P08 Not returning to battery

[Sprue]

I have an issue where the slide/bolt hangs up, at about the half way mark when bolt is closing. (after the first round is fired). I can lightly touch it, with the least amount of pressure and the bolt DOES return to battery.

I know nothing about the pistols at all.

The last round hold open functions good.

Here's another analogy. After a single round is loaded and fired the bolt stays open as it should. When I drop the empty magazine and grab hold of the bolt to close it, It does release but it hangs up about half way down its travel. To get it to close, just a very slight touch, "very slight touch" the bolt/slide returns to normal.

I've only had this pistol for a couple of days, my knowledge is nil.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[Lugerdoc]

zit sound like your toggle is experiencing the normal resistence of the FP cocking on the sear. This is most noticed when the toggle is slowly lowered into battery. It should not stop midway, if the toggle is released under full spring tention from it's rear most open position. TH

[ithacaartist]

Tom's advice is good, but just in case--he means that when the toggle is drawn back by hand, to cycle or to release the holdopen, pull it all the way back and let go so that it snaps the action shut on its own.

[Green57]

Clean and oil it. Old gun oil can can trap dust and dry out over the years and turn into "paste".

Perhaps there is just enough resistance from this keeping it from returning to battery. Ensure that the breech slides smoothly in the upper, and the upper slides smoothly in the frame.

If there is binding of any sort let us know.

G57

[Sprue]

Well at this point I haven't done a thing, except doing research, watching youtube vids ect. Learning the takedown prcedures etc.

At this time I was kinda facenated that no one mentioned replacing the mainspring. Could that not be an issue, or any other spring for that matter.

I'm thinking about ordering a complete woulf spring kit. Would this be feasible at this time?

[Curly1]

Welcome to the forum.

[Geo99]

Yes, your mainspring could be weak?

No offense intended, but you shouldn't shoot a gun until you know how to take it apart and clean it.

You need to do a full takedown of the upper (takes 2 minutes). Once the barrel & extension is off the frame, gently work the toggle open/close to see if you can tell if and where it is binding. Push out the rear toggle axle pin (the big one) and slide the toggle off the barrel extension. Turn the toggle over and look at the bottom. There is a retaining pin that should hold the middle toggle pin in place. If this pin is broken, the middle pin can slide over bind up the toggle when closing. I know because I had one break on me.

Or you can just send the gun to Tom Heller - he will fix it up quick.

- Geo

[Sprue]

Here is the story.... I visited a 93 yr old man the other day... I haven't talked to him for 40 years.....I helped him put up a Ham Radio antenna.... After that we got to talking about guns, thats when he mentioned that he had p.08 , that it had issues during the second firing.

I was quite surprised when he offered it to me, to see if I could find the problem. I was literally astounded that he let me bring it home.

As for being familiar with guns, I've got quite a collection. I reload, cast my own bullets, dumpster dive at the Range yada yada. I've built several AK Kits and built a couple AR's too. Should a situation present itself, I have a Lathe that comes in very handy at times.

So I' am always fooling around or tinkering making something, gun related. I also dabble in Leather. So I never buy loaded ammo or holsters, sheaths etc..

As I mentioned, I've been doing a lot of research on the P.08, getting familiar with it. I'm about ready to take it apart when I get things in order around here. My benches are sooo cluttered right now. Youtube has been an asset as well as surfing the Internet.

Anyway, this post is just to introduce myself.

I really like hearing from you guys cause you're the experts on the p.08

Thanks a bunch felllows..... I look forward at gaining some knowledge and experiences from Y'all.

Keep the replies coming.

Sprue

[rhuff]

As has been mentioned above, the first thing that needs to be done is to remove the grips VERY carefully(refer to the sticky) and break the pistol down for a very good cleaning/inspection followed by a good lube. This includes the mags also. If it were my Luger, I would try it with the original springs first, and if there was a problem, then evaluate the mag and springs. Do NOT shoot +P, +P+, or NATO ammo in this Luger. Winchester WB or PMC 115gr FMJ works in most Luger. I would not try reloads at this point(I also am a reloader). Let us know how things work out.

[avogel57]

Howdy! I'm a newb here, but I think I'm having the same sort of problem. When firing, or when cycling the action by hand at home, it doesn't want to fully lock into battery--reaching up with the firing hand thumb is usually enough to snap it closed, but that makes it feel like firing a single action army!

I at first thought it was the mainspring, not giving enough oomph to close the action (and it WAS weak; I compared it to gun show pistols). I've just replaced that (what a chore!) --the Wolff replacement was actually somewhat larger, but from what I can tell, my "original" spring my have been too small or weak, or possibly not even the correct spring at all!

However, after all that, it still doesn't want to lock into battery. It's clean, but after reading this I'm thinking maybe a good GI scrubdown is in order. Might the s-link be bad? Are there other issues that may contribute to this problem? I don't remember it doing this when I first bought it about ten years ago, but between deployments and training, it doesn't get fired nearly often enough. Any input would be appreciated! =)

Alex

[avogel57]

Photo; this is typically where it ends up. It will still (dry) fire in this position, but I don't really want to pull the trigger on live ammo like this

[John Sabato]

Welcome to the Lugerforum to both Sprue, and AVogel57....

This advice should be applicable to both you and the original poster. In the future, please start your own thread for assistance.

AVogel57, In your photo, the safety lever is not all the way in the OFF position. That can contribute to your problem. You should not see the safety bar sticking up as far as it does in your photo. This would hinder the operation of the sear.

The point where you indicate that the action is hanging up is close to, or right at, the point where the pistol's firing pin engages the sear to be reset after firing. The gun should never hang there if it has been fired, or if you have pulled the toggle all the way back and released it. NEVER ease the first round into the chamber... the bolt should slam shut.

As others have already mentioned. Get the pistol completed torn down and clean it well with Hoppe's #9 and a toothbrush to get rid of all the congealed oil and gun grease of the last 50 years. Lubricate liberally, (that is the only thing I am liberal about!), but don't get any oil on the grips if you can help it. Hold the gun firmly when firing, and until it is functioning well with factory Winchester White Box ammunition, don't bother with reloads. even if you are pretty sure that they duplicate factory ballistics. The gun wasn't designed to function with lead bullets.

Make sure your magazine is clean inside and out, and be careful if it has a wooden bottom as they break easily if dropped. I recommend you find an aftermarket magazine (Mec-Gar), or at least an original that has an aluminum bottom that has no collector value.

Try all that and report back... Good Luck, and we will walk you through this to the level of reliability you should be experiencing.