Newbie, Thrown Into The Luger World By Accident

[day late]

I'll try to make a long story short. A friend of mine bought a retirement home on the coast to retire in, about twenty years ago. About six months ago he was up on a shelf he'd never been to before. Wrapped in a rag was a rusted piece of junk that used to be a 1936 PO8 Luger. Serial number 7237 and according to what markings are left, was issued to the German Navy. It was missing a number of pieces. As of now, after much effort, work, trial and error, and a fair chuck of change, I have a Luger that fires. But here is the problem.

I chamber a round. I fire the round. The action cycles and a new round is chambered. But the silly thing isn't cocked. I have to open the action a bit, then close it by hand, shoot and now the next round will chamber, but not fire until the above is repeated. I found a video on line where it SEEMS to guy has the same problem as I do, but I can't be sure. The video is here;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kR1Lx50-Do

I will say that one thing that was missing and had to be replaced was the side plate and trigger assembly. If anyone has any insights as to what my problem could be, I'd love to hear it.

[gunnertwo]

Welcome!

Aside from the functioning issues, please post some pics. How did you determine is was navy issue?

G2

[day late]

The marking for the "Kreigsmarine", or the Germany Navy is a script M just below the serial number in front of the trigger guard. I'll try to post a picture of that as well, as soon as I figure out how to post a picture.

If I've done this right, the first couple of pictures are what I got. One picture is a clear shot of the manufacture date of 1936. One picture shows the Navy marking. Not on my Luger, but one I found online.

[lugerholsterrepair]

Can you get a photo of the one on your Luger?

[Mac Cat]

If you restored that rusted anchor into a working pistol, my hat's off to you!

Tons of work. I can't image any of the small parts survived.
That luger looks like it was recovered from a sunken ship or submarine.

The photo you showed has a serial number (blurry, but looks like "329") and suffix "m".
I don't see any german navy marking. Can you point it out ?

P.S. I've got an old gun soaking in oil on the back of my garage shelf, too. It's a 1973 Colt DA that is too rusted to take apart.

I'd really like to hear about how you restored your luger.

Below is an example of a 1916 Navy Luger with two crown M stamps. I didn't have any markings on the front frame other than the serial number.

[Edward Tinker]

I moved this from the Tech Help area to new collectors.

Yes, the 'm' suffix is part of the serial number, but afraid it has nothing to do with the navy.
You have a 1936 (date) that likely has the Mauser code of S/42 and made by Mauser.

[Mac Cat]

You have a 1936 (date) that likely has the Mauser code of S/42 and made by Mauser.

Oh, yeah. I can see the Mauser bump on the ear.

[day late]

Ask and ye shall receive. Two shots of the M. One with and one without oil. The third picture is pretty much done. I still have to stain the grips. Sorry it's upside down. I will also say that the serial number didn't come through as clearly as you can see it with the eye. But I was shooting the M anyway. The number is 7237.

[Edward Tinker]

Is that zebra wood on the grips? Its nice, I have not had the best luck with zebra wood, but I like it

[day late]

Originally Posted by Edward Tinker

Is that zebra wood on the grips? Its nice, I have not had the best luck with zebra wood, but I like it

Sorry, that's just white walnut from Home Depot. The grips are home made.

[mrerick]

The proper operation of the sear bar is dependent upon the disconnector operating properly. This is a small plunger on the front of the bar, and it has a small spring inside it.

Does that plunger freely push in and rebound after pushed?

[day late]

Originally Posted by mrerick

The proper operation of the sear bar is dependent upon the disconnector operating properly. This is a small plunger on the front of the bar, and it has a small spring inside it.

Does that plunger freely push in and rebound after pushed?

Yes. I have also noticed some new wear on the upper, just in front of the trigger bar and the plunger you spoke of. It is from the lever (whatever you call it) that is activated by the trigger and in turn depresses the trigger bar that allows it to fire. It seems that when the upper moves backward, the lever is in contact with it.

[day late]

Originally Posted by Mac Cat

If you restored that rusted anchor into a working pistol, my hat's off to you!

Tons of work. I can't image any of the small parts survived.
That luger looks like it was recovered from a sunken ship or submarine.

The photo you showed has a serial number (blurry, but looks like "329") and suffix "m".
I don't see any german navy marking. Can you point it out ?

P.S. I've got an old gun soaking in oil on the back of my garage shelf, too. It's a 1973 Colt DA that is too rusted to take apart.

I'd really like to hear about how you restored your luger.

Below is an example of a 1916 Navy Luger with two crown M stamps. I didn't have any markings on the front frame other than the serial number.

One thing I didn't need to use on this pistol, but my niece and her husband needed to get it from me to use on the black powder weapons. That is a dental vibrator. It's just a little square machine that sits there and vibrates at very high rates of speed. Put something rusted in a coffee can of oil, set it on the vibrator, turn it on for half an hour and walk away. And be careful adjusting the rate of speed. You could have oil all over the place. Does wonders.

[Doubs]

Mrerick has identified the most likely cause of the problem; a stuck disconnector pin. The pin must depress and extend freely. If it is stuck in it's extended position, the Luger will not c0ck as the slide moves forward after firing.

When the trigger is pulled, the L-arm depresses the pin flexing the sear bar outward and releases the firing pin. During recoil, the L-arm is still against the receiver because the trigger is still depressed. The pin has moved rearward with the receiver and moved out from under the L-arm. As the receiver moves forward, the pin contacts the L-arm and is depressed. The sear bar remains straight and the sear engages the firing pin, cocking it.

IF the disconnector pin is stuck, it contacts the L-arm while moving forward after recoil and the sear bar is flexed outward preventing the sear from engaging the firing pin and the gun is not cocked. Once the trigger is released and the L-arm moves away from the receiver, it is then necessary to manually raise the toggles to c0ck the Luger again.

I once had a 1917 Artillery Luger with the identical problem. I soaked the sear bar in Kroil overnight and it freed the stuck disconnector pin. It then ran like a clock.

[Deputywood]

As a LEO, I recovered a stolen pistol that had lain in a cow pasture in the mountains of Colorado for 25 years. High altitude, low humidity, lots of snow, the Dan Wesson 357 was professionally cleaned, released by the insurance company, and returned to the owner in working order. I was amazed at the condition. I also dropped a carbon steel mag for my duty pistol in the snow one winter. In the spring, I returned to the location and retrieved it with no rust. The rounds fired. I would not have trusted them to defend my life.

Woody

[day late]

I have a brother who once bought an old pickup from Dad. There was a really noisy rattle in the dash and nobody could find it. Finally, the A/C went belly up and my brother was forced to tear it apart the replace the entire unit. Deep inside the dash was an old .30-.30 round that had slipped down the air ducts. That thing was there for over ten years that I know of. It still fired.

The plunger depresses easily and is in contact with your finger as you pull it away. Of course, that mechanism operates much faster than I do. I suppose it is possible that spring needs to be replaced as well. It can't do any harm to take it apart and clean it. I may even have a replacement for it in the parts I ordered for it.

[day late]

Here is a picture of the wear I spoke of.

[Doubs]

Originally Posted by day late

Here is a picture of the wear I spoke of.

Very common and nothing to be concerned about.

[day late]

Well, it's good for a man to know his limitations. Gunsmithing is one of mine, so I'm asking. Do you believe the problem is a weak spring under the plunger?

[day late]

Originally Posted by Edward Tinker

I moved this from the Tech Help area to new collectors.

Yes, the 'm' suffix is part of the serial number, but afraid it has nothing to do with the navy.
You have a 1936 (date) that likely has the Mauser code of S/42 and made by Mauser.

It is stamped S/42, so I guess the M does mean Mauser. One marking Which has me puzzled is inside the frame, under the lockdown bolt. It is quite clearly stamped H. I have no clue what that means. I've looked on-line but haven't found anything.