What do I have?

Ron Hetherington · 11-09-2001, 12:52 PM

Hello, I have a Luger P.08, but do not know what I have and would like a little help. I got the gun to go with my other German WW2 stuff and paid $700 for it.

The Barrel & the square part with serial number on the LHS has about 30-40% of blue. Rest of the gun has about 90%.

The barrel does have slight pitting on it.

Gun has serial 7767 w/67 on all visable parts. Has 1938 & S/42 on top surface.

Has a lower case k on front part of gun, just below the barrel. There is the serial number above that.

On the bottom of the Barrel is the number 884.

RHS of gun has 4 Bird impressions. 2 have 83 or 63 under them & the other 2 (1 is on the Barrel) look like birds spreading it's wings.

Grips are checkered, kind of blackish/brown. Worn smooth around the screw. Sounds like plastic but has wood texture. How do I find out what they are?

Mag is none matching, but has FXO, a bird/37 on the top & bottom & P.08 stamped. It shows slight pitting & light rust. How can I clean it up?

The lower part of the hand grip has a bump on the backside, I was told for holding a shoulder stock.

I was looking for a war relic and any help would be appreciated.

11-09-2001, 01:12 PM

Hello and welcome to the forum, we've been saying that a lot recently, which is wonderful. Others will help you with specifics, our tech info on the left will help answer many of your questions, while the general info will help answer other questions.

It appears to me that you have a Mauser, 1938, but I didn't catch this part. You should have the serial number on the bottom of the reciever and then the last two numbers through out the gun. Do you have all matching or are there other numbers?

Ed

11-09-2001, 01:24 PM

Sounds to me like you were successful in obtaining an honest "war relic" Luger in average condition for a price that is at least in the ballpark. The condition you describe is typical for Lugers that carried by combat soldiers for 5 to seven years and often carried by GI's for sevral months after capture, this is speculation but was certainly very common. It is of course a Mauser (S/42) 1938 made German military contract Luger and appears that all parts, at least outside match except the mag. The grips are wood (walnut) if original and these sound like they are. It is a pistol that was there and is a great represenative example of just that. It should have strong appeal to anyone collecting WWII military items who wants examples battlefield used equipment and arms. It will have less appeal to the strictly Luger/Gun collector, most of whom seek out examples in factory new condition. Fortuniatly there are many tastes and objectives in the broad sense of the hobby and this example has a legitmate place.

JuergenG · 11-13-2001, 11:23 AM

Folks,

I'm from Germany and new on this forum.

I'm not a Luger expert but I'll try to help with some informations I do have.

The S/42 1938 is of Mauser manufacture.

The 8.84 on the lower side of the barrel is the actual inner diameter at the time of manufacture.

The FXO mark on the mag is the code for Haenel, Suhl; the 37 is the proof mark of the respective proof officer. Both together are authentic.

Most all P08 can hold a shoulder stock. For a while they have been manufactured with and without the rail, but this has been standardized to "with rail" at some point in time.

BTW: Mine is a byf 41 (Mauser), all matching numbers, even the mag which carries the FXO code as well.

Juergen

11-13-2001, 11:40 AM

God to hear from you JuergenG! Welcome to the forum, make a profile, sit back and stay for a while!

Post a few pictures of your Mauser and let us see her!

Do you happen to know anybody that knows German Holster makers from prior to WW2? A couple of people had questions on that subject.

Take care, I wish I was in Aachen and drinking some warm wine in about 2 weeks!!

Ed

Marvin · 11-13-2001, 12:22 PM

Juergen,

Welcome to the Forum! We want all Luger owners to be regulars on this Forum and help answer the many questions that come along. This is a great bunch of folks on the Forum from several differnt countries and we welcome all. We have our disagreements sometimes, but we still remain friends here. Please come back often!

Marvin

JuergenG · 11-13-2001, 02:00 PM

66Mustang,

I'll check for info on the pre-WWII holster makers.

Are you going to Aachen, or is it just a wish ?

Not too far from there (Dortmund) will be the biggest arms fair in Germany from 11/29-12/02.

It's really worth to go.

Even Borchardt model 93's there, up from DM 22K.

Juergen

Aaron · 11-13-2001, 11:36 PM

I have alwayss wondered if there are any living individuals who worked in the Mauser factory and participated in the manufacture of Lugers. There are many questions I would like to ask such an individual, such as procedures used in the repair of Lugers and late war production variations. Do you know of any such surviving Mauser workers?

JuergenG · 11-14-2001, 03:32 AM

I don't know anyone who has worked for Mauser.

A good source of information is the museum in Oberndorf.

They have a lot of original documentation from August Weiss.

I have a Luger book by Joachim Goertz "Die Pistole 08" having some info on variations.

It is mostly about German service pistols, just mentioning other variants such as 00, 04, 06 etc. aside.

I'll have a look for P08 variants in this book over the weekend and post what I find.

Juergen

11-09-2001, 12:52 PM	#1
Ron Hetherington New User Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	What do I have? Hello, I have a Luger P.08, but do not know what I have and would like a little help. I got the gun to go with my other German WW2 stuff and paid $700 for it. The Barrel & the square part with serial number on the LHS has about 30-40% of blue. Rest of the gun has about 90%. The barrel does have slight pitting on it. Gun has serial 7767 w/67 on all visable parts. Has 1938 & S/42 on top surface. Has a lower case k on front part of gun, just below the barrel. There is the serial number above that. On the bottom of the Barrel is the number 884. RHS of gun has 4 Bird impressions. 2 have 83 or 63 under them & the other 2 (1 is on the Barrel) look like birds spreading it's wings. Grips are checkered, kind of blackish/brown. Worn smooth around the screw. Sounds like plastic but has wood texture. How do I find out what they are? Mag is none matching, but has FXO, a bird/37 on the top & bottom & P.08 stamped. It shows slight pitting & light rust. How can I clean it up? The lower part of the hand grip has a bump on the backside, I was told for holding a shoulder stock. I was looking for a war relic and any help would be appreciated.

11-09-2001, 01:12 PM	#2
66mustang Guest Posts: n/a	Re: What do I have? Hello and welcome to the forum, we've been saying that a lot recently, which is wonderful. Others will help you with specifics, our tech info on the left will help answer many of your questions, while the general info will help answer other questions. It appears to me that you have a Mauser, 1938, but I didn't catch this part. You should have the serial number on the bottom of the reciever and then the last two numbers through out the gun. Do you have all matching or are there other numbers? Ed

11-09-2001, 01:24 PM	#3
BCC Guest Posts: n/a	Re: What do I have? Sounds to me like you were successful in obtaining an honest "war relic" Luger in average condition for a price that is at least in the ballpark. The condition you describe is typical for Lugers that carried by combat soldiers for 5 to seven years and often carried by GI's for sevral months after capture, this is speculation but was certainly very common. It is of course a Mauser (S/42) 1938 made German military contract Luger and appears that all parts, at least outside match except the mag. The grips are wood (walnut) if original and these sound like they are. It is a pistol that was there and is a great represenative example of just that. It should have strong appeal to anyone collecting WWII military items who wants examples battlefield used equipment and arms. It will have less appeal to the strictly Luger/Gun collector, most of whom seek out examples in factory new condition. Fortuniatly there are many tastes and objectives in the broad sense of the hobby and this example has a legitmate place.

11-13-2001, 11:23 AM	#4
JuergenG User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 154 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: What do I have? Folks, I'm from Germany and new on this forum. I'm not a Luger expert but I'll try to help with some informations I do have. The S/42 1938 is of Mauser manufacture. The 8.84 on the lower side of the barrel is the actual inner diameter at the time of manufacture. The FXO mark on the mag is the code for Haenel, Suhl; the 37 is the proof mark of the respective proof officer. Both together are authentic. Most all P08 can hold a shoulder stock. For a while they have been manufactured with and without the rail, but this has been standardized to "with rail" at some point in time. BTW: Mine is a byf 41 (Mauser), all matching numbers, even the mag which carries the FXO code as well. Juergen

11-13-2001, 11:40 AM	#5
66mustang Guest Posts: n/a	Re: What do I have? God to hear from you JuergenG! Welcome to the forum, make a profile, sit back and stay for a while! Post a few pictures of your Mauser and let us see her! Do you happen to know anybody that knows German Holster makers from prior to WW2? A couple of people had questions on that subject. Take care, I wish I was in Aachen and drinking some warm wine in about 2 weeks!! Ed

11-13-2001, 12:22 PM	#6
Marvin User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Upstate S.C. Posts: 1,132 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: What do I have? Juergen, Welcome to the Forum! We want all Luger owners to be regulars on this Forum and help answer the many questions that come along. This is a great bunch of folks on the Forum from several differnt countries and we welcome all. We have our disagreements sometimes, but we still remain friends here. Please come back often! Marvin

11-13-2001, 02:00 PM	#7
JuergenG User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 154 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: What do I have? 66Mustang, I'll check for info on the pre-WWII holster makers. Are you going to Aachen, or is it just a wish ? Not too far from there (Dortmund) will be the biggest arms fair in Germany from 11/29-12/02. It's really worth to go. Even Borchardt model 93's there, up from DM 22K. Juergen

11-13-2001, 11:36 PM	#8
Aaron Banned Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vista, CA Posts: 1,008 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 9 Posts	A Question for Juergen I have alwayss wondered if there are any living individuals who worked in the Mauser factory and participated in the manufacture of Lugers. There are many questions I would like to ask such an individual, such as procedures used in the repair of Lugers and late war production variations. Do you know of any such surviving Mauser workers?

11-14-2001, 03:32 AM	#9
JuergenG User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 154 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: A Question for Juergen I don't know anyone who has worked for Mauser. A good source of information is the museum in Oberndorf. They have a lot of original documentation from August Weiss. I have a Luger book by Joachim Goertz "Die Pistole 08" having some info on variations. It is mostly about German service pistols, just mentioning other variants such as 00, 04, 06 etc. aside. I'll have a look for P08 variants in this book over the weekend and post what I find. Juergen