The story behind your most unusual Luger acquisition? (long post)

[John Sabato]

Back in 1969, while on active duty in the Arny, I was apprenticing as a gunsmith in my off time with a master gunsmith named John Dusing (God rest his soul) of Waynesboro, PA. I owe most of what I know and appreciate about firearms to him. People drove for hundreds of miles to get him to work on their firearms. If he came across a screw that had a slot that his immense screwdriver collection didn't fit perfectly, he would make a new screwdriver out of drill rod, harden it, and machine a handle to fit and add it to his collection of screwdrivers. He wouldn't take a chance that he might bugger up a customers gun. he was just like that... a perfectionist.


In two years of working for John for FREE, just to gain his knowledge of firearms, metalworking and repairs, he took many guns in trade. I had always wanted a Luger of my own since my Dad had brought back one in WW2. I told him that if anyone offered a Luger for sale or trade that I was interested.


About a year after I made that statement, a gentleman about my Dad's age came in to get a scope mounted on his new bolt action, and under his arm was a brown paper bag. After making arrangements to pick up his rifle with the new scope on it, he said that he also had this pistol that he wanted to sell or trade. When he emptied the bag, it was a 1941 byf Luger, a so-called "black widow" much like the left pistol on the Lugerforum.com patch. It was complete with one magazine that had a broken wooden bottom, a black P-08 holster, and the original belt and Nazi buckle. It was all matching parts except for the magazine.


With that stuff laid out on the counter, he asked if we knew anyone who would give him $100.00 for this stuff? John looked at me, and I didn't hesitate to pull my checkbook out of my back pocket. (that checkbook made that trip out of my back pocket as often as there was money in the bank to cover my hobby).


My hands trembled as I wrote the check. A complete WW2 Luger rig -finally. The top of the receiver and the front toggle was missing some bluing and had some fine pits in it, so I knew I would refinish it, and I asked him why it was like that he told me this story:


He had fought in WW2 and had brought this pistol back as a trophy. During a lull in the fighting after taking a small town in France, his squad were taking a break when he and a friend came across a dead German soldier who was holding this Luger. As he reached to pick it up, his friend pull him back and told him to be careful that it was not the bait in a booby trap.


(SIDE BAR: For those of you who don't know, but have heard the term "jury-rigged" it is actually "Gerry-rigged" and was coined by American soldiers who found that retreating German soldiers often left booby-traps with bait that would entice an American to enter the trap. This bait was often a pistol or some other prized trophy.)


The dead soldier's arm hung down with the weight of the pistol and a trickle of blood was running over the top of the receiver and the toggle. Upon careful inspection this vet determined that the dead soldier was indeed rigged to a nearby explosive charge and the trigger was based on removal of the luger from his hand. The two of them spent over an hour and carefully disarmed the trap and he took his prize and placed it in the holster. He was not aware that long term exposure to blood would remove the bluing, so that when he finally got around to cleaning the Luger, the blood had left a white steel streak across the top of his prize. This luger stayed in the top of his closet from the close of the war until he sold it to me that year for $100.00. he said he would rather that somebody else own it that would shoot and appreciate it than for it to still be in the top of his closet, and he would rather have the $100.00 I was glad to oblige him.


Wanting my Luger to be as "perfect" as possible, I sent it off to the blueing subcontractor and told him I wanted it's finish to look like it was a new highly polished Browning Hi-Power when I got it back. It did, and still does. all the parts that are normally strawed were polished bright and left that way. I was pleased then, but wish now that I had left it in it's original condition. If I had to sell every gun that I own, this would probably be the last one to go, but until that day comes, it is the prize of my small collection.


When I finally get my digital camera this summer I will post some photos of this rig in the owner's corner.


I hope you enjoyed this story of my favorite gun... Now how about the story that goes with your favorite Luger?


-regards,


John

[Frank]

Now that is over, how would you like to double your money. I'll give yo $200.00 for the rig !!!

[John Sabato]

[Ted]

The smell of cordite, blood and sweat hung heavy in the air! The rolling acrid smoke stung the young soldiers eyes as he peered through the haze of battle. Only faint moans of wounded soldiers muffled through the air and in the distance the faint clank of the machines of War from the retreating army. The soldier overwhelmed from the recent memories of the roar of battle, the cry of people being hit by small arms fire and artillery shrapnel stood in a daze remembering the recent senses reeling episodes of exploding shells, running and screaming people and all the other noises that made up the battle that had just concluded. Some of the smoke and haze cleared and the young soldier spied a German officer crumpled by several hits from a machine gun. He lay in an ackward crumpled heap that bespoke the violence of his death. Coming closer now���watching warily for any sign of life, the solider saw what he had long to find! A fine German pistol, or so he assumed, housed in a slightly blocky looking hard black case or holster as you yanks might call it. After certain the officer was stone cold dead, he removed the fine German pistol, glinting in the sunlight that was striving to clear the battle haze and smoke. IT WAS A LUGER, and real German Luger and upon close examination of the fine weapon, he knew he had found the personal weapon of the famous German General!! General Demeter Wilhelm Mauser!! For on the top of the toggle was inscribed the Generals initials in a fine scroll work! General DWM!!


John, not to make light of your story, but we all had a laugh about General DWM and all the phoney stories and people ignorate about Lugers that come up from time to time.

You're story is a true one and one to be proud of! I just know you are sick that you dont have it in its original condition, but you have the Luger and the story and that in itself is worth a lot! Ted

[Marvin]

Ted,


Why don't you write a short story about this Luger that belonged to General DWM. I really enjoyed this "spoof" very much. Seriously, write a short story about the war and the tales of a Lugers experience from manufacture to capture and on to the US. You could put it on the Forum in installments! You could be a great writer too!


Marvin

[Ted]

Thanks I get it from all The WWII German Book you give me! lol

[John Sabato]

You are right Rick. John Dusing, was an incredible man as well as a gunsmith.


I remember afrer a couple of years of helping him, as sort of a final test for my gunsmithing credentials (read that as HIS approval to work on his customer's guns) he handed me a roughly cut chunk of raw bar steel that was about an inch and a quarter square and a little longer in the third dimension and told me I could use only the vise, a smooth cut file, and a caliper and he wanted me to make a cube that was one inch in all dimensions! And it had to be accurate to within 0.010" !!!


I wish I still had that cube, but he kept it on his bench. I was stationed overseas when he passed away in his '80s... but I will never forget him.


I am sure your experience is comparable. He instilled in me a respect and admiration for firearms and their engineering. His particular obsession was with Colt single actions of the last century. I couldn't even have counted them all...


-John

[Milt Keller]

Don't look now mein freunds, vee haff yust been let down zee garten paths, ya?

[G.T.]

I am writing this from memory so please bear with me as to some of the facts may be in err, but this is a true story as related to me by the late Lt. Col. Lyle Kennedy who was a battalion comander in the lightning division (I think it was the 78th?) His battalion was call up late at night to secure the German side of the Ludendorf (Remagan) bridge, and the little towns on that side of the river, Erpel & Honnoff seem to come to mind, shortly after it was taken by an armour unit. At that time the Americans held less then 300 yards of the east side, and the Germans were massing for a counter attack. Col. Kennedy told me that the next two days consisted of a combination rocket/tank battle, where the Germans would probe at night and much of the fighting was house to house and hand to hand...of particular trouble to the allies were German 88's on the heights or hills surrounding the valley, the Germans would shoot antiaircraft shells down into the trees, where they would detonate above ground and shower a spray of shrapnal down on the soldiers below, it was the capture of one of these anticraft implacements that yeilded a luger rig that he aquired, it was a D.W.M. 1915 simpson rework, in a nice brown holster, with a spare Mauser mag. I documented it's aqusition, and the events that led to it's capture, and was able to purchase it from Col. Kennedy before he died. It has since become a present to my best friend, also a student of history.....Lt. Col. Kennedy received the Legion of Merit, Silver Star, and Bronze Star with three awards, this man was an American Hero! I asked him if it some times bothered him to talk about the stories he had related to me over the short time I got to know him, he replied, that he had never talked about them to anyone during the previous fifty years! I think the one thing that struck me the most, was after fifty years he was still receiving mail from men in his command, thanking him for the decisions he made that saved their lives.... when I first saw the show "Saving Private Ryan" all I could think about during the whole show was this man.....his experience was probably the same,....several times...till...later...G.T.

[Bob Egan]

Regarding unusual Luger acquisitions, in 1975 a friend of mine told me a coworker ww2 vet had a brand new condition Luger and holster which he took from a general named Matzdorf and for which he wanted 150 dollars, I told him to get it and i would give him 250. Well he got it and the gun was engraved withthe generals name, the holster was complete with a silver shield on the inner flap with the generals name, everything as new! So, he reneged onour deal and kept it for himself. He cleverly hid it in the bottom of the bedroom trash can under the plastic bag therein. Need I say what became of the gun? In disgust he sold the holster for $5o! Out there somewhere in the dump lay a brand new generals luger!

[tony k]

BTW, after I took the photo I realized she wasn't wearing shooting glasses. Said she didn't use them when hunting, but I insisted, and she has worn them when shooting ever since. At least I won ONE battle......

Tony

[Ted]

GREAT STORY-GREAT PICTURE! Congrats on both accounts-The Lady and The Luger Ted

[Marvin]

Tony,


Glad to have you contributing on the Forum. Please keep posting! The story was great and I really enjoyed it. You are lucky to have a lady like that. My wife does not care that much for firearms, but she will go shooting once in a while, but I am lucky that she "allows" me to enjoy them to the fullest, or how ,much my pocketbook can stand.


marvin

[Hugh]

Well- sorta- as most of you know when we were planning the trip to Phoenix, I succumbed to tempation and bought an expensive shop tool with OUR ticket money. My wife wanted to make he trip too (even tho she claims to have no interest in Lugers, I think she sneaks onto the Forum when I'm not around and reads some of the postings as she seems to know who I'm talking about when I mention some of you guys!)


As time drew nearer to the actual date, she surprised me one day by volunteering to stay home so that I could go. Since one ticket cut our expense in half, and GT graciously volunteered to put me up, and I told her I was going "only to look and visit, not to buy", I was able to make the trip.


As all of you who read these posts know, I bought two Navy "shooters" from Ralph. Since I don't keep any secrets from my wife, well..almost none, I had to show her what I bought when I returned, with the usual explanations of what a bargain they were and what I could do with them to make them better and more valuable. Instead of the a** chewing that I deserved, all she said was: "I thought you didn't have any money left, next year I'M GOING!"


Now , fellows, if that ain't love, I don't know what is!

(Unless, she's just given up on curing my addiction to collecting Lugers)


Footnote: TES, TED, I will finish your baby before the end of this year!

[G.T.]

I wondered how you squared that deal! Don't let go of (or should I say, try to hang on to!) that Girl!! till...later...G.T.

[Ted]

Hey Hugh, my wife is going for sure next year. Ralph made a point to tell me to bring her. She meet Nancy and Ralph on our first trip out there. I know Nancy REALLY enjoyed the wives this last trip! Next year there will be more of them. But they will certainly compare notes on us "Do you know what Hugh does.....?" "Well Ted does that too!!"\

(laugh laugh laugh) Oh well, I guess another minty Luger is worth it! Thanks buddy! Your babies are trememndous! Your grips are too! Ted

[Marvin]

Hey Guys,


I know my wife, Sherry, will go next year. She may not be a Luger collector, but she will have a ball with the other wives. I am afraid that if all these girls get together, they may go shopping and stuff they like and I may not have any money to buy a Luger. Oh well, I do have a year to save up for her to go.


Marvin

[Ted]

Well, you all have heard of the Luger/P.38 presentation story I did back in '98 to two of my best buddies and my father in law. My wife kind of had her feelings hurt because she didnt get a Luger, so I bought my first 1920 Commercial that was is really poor shape (it's the one int he FAQ section in the before and after pics for the grip cleanup) I redid it and showed it to her and told her (a lie) that I bought it to fix it up and sell it at a gun show. She started to cry and I knew why (I was going to wrap it up and give it to her for CHRISTMAS) and so I spilled the beans and presented it to her early (June) She loves that Luger and shoots it ever so often. That is her "Baby". I was lucky enough to get her to shoot with me in a couple of "couple" bowling pin matchs. She is tremendous and views all my work with a critical eya and a thumbs up or down on the work. I love her dearly and she puts up with me!!.........I guess that's fair! Ted

[Ted]

Oh great.......we are really in trouble now buddy! We DONT stand a chance! Ted