Initial impressions (and one huge question): Mauser Parabellum 06/73

[uhlster]

Greetings all!
Finally picked up what I have been wanting for quite some time. A LNIB 9mm 6" Luger!

I have owned a 1914 DWM in the past, so I am familiar with the platform and I consider myself pretty knowledge'd up on the history of wartime/interwar/commercial/postwar etc.
My DWM was like driving a classic car to work everyday. I loved it. It had the history, the charm, the character... but I like to shoot and I was waiting for the day the value would be hurt over something breaking. Plus the trigger was so/so, it had some issues, and really I always wanted a Navy or Artillery variant with a longer barrel... so I eventually sold it (dang things are just worth too much and I've got a family).

Since I could never afford a decent Navy, I jumped on this when it came on Simpson (I think I bought it the day after it was listed). That emotional connection was just there. I was going to get a new P210 with the money (funny how that works). I paid what I felt was market value; steep but fair. From what I gathered, the 9mm German grip styles are swiped up rather fast compared to the Swiss style or .30 Lugers. The gun itself seems as if it was never shot or maybe just test-fired. Original mag but unfortunately that is it (no box, tools, papers). Sadface. Oh well, I can acquire those in time. Compared to the P210, this is a single stack good ol' fashioned hand-made accurate 9... right!?

This one I noticed didn't have the typical Mauser proofs or "Parabellum" on the left side, instead has the Ulm stuff and the left side is blank. Was this for the European market originally? I'm guessing it was made in 1973.

Anyway, one HUGE question.... what can I do about these GRIPS! Ugh! I have a large hand (I can handle a Mark 23 easily) but c'mon, what were they thinking?! I feel that is this iteration's only downside. Lets compare it more to a sharp 2x4! I have read here that some members either cut-down and re-texture, but I'd rather not harm the originals if possible. Seems most here have the Swiss variant. Are there any other options for my 06/73?? Buy some orphans for sale from someone, and cut those down? Any plastic re-po's on eBay ever? Could I make some old VoPos or wood ones work at all?

Thanks for the help. I'll post a more detailed shooting report soon. The trigger and sight radius is amazing compared to my old DWM. Pics below for you. My best-
~Uhlster

[DonVoigt]

Welcome to the forum.
Nice 1970's Mauser luger; but it is not a "navy", though it does have a 6" barrel.

The Mauser 1970's grips are different from the originals, and held in place a little differently on the inside. You could find another set of Mauser grips and work them down to suit, or have someone make you a set of thinner grips.

[uhlster]

Thanks Don- correction “Navy style, minus the 100/200 rears & the stock lug”

[DavidJayUden]

IMHO you have the finest shooter Luger out there, it encompasses it all. But I agree on the grips. We have several members who have reshaped and re-checkered them to be more round than square, which is all this gun could possibly need. IthacaArtist David and a couple of others have done it. Contact them.

[mauro]

Hello Uhlster,
Congratulation for your nice acquisition.
If you want to have more information about your pistol you can visit:
http://www.lugerlp08.com/the%20artil...parabellum.htm

A Certification Service based on the original Mauser Ledgers is available and maybe of interest to you for your excellent Mauser Parabellum.
Please have a look at:

http://www.lugerlp08.com/mauser%20pa...tification.htm

If interested you can contact me: mauser.archive@gmail.com

Cheers,
Mauro

[rhuff]

I own a twin brother to your new Mauser......I love it!! Mine makes it to the range quite often, and I only wish that I could be as accurate as it is!!

I was unhappy with the grips, so I set out to purchase another set of Mauser Parabellum grips to modify, and keep my originals as they are. Well, new/good/poor Mauser P08 grips were just not available for purchase......believe me, I looked hard. To make a long story short, I sent my grips to Hugh Clark(now retired) and he corrected the profile and recheckered them. He did a beautiful job, and now they not only look perfect, they feel perfect. Huge difference.

Perhaps you could get Jim Solomon to build you a thinner pair, or re-profile yours, I can't say. Congrats on your new Luger, now run some rounds through it and give us a report.

[uhlster]

Thanks for the responses to the grip issue. I will be in contact with Jim Soloman most likey. Mauro- I will get it certified , although this model might not be in the Mauser records from what I am reading on your pages? Since it is 9mm and all...

Anyway, went and shot her today! Ran about 150 rounds of Herter's "Select Grade" Brass 115 grain from Cabelas. I figured this would be decent ammo to start with... maybe I was wrong.

The Good: it is accurate. Once I got a hang of the sights (dang indoor lighting was almost hard even for my young eyes to see well), the bullet went exactly where I wanted. first 6 shots as you see below, were pretty much within one another at 10 yards. I am high and to the left, which is just my finger learning the gun. Also had more than 3 people come look at it and tell me about their own Luger experiences. None really understood the Mauser Interarm variant I had, which was fun to me to talk about. The grip issue sorta went away during shooting- my hand seemed not to care much when it came down to firing the weapon, although it was sharp and def had some sore spots after. Maybe I wont fix them

The Bad: I didn't go 2 or 3 rounds without a FTF . Although, honestly, I expected issues as I had them with my other Luger, but not THIS bad. Part of me thinks its the mag, but more likely the ammo? The mag seemed to have a great spring, and it ejected each time with so much force that it caused the plaster ceiling to crumble down on me in my booth. The gun is 50 something years old, and LNIB, so I am not sure if the toggle/main spring just needs to be "broken in"? Rounds just weren't getting caught by the toggle as it rarely went all the way back as it should. Had issues with the hold open also, as that didn't always engage. I'd have to really pull back to have it engage.
The following round most the time would be caught near the end of the brass case, or in the middle, and forced up into the breech but wouldn't seat properly and get stuck, so I either had to pull the toggle and shake the round in, or pull the toggle and catch a new round. Other times it just missed to capture the next round completely. Thankfully with the loaded chamber indicator, I knew if that occurred without having to inspect it. The gun worked fine around the last 2/3 rounds of the factory mag, but 4+ loaded and those had issues each time. So I found myself just shooting 3 rounds at a time, with hold open issue most times.

The Ugly: the brass casings were pretty mangled, with scrapes and dents in places I wouldn't expect. I can take pics of them if you are interested. Also the right grip panel is not loose by any means, but clicks around during/after firing which is kinda annoying. Ugly side of them not mating these grips properly with the frame.

I plan to buy new Mec-Gar mags and try those out. I'll also try out other ammo options, and I'll research around what is working for others. Besides maybe keeping the toggle open during storage to compress the main spring, not sure what else I can do on my end to fix the FTF issues. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[DonVoigt]

I'd recommend you try again with Winchester white box or Mag tech or Blaser brass or S &B ammo, all 115 gr. loadings.

The problems you report are often linked to "weak" ammo. I have no idea who made or makes the Herter's private brand.

Try at least two brands before you blame the pistol.

Do be sure it is oiled well.

[DavidJayUden]

Agreed. Sounds very much like the gun just needs a bit more back-pressure on the toggle to operate correctly. Clean and over-lube it, experiment with different brands of standard velocity ammo, grip the gun tightly, etc. And shoot it a lot.
dju

[mauro]

Hello Uhlster,
Yes the 9mm ledger book is incomplete therefore it is not always possible to locate a pistol in the production book. However, plenty of others production information and the entire set of original blue prints are available, therefore a nice certificate can be released. Please contact me anytime.
Cheers,
Mauro

[Sergio Natali]

Beautiful gun, here some people are starting to collect that sort of lugers.

Nice grouping, but FWIK lugers should be used at the range for target put at a distance of at least 50 metres.

[rhuff]

As mentioned above, Lugers like to be clean, and well lubed. Many are ammo sensitive also. I have had very good luck with PMC 115gr FMJ ammo in my Lugers. WWB works well also. The Remington, and all of the Russian steel cased ammo produces dismal performance in my guns.

These Lugers are prone to do "a number on the spent brass" during the ejection phase.....not a big deal. I am a handloader, so I have looked the brass over carefully. With a minimal of straightening, this brass can be reloaded quite successfully.

I had our own GT(on this forum) re-spring(with his special springs) a few of my mags, including Mec-Gar and the original Mauser mags. His springs have my mags working great now.....just a thought.

[uhlster]

I had cleaned & lubed it prior to the range, but copy all the suggestions, and will follow up after another session with recommended ammo.

So I am sort of upset about how Mauser decided to handle these grips. As previously mentioned my right grip was slipping around ever so slightly, well, today I removed them and found an issue. The right grip's hole had worn back & forth, cracked the wood even, is surprising as the gun did not appear to be fired when I got it. Is this a common issue? It is discouraging and I am debating contacting the seller as this issue wasn't disclosed, or apparent when I purchased it. Sigh.

[DonVoigt]

Yes, that is typical of a '70s mauser that gets shot.

Next the grips will crack from the hole, you can "fix" them by making the hole larger, filling with epoxy and re-drilling the hole. Or better yet, use release agent on the frame and pin and put the grips in place and tighten them down.

These '70s Mauser lugers are not the epitome of luger development, though some think they are "the best". JMHO

[uhlster]

Thanks Don. I wont be doing any of that... I'll sell while its still OK and let someone else tinker with it.
I ordered some plastic 1929 style Swiss grips, I wonder if I hole those out, if they would hold up, being polymer and all?...
I know they wouldn't exactly match the German style frame, but there aren't many other options.

[DavidJayUden]

IMHO that grip issue is minor and not a deal breaker. Luger grips are usually problematic on most, if not all, shooters, and sooner or later you find yourself filing, filling, gluing, taping, padding, washering, dremeling, or otherwise slightly modifying them to fit correctly.

[HerrKaiser]

I’m with them. Good repro grips can be had for around $100-$150. It’s not a big issue and that gun is a beautiful shooter with that 6” barrel. I’d hold onto it and get the grips fixed up how you like them. My shooter is a 37 Mauser with Finnish M23 plastic grips.

[uhlster]

Originally Posted by HerrKaiser

I’m with them. Good repro grips can be had for around $100-$150. It’s not a big issue and that gun is a beautiful shooter with that 6” barrel. I’d hold onto it and get the grips fixed up how you like them. My shooter is a 37 Mauser with Finnish M23 plastic grips.

From all I am reading, there are no repro grips for this "06/73".

Basically Mauser took the straight 1929 grip style, simplified production by holding them in place with these pins "29/70", and eventually added the "German hump" for this model "06/73".

Thus I can either mend the one I have, buy another factory pair (which apparently is rare/expensive), or use an original straight Swiss style and live with the missing gap on the hump. Are there others who have drilled holes in Swiss style grips?

[DavidJayUden]

From what I can tell Interarms marketed the Parabellum in both the Swiss and traditional P08 patterns. Yours is the P08.
Contact our LugerDoc regarding grips as he bought out the remaining stock of parts years ago.
dju

[rhuff]

Originally Posted by DavidJayUden

From what I can tell Interarms marketed the Parabellum in both the Swiss and traditional P08 patterns. Yours is the P08.
Contact our LugerDoc regarding grips as he bought out the remaining stock of parts years ago.
dju

David,

Unless things have changed/improved, LugerDoc does not have any 06/73 grips. I searched high and low for another pair for my 06/73 to no avail. Due to this, I sent my grips to Hugh and had them "corrected". Repairing that right grip elongated hole is really a minor thing, unless one prefers not to do it.