we will have better powers of observation for things like this.

Here is a cut and paste from his last email...

Do you own a standard 9MM Luger? Yes How does the mag well compare to a standard frame?
Front to back dimensions are identical. Inside dimensions of mag well are larger. A 9mm mag just rattles around inside the .45 frame.

Does it look like a standard frame that has been "broached" to accept the larger mag? I see no signs of broaching but you have a better eye for this than I.

Does the other side of the .45 mag have a mag button? A button. Or is it also smooth like the side shown in the first picture? Does the gun have a holdopen device and does it function with an empty mag when you pull back the toggle full length?

Does not lock open after last round.

After removing the grip, I saw two small "P" marks on the frame and another mark that looked a bit like a "2" or a "Z" but was neither. On the frame just above the trigger is a small "G"

-Monty