Luger in 38 super caliber?

G.T. · 01-13-2021, 02:41 AM

I had the enjoyable opportunity to stay with John and Neola twice in all the years i worked on his projects. My son and I were at his house for several days both times, and we had a great time. We spent most of the time just chatting, but we did visit the range (his private range right out in his yard!) several times, and always with one of his creations that was in the "prototype" stage. He welcomed someone to shoot his creations, as he was a stickler for function as well as beauty. I remember him telling me each little secret to finally achieve the consistency he was seeking on each caliber type. He stated that the only caliber that really gave him fits was his Luger conversion of the .22 mag!!!

He had all but given up on it, and refused to sell it as it was in his mind, snake bit? But as a last resort, he started to shorten the barrel, I believe nearly an inch at a time and at some point after a couple of cuts, the thing started to work! And did so consistently. He stated that it was the only one, and he would not go down that path again... I wonder who has it now as many of his customers were not necessarily Luger collectors, but more into the artful creations John was producing. Long time ago now, seems like somebody else was there and not me. Still, I have the memories, and the satisfaction of being able to call him my friend... Best to all, til......lat'r......GT...

zork · 01-18-2021, 12:29 AM

GT. I can tell you exactly where the 22 mag prototype Luger is, it is in my safe. John did have fits trying to make it work but solved the problem by lengthening the barrel, not shortening it.He did make more Lugers in 22 mag, I believe he ended up making 9 pistols and 3 carbines in 22 mag, I knew John and Neola for many years and used to love watching John work. (I have zero mechanical talent but can break anything ever built)I also have one of the 22 mag pistols. When I picked it up from a collection in LA I took it to Johns to try it out. We walked out to his range and I fired a clip, it worked fine. John then tried to fire it but it kept jamming. John looked at me and said, "who made this piece of crap!" as an aside I also own the first gun John ever made, a baby P38. As for 38 Supers, John made 19 Lugers in 38 Super (including 1 baby and 1 carbine). He made 9 P38s in 38 super ( 1 baby). Many of Johns creations ended up on the cover of Guns and Ammo, you might check their archives for the article.Doug

01-13-2021, 02:41 AM	#1
G.T. Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Chandler Arizona Posts: 3,528 Thanks: 1,334 Thanked 3,711 Times in 1,014 Posts	one last note on JVM's Lugers I had the enjoyable opportunity to stay with John and Neola twice in all the years i worked on his projects. My son and I were at his house for several days both times, and we had a great time. We spent most of the time just chatting, but we did visit the range (his private range right out in his yard!) several times, and always with one of his creations that was in the "prototype" stage. He welcomed someone to shoot his creations, as he was a stickler for function as well as beauty. I remember him telling me each little secret to finally achieve the consistency he was seeking on each caliber type. He stated that the only caliber that really gave him fits was his Luger conversion of the .22 mag!!! He had all but given up on it, and refused to sell it as it was in his mind, snake bit? But as a last resort, he started to shorten the barrel, I believe nearly an inch at a time and at some point after a couple of cuts, the thing started to work! And did so consistently. He stated that it was the only one, and he would not go down that path again... I wonder who has it now as many of his customers were not necessarily Luger collectors, but more into the artful creations John was producing. Long time ago now, seems like somebody else was there and not me. Still, I have the memories, and the satisfaction of being able to call him my friend... Best to all, til......lat'r......GT...

01-18-2021, 12:29 AM	#2
zork New User Join Date: Sep 2020 Posts: 4 Thanks: 0 Thanked 13 Times in 4 Posts	38 super/22 mag Martz GT. I can tell you exactly where the 22 mag prototype Luger is, it is in my safe. John did have fits trying to make it work but solved the problem by lengthening the barrel, not shortening it.He did make more Lugers in 22 mag, I believe he ended up making 9 pistols and 3 carbines in 22 mag, I knew John and Neola for many years and used to love watching John work. (I have zero mechanical talent but can break anything ever built)I also have one of the 22 mag pistols. When I picked it up from a collection in LA I took it to Johns to try it out. We walked out to his range and I fired a clip, it worked fine. John then tried to fire it but it kept jamming. John looked at me and said, "who made this piece of crap!" as an aside I also own the first gun John ever made, a baby P38. As for 38 Supers, John made 19 Lugers in 38 Super (including 1 baby and 1 carbine). He made 9 P38s in 38 super ( 1 baby). Many of Johns creations ended up on the cover of Guns and Ammo, you might check their archives for the article.Doug