Another New Owner

[vicspa]

Hi All, my neighbor needed some cash and wanted to sell his 1938 S/42, I fell in love with it and bought it.
All numbers match except for magazine.
Here's a not too good shot of it. I will eventually take many close ups.
He owned it since the 50's and never fired it.

[mrerick]

Hi Vic, congratulations on your new Luger and welcome to the forum.

Marc

[tharpo]

Welcome to the Forum and it looks like you got a nice one!

[DavidJayUden]

Looks great!
Welcome aboard.
dju

[vicspa]

Thanks guys, I wanted to go shoot with it, but a guy at the gun shop when I did the transfer said I shouldn't. Any opinions? I have other guns to shoot with, but only one Luger. (so far)

BTW, I paid $1500, seemed like a fair deal for the condition of the pistol.

[alvin]

Originally Posted by vicspa

Thanks guys, I wanted to go shoot with it, but a guy at the gun shop when I did the transfer said I shouldn't. Any opinions? I have other guns to shoot with, but only one Luger. (so far)

Depends on how you view this hobby. First, the risk is you could break it in shooting. That's the reason many collectors don't shoot their items.

Personally, I bought many nice pistols from other collectors in the past. Many sellers told me that's their best one and they did not shoot it in the past 30 or 50 years. When many of those best ones came from different sources, I also put many aside not shooting due to the condition was simply too nice to shoot.. But I did pick up about a dozen of them, and fired some rounds, including some rare items. And, I did break a few of them. That's the sorry part. The risk is very real, but this is a hobby, money is not the only consideration. Shooting C&R also reveals some fact about these guns, helps you understand things on them from a special angle.

[vicspa]

Thanks for the input Alvin.

[Sky Zero]

is the side plate a different number than the safety? hard to tell

[RShaw]

Hi Vicspa,
Your story is virtually the same as mine. Sounds like you picked up a nice gun for a fair price. If the parts are indeed all matching (except magazine), from the 1 photo here it looks like you have a nice collector's piece. (The seller never fired it!). I've struggled for some time whether I want to take my first Luger to the range (I have only 1 P08... same as you, and I too have other guns to shoot). Mine is also all matching (1917 DWM) and I have decided not to shoot it. I know if I break it I will be quite upset about destroying a piece of history. SO I looked for, and found a nice shooter (1918 DWM). I have 3 months still to wait
So.... I would say.... find a shooter and have fun with that! It will cost some extra but you have freedom from fear of breaking your very first, and a nice investment / special piece for your growing collection! Would be nice to see more pics.....
PS A "shooter" is a gun which has either not all matching parts, or has some other flaw which takes it out of the "collector's piece" class, such as refinishing, obvious import mark, visible pitting or the like. I've seen photos of some beautiful shooters!!

[DonVoigt]

You are not likely to break a numbered piece on a 1938 Mauser.
If you do- chalk it up to bad luck , replace the part and you have a shooter.

It doesn't make much sense to buy a $1500 pistol to not shoot, if that is what you want to do with it. A shooter can easily cost $1000, so you could think of it as a $1000 insurance policy on a $1500 pistol- which doesn't sound like sound economics.

Or shoot your $1500 , and in the small chance you break something, consider it a $500 deductable policy!

There are some scarce, rare, or expensive lugers that maybe should not be fired- but this is not one of them.

JMHO.

[Eugen]

OP, congrats on your new Luger. She looks Nice! My opinion is to clean and lube it properly. They are plenty of videos to tell you how to do it. Plus be sure to read the FAQ section as there is a wealth of info there. Then go out and shoot at least two mags of ammo. Clean it and lube it up. Then enjoy it for what it is, a collectible Luger. Get a shooter grade Luger if you really want to shoot one regularly. That is what I did. I got a great shooter for $800 a few months ago. Actually I have two shooters now. I have two Lugers that are collectible and I want to keep them that way.

But, then the devil might just make me shoot those eventually.

[cirelaw]

Smell the barrel test!!!

[vicspa]

Originally Posted by Sky Zero

is the side plate a different number than the safety? hard to tell

same number.

[vicspa]

Thanks for all the input guys, I didn't purchase the pistol because I'm a serious collector, I am willing to take a chance and will do so in the near future and put a box of rounds through it, I have stripped it down, and it looks fine to me, after all it's 1500, not 15000.

[RShaw]

Well.... please let us know how it goes? I have understood that Mausers have excellent steel quality so you should be fine with FMJRN and no hot loads. How's the condition of the mag? You think it will take the spring pressure? Or do you have a spare?

[Major Tom]

I buy guns to shoot them. I am not a safe queen collector. My Mauser 42 1939 is in excellent shape and all matching. I also reload for all my guns.

[vicspa]

Originally Posted by RShaw

Well.... please let us know how it goes? I have understood that Mausers have excellent steel quality so you should be fine with FMJRN and no hot loads. How's the condition of the mag? You think it will take the spring pressure? Or do you have a spare?

Excellent spring pressure, wish I had the clip to help loading. will get that and extra mag eventually.

[RShaw]

Well, I'm very curious!

[vicspa]

Well I finally got to shoot it, put only 6 rounds through it and all is fine with it, it shoots well.

[RShaw]

Ahhh good to hear !!
Thank you