Suggestions for a reliable shooter?

[TNSTAAFL]

Amazing to me that parts for these old guns are so readily available - with a few other older guns I have (a Star Model B, for example), parts were getting to be a problem. Also great to hear that Mec-Gar mags are available - with older guns, magazines were also a problem for me sometimes.

[G.T.]

I'm done with Joes shooter, and want to show what an under 1K shooter should look like?... best, til...lat'r...GT

[MFC]

Very nice G.T. !!!... and guaranteed to shot.
Congratulations Joe.
Enjoy.

[G.T.]

Thanks Mike, I'm excited about the range test, although the bench test went 100% something always seem to pop up dynamically at the range. The project breaks down in this way from inception to completion...
The frame came from a member of Jan Stills forum, and was described about 70% with some blems and a few spots of corrosion.
I think it is better than that, but certainly not mint or even excellent, just decent, and most important, un-altered. The only part that came with it was the take down lever retainer spring, which was a bonus, hard to find part! I had all the small parts for the frame, most all, again, not top of the line, but solid and serviceable. I did trade out some mag repair work for the safety lever, but the only, "cry and say good bye" part on the frame was the hold open assembly? They seem to be an expensive item no matter what your purchase effort opportunities, they are just expensive? The side plate and trigger lever assembly are butt ugly, but work and fit great. Not too painful there.
The top half was from a 1920 commercial, and was sporting a decent E.G. C/N barrel, but, when I checked it with several combinations of toggle assemblies, it just was not satisfactory in the head space area, so I installed a "MADE IN GERMANY" barrel that was never mounted, but showed considerable storage rash, and, as new on the inside.. Old one off, new one on! Now, perfect head space! The toggle train is pretty diverse? E.G. rear toggle I got from Luger Doc some time back, middle toggle link is a 1970's Mauser product from Luger Doc as well, and the breech block is a NOS East German manufacture. Firing pin is NOS Swiss, coupling link and extractor are both from a 1920 commercial , and ejector was from another Mauser upper i have just laying around.. But, ejectors are another part that is hard on the budget, but we'll ignore that for the time being... The grips are repro Krieghoff I've had for ever.. and the mag is a Mec-Gar new production with a G.T. Specialties up-grade of spring and aluminum bottom. Front sight is a G.T. Specialties / Millet .250" Sooooo, we're ready for the range!!! This is a Mongrel dog if ever there was one.. But it's mechanically tight and square, should work forever!... Best to all, til.....lat'r....GT

[DonVoigt]

And someone ask just the other day, in a thread, here or the other site:

"How do lugers get totally mismatched"?

Great example and thorough explanation.

[TNSTAAFL]

I'm the OP and the lucky beneficiary of GT's experience and wisdom - AND I'M A REALLY LUCKY GUY, huh? I've always admired the Luger, and tried to get there on the cheap with a Stoeger Luger in 22LR - that only frustrated me, but I still liked the Luger - enter GT and his offer to help me get to the land of Luger with a reliable, affordable shooter. "Mongrel dog" ? Well, for me, I think it's just what I was looking for - a shooter that's reliable and priced realistically - and I'm really grateful that a guy like GT was there to help me get there. Now, seeing the pics, I'm getting excited and learning more about patience, while GT puts my Mongrel Dog through the final QA testing.

[G.T.]

As I am ready for the range, I did a final inspection and finally couldn't stand it! I replaced the side plate with a much nicer one, Mauser production military. Nice blue, might be re-blued, but it is not buffed or altered... Just couldn't stand it! ..... I might replace the trigger spring as well, the new one is sooooo stiff, I think a used broken in one would be better... Best to all, til....lat'r.....GT

[kurusu]

Originally Posted by DonVoigt

And someone ask just the other day, in a thread, here or the other site:

"How do lugers get totally mismatched"?

Great example and thorough explanation.

Funny story.

Almost all Portuguese Navy Lugers were mismatched during their service time.

It was common practice to try changing parts(sideplate, trigger, sear bar and firing pin were the most common, but sometimes the whole upper got swapped) to get a better trigger pull.

Luckily for collectors(mostly in the USA, to where the bulk of them was sold as surplus). The Commander who was in charge of the deal made "his boys" put all that were possible back in "order" before delivery(I found this out recently). It was relatively easy because it was only a little less than 500 pistols.

[G.T.]

Unit performed flawlessly!!! 100% function with included up-graded Mec-Gar mag, although a standard current Mec-Gar would most likely perform the same when new... Anyway, next stop UPS and on the way to Joe! Next post on this thread will hopefully be from Joe with an accuracy range test... As I can't see good enough to make that happen with any degree of success????... Best to all, til....lat'r....GT

[AR1911]

New member here (though I apparently registered years ago) and also a Luger fan since I was a kid. One of the neighbor kids we played "army" with had a toy Luger that looked and felt like a real one. I just loved the ergo and balance of it, even at 10 years old.

Joe is my shooting/collecting partner, a good guy and a great friend. I'm anxious to see his this pistol as well. Looking forward to our next range trip so I can try it out. GT, probably will be contacting you soon

[TNSTAAFL]

My friend and shooting buddy AR1911 ("Rex") is a great guy and we've had many enjoyable trips to the shooting lease to shoot guns, talk about guy stuff, and later on eat BBQ - what could be better in life!

[MFC]

Originally Posted by TNSTAAFL

My friend and shooting buddy AR1911 ("Rex") is a great guy and we've had many enjoyable trips to the shooting lease to shoot guns, talk about guy stuff, and later on eat BBQ - what could be better in life!

It don't git no bettern at!

[TNSTAAFL]

Well, here's the final chapter in my shooter Luger story.

As I'd expect with any used gun that's been around a while, ESPECIALLY one that's assembled from parts of different guns, GT and I had to do some tuning and parts substitution, but today at the range the gun ran flawlessly and I am one happy shooter! Over the years I've purchased some cheap guns and some really nice guns - most of the new-in-the-box gun purchases ran pretty close to 100% right out of the box, as did most of the used guns I've purchased - with a few financially painful exceptions where a wanna be gunsmith substituted parts cause he knew more about guns than John Browning, or thought he did, anyway.

With this Luger being put together from parts of different guns - a "junk yard dog", as GT said - I never expected it to run 100% right away - I KNEW that there would be some trial and error work to get it to 100%, where it is today. Turned out that the problem issue had something to do with the extractor and extractor spring - but GT IMMEDIATELY shipped me some substitution parts and that solved the problem - the gun now runs like a well-oiled machine, which it is.

What really made the difference for me with this gun was GT's availability, mentoring, patience, and experience - I already knew a fair amount about guns, but almost nothing about Lugers - until I got this Luger from GT and started troubleshooting it. What could have made it a bit of a challenge was that GT and I were about 15 hours apart - so, there were a few phone calls and a lot of emails back and forth, but - AND HERE'S THE KICKER - man oh man, did I learn a lot about Lugers from GT along the way - all because of GT's willingness to work with me and teach me and stick with it till the gun was 100% and I was satisfied - which I am.

I've always been intrigued with the Lugers, and almost soured on Lugers after a nightmare with a couple of Stoegar Lugers, but with this Luger I'm really gonna enjoy shooting it cause I understand how it works and I've been up close and personal with the gun - truly, a hands on experience!

Thanks GT !!!

[lugerholsterrepair]

GT is a man dedicated to his craft. Not enough good can be said about this fellow.

[wlyon]

Jerry
I could not agree more. Bill