Newbie with 1936 s/42!

Hello!


This is my first posting, good to find a Luger Forum on the �´net as well!


First off I�´ll start by introducing myself, I am 26 years old and live in Norway. Guns have been a hobby of mine for about 16 years. I have been competing with presicion rifles for 15 years, and have been active in a pistol association for 1 1/2 years now. I am employed as a graphic designer, and I study military history (mainly WWII) in my spare time.


Recently I aquired a Luger, a 1936 S/42 (all matching numbers) with original holster and two matching mags. I plan to keep it as a well maintained collectors piece, but I won�´t be able to resist shooting a few rounds every now and then. Norwegian law does not permit having more than one similar gun in the same calibre, which is a pity, as I love shooting the P08. If I�´d had a non-matching P08 just for shooting my .357 S&W 686 and .22 Unique DES 69 would start rusting fom disuse...

I was really excited my first time with it at the range, it was great to see the good old P08 punching holes right in the middle of the target. No adjusting needed at all, all I had to do was aim and fire! A few jams occured, but I suspect this was due to the reloaded 3D 9mm Luger ammo I used. Will use better quality ammo next time, I just impatiently grabbed some ammo on my way out the door...


I have seen that there has been some postings about "collectors or shooters" P08�´s here, but I just wanted to know your opinions, as I�´m no Luger expert regarding dates, rare versions, defining condition of a Luger and so on. I have pictures of my P08 in my online album:





It has not been reblued as far as I can see, the bluing has worn off a bit on the rear between the wooden grips, the original finish has been worn off some places, and this is visible in the photos. A very small part of the left-side wooden grip has broken off in the upper right corner. The strawing is not 100%.


I wonder if you could help me with some questions:


-The approximate value/rarity (I know it�´s a standard 1936 S/42, but the mags + original holster and so on might raise its value?)


-Would you recommend keeping it as a collectors piece or as a shooter?


-Is there some way to restore the wooden grips? They seem to have gotten a bit dark over the years, or should they be that way? Is it difficult to remove wooden grips without breaking them?


I would be most interested to hear your opinions about it. I hear that having one matching mag is good, and two matching mags is quite rare. The name of the owner during WWII is written on the inside of the holster flap, and I�´m currently in the process of identifying his unit and so on. It would be nice to know the full history of the gun.


Cheers,


Ã??yvind L.

Norway

[Ted]

Very Nice Luger!! GREAT photo! Ted

Added the wrong URL to my album with more pictures. here�´s the right one (I hope):


http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=1234014&a=10721454&p=36852800&f=0


Cheers,


Ã??yvind



P08 Gallery

[Dok]

and WELCOME to the Luger Forum, we hope you'll be a regular poster. I am the webmaster on the Luger Forum, and one of my jobs is to convince members (posters) to allow me to post their Lugers on the Front Page as the Luger of the Month.


Ã??yvind, your Luger is a prime candidate for a Luger of the Month, so if you decide to be a regular poster, and therefore member of this Forum, I would very much like to to display this very fine Luger on our Front Page sometime soon.


In any event, welcome to the Forum and we hope you have a great time here, we all do, and you certainly will learn a lot about Lugers here...


Regards - Dok

[Ted]

Very Nice pictures, what camera are you using! The RIG picture could be used as "Luger of the Month" very very nice. Notice in pic #10 that the weapon has a widden slot in the rear sight, nice for shooting, bad for collecting.

All in all nice and the mags and holster really add to it!

Congratulations! Ted

[Dok]

With an all matching rig like this, I'm not sure you should be shooting this. Hopefully some of the collectors on thois forum will give you their opinion of it's value, but my guess would be that this Luger falls into the "collector" category, and therefore firing should be avoided. (I know you didn't want to hear that!)

Good to have another Scandahovian aboard. I hope that you were able to purchase one of the recently surplused M1914 Norwegian 45s thru your gun club for $100 that I heard were available. What a deal.

Thanks for the response! The camera I use is a Canon Powershot S10 digital camera. I just placed the gun on a white cardboard surface with a single lightsource directed from above. One really gets good results with the recent digital cameras, the images get razor sharp with great color, highly recommended!


Widened slot in the rear sight? Arrgh.... and I who hoped that no one had tampered with this Luger... it never ends...


Ã??yvind

Thanks!


If I can contribute in any way I�´d be happy to do it. No problem, you can use my Luger on the Front Page! I have not been involved with Lugers for a long time, so I will certainly learn a lot from this forum. Congratulations on an excellent website and forum!


best regards,


Ã??yvind

Hi Tom,


No, I wasn�´t able to get hold of one of those M1914�´s. The laws regarding firearms here in Norway are fairly strict, so getting a permit to own more than one P08 and so on is difficult.


By the way, there was a great firearm exhibition at the Norwgian Armed Forces museum a few months ago, with some really nice Lugers. I�´ll see if I can find some pictures to post in the near future.


Ã??yvind

[Ted]

I sure hate to be the bearer of that bad news, I recently did a rework of a Luger that had the rear sight opened up that way (see picture) it really helps you see the front sight! I sure am sorry that yours was done that way, but thought I should tell you! Ted




http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/TedRear.jpg

[John Sabato]

will fit the Luger barrel dovetail perfectly, thought I have not tried this myself. This would match your widened and squared rear sight notch and make for a great sight picture if you shoot this Luger.


-John

Just a thought: this widened slot in the rear sight, is it just a postwar modification exclusively, or is it a possibility that such a customizing (field mod ?) could be carried out by the original owner?


Are there any pictures on this site showing how the rear sight really should look like?


I am as far as I know the third owner of this P08, the first was the german who got it issued during WWII, and then the fellow in my pistol club, who said he�´d kept it since the end of WWII. He could of course have carried out this modification.


Thanks for your responses! This really helps me out!


Ã??yvind

[Ted]

Picture! It is a "vee" notch just the opposite of the Vee front sight. One is inverted from the other! Makes it hard to see and those old grey finishes compound the problem. Not the best design! Sorry the picture is a little blurry. (Dok's Gypsy before shot) Ted




http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/rearsight.jpg

[Marvin]

Oyvind,


Welcome to the Luger Forum, we are certainly glad to have you with us and please be a regular!


I have been out of town on business the past couple fo days and just got to read your message and wanted to try an answer your questions. You do have a nice looking rig.


Your Luger appears to be in at least 93% condition and maybe a little better. It is rare to find one of this year with both matching magazines still with the pistol. Congratulations on the find.


1. The 1936 is not a rare pistol, but one in your condition does help the value considerably. The holster appears to be in very good condition. The value I will give is based on US pricing in my area (South Carolina) and I would say it is worth at least $1500.00 The pistol alone without a matching magazine would sell for approximately $800-900. and the 2 matching magazines would make the pistol at least $1200. The holster would add another $225. I assume there is a tool with it and this would give you the total value. I also may guess that a dealer at a gun show would be asking as high as maybe $1800.


2. I would definetly keep this one as a collerctors pistols and shoot it on occasions. I am a big WWII history buff also and I feel that the pistol has such historical value and monetary value that I would not use it as an "everyday" shooter.


3. As to the grips, I like the darker color. Unless they are "oil soaked" I wold leave them as-is and do nothing except take a soft toothbrush and clean any dirt out of the checkering. A VERY LIGHT application of boiled linseed oil rubbed into the wood after brushing may help a little. Since they are original and the checkering looks good, just a light cleaning is all that should be required. I like to leave as much originality as possible. It is easy to remove th egrips, but you must be careful not to break the edge near the safety lever and the lips at the top of the grips. many times they are stuck to the metal so I would remover the magazine, remove the screws and lightly tap them near the bottom, from the inside of the frame. Just don't force anything.


You are very lucky to find this rig and having th owners name on the inside really makes it a find. CONGRATULATIONS, and keep us informed on what you find about the original owner! I would appreciate any other Forum readers to correct me if they think I have made a mistake in the value.


Marvin

[BILL]

It is a nice rig. I was particularly impressed with the condition, the holster, matching mags and the history. I was going to post a note advising against shooting it much but then noticed Ted's observation about the rear sight notch. When someone files away part of a Luger it will always detract from the collector value. Since it can't be put back to 'factory' condition I can't see any problem with shooting it as much as one would like. I guess it poses a good question, though. Which has more collector value, a filed site or a correct but mismatched (or unnumbered) rear toggle?

Thanks for the input Marvin, the takedown tool is included as well, here is another view of the personal name. I have had contact with a friend of mine at the german embassy and he told me the name spells. J.Przepenski (pronounced "Pretchepenski") My theory is that this soldier was part of the 6 or 7. SS Totenkopfstandarte stationed in Drammen and Sandefjord from 1941 onwards. The surname is not native german, but is probably a family name of immigrants from former Czechoslovakia who migrated or were under the "Protektorat B�¶hmen und M�¤hren". The 6.SS Totenkopfstandarte were also training in this area prior to 1940 So far this theory makes sense, now I got to find the officer and NCO listings for these units.


Still annoyed that someone has widened the rear sight, a real pity that this was done, otherwise it would be a real collector�´s piece... well, I might stumble upon a toggle with the number "20" someday perhaps...


Ã??yvind




http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?...454&p=43689644

[John Sabato]

with your Canon S10 digital camera. I am very close to making a decision on a purchase of a digital camera. I need a good one to take close ups of my Lugers (forum content) because I don't like doing the 35mm thing and scanning them.

I have considered on like Ted's Nikon Coolpix 950 but yours certainly looks good.


thanks,


-John

[Ted]

Thanks Oyvind, your excellent "Rig Picture" has caused me to want to try your technique and photograph more of my own rigs! Ted

Hi, the Canon Powershot S10 can handle macro photography in the range 12 - 46 cm (4,7 - 18 inches) from the object. The camera I use is 1 year old, and has a 2.1 megapixel storage capacity. The newer models probably have better resolution/storage capacity. I use a standard tripod and office light for my photos, no expensive extra equipment. The tripod I use is the same tripod I use for my range scope.


I really recommend a digital camera, the guys at the store can probably give a demonstration of the properties. I have tried several digital cameras, and in terms of look/feel, ease of use and image quality I�´d give the Canon S10 top marks from the ones I have experince with. I have no experience with the Nikon cameras, but the seem very good. And the convenience, just take images, look on the LCD, Not happy with the image? - delete and take another pic! Then when satisfied, you can transfer the images in 2 minutes to the hard drive on your PC. Need hardcopies? hook up a new Epson/Canon/HP inkjet printer loaded with Photo quality glossy paper and print the images you select. No more developing expenses and insecurity of how the images turn out. New expenses are memory cards, batteries (rechargeable for the cam, but the camera drains the battery very quickly when the LCD display is turned on ), ink for the printer and paper.


You get a high-quality print at the size of approx 10x14 cm from the images stored at max. image size.


Cheers,


Ã??yvind


Here is a close up taken from a distance of about 20 cm.:




http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?...454&p=43783051