P-08 dealers

[54rndball]

I am new to collecting P-08 pistols and have in mind a military pistol under $2K. With that in mind, are their reputable dealers in this area, where you can buy with some confidence that the pistol is a good value? One I have in mind is Simpson Ltd. They seem to have a good selection.

Also Southern Ohio Gun Inc. is offering .30 cal. 06/24 and 06/29 Lugers in the $1800 range. Is this a good value? If the pistols are marked with an import mark, will that bring down the value significantly?

Thanks for any feedback. I'd like to get a good P-08 without breaking the bank and still have more than a parts gun, if possible.

[ithacaartist]

Welcome to the forum, Don.

You seem like a good candidate for a bit of advice, and you've come to the right place. World class experts, technicians, collectors, shooters, authors, importers will be encountered here.

First, remember to remain calm. Next, take a deep breath. You need to answer some further questions for yourself.

Do you want a shooter or collectible? You prefer military, but which one--Imperial, Wiemar, Nazi, or any of the foreign military contracts?

You are like a sponge, ready to soak up the knowledge, so take advantage of the forum, which has lots of topics to search thru. Buy some collectors' research-quality books, and read through them. There are some classics which, though a little dated in their content, are still an excellent and affordable first step. The more you pay, generally the better the book.

Simpson's is a reputable dealer, for sure. There are others. Checkpoint Charlie comes to mind. A good dealer stands behind what he sells, for which you basically pay in their full retail prices. It's like buying insurance, I suppose.

Once you narrow your focus onto what you want, a WTB posting in that section often loosens up a pistol someone is ready to sell. If you run into one in a gun shop or in an online auction, take/get lots of pics of it and post them here to assist in getting it evaluated and discussed here on the forum.

Some have nicknamed this Luger U., and I have enjoyed giving the propeller on your Luger Freshman Beanie perhaps its first spin.

[54rndball]

Thanks Ithacaartist! My next question was about what good reference books are there on military lugers? My area of interest would be WW1.

[DonVoigt]

Hi and welcome,
for Imperial lugers, buy Jan Still's "Imperial Lugers", it is one of a four or 6 volume series, but is great and stand alone for the Imperial Lugers.

Expect to pay around $200, but it can save you much more on the first luger you buy!

Also go back and read ALL the posts here on the P 08; it will take a while, but be worth while.
You will learn that buying a "good" luger at a fair price is not quick or easy. You might get lucky, but more likely you will pay too much for a pistol with problems(experience talking here!)

Don't be afraid to ask questions here, but first learn the things you need to observe and record on a luger as information and what pictures to take.

You have two names of dealers, I'll add Legacy Collectables, they also stand behind their sales.
You will pay more from one of these dealers, 20 to 50% more than if you buy directly from a collector, or from someone here with something to sell.

You can get a very nice condition, collectible luger for less than $2k!

The "average" luger market is a little soft right now, I attribute it to the time of year- I've snagged some deals on the online auction sites- BUT you can get burned, so ask here about any potential purchase. Just be aware that others are after the good ones too!

[Lugerdoc]

54rb, I believe that the SOG Swiss lugers are a good value, but remember that Swiss military lugers are chambered in 7.65mm Parabellum, so if you're looking for a true PO8, 9mm with a 4" barrel, these may not be for you. TH

[mrerick]

The Swiss guns have been dropping in value recently, probably because their supply exceeds demand in the USA.

Start out by getting the PDF DVD of Sturgess' book "The Borschardt And Luger Automatic Pistols" from Simpson's Ltd. It's a very good buy, and is the most comprehensive study of a firearm I've ever seen.

This detailed reference material may be more than you can initially deal with, so also consider one of the older overviews like John Walter's "The Luger Story". These are out of print now, but can be obtained used from a variety of online sources.

You need to determine what timeframe you're most interested in. WW-I, WW-II, Weimar Germany, Swiss, Commercial Police, etc... In my case, I started with an interest in WW-II Lugers from Mauser. These were 9mm guns, and reasonably available, well within your price range.

Determine if you want to shoot it or collect it. I generally don't shoot collectible guns because breaking a numbered part greatly reduces their value.

Read a lot before you buy anything.

Simpson's Ltd. is a reputable dealer. I know and respect Bob Simpson.

Checkpointcharlies.com also has a good reputation.

Retail prices are generally about 30% higher than direct collector to collector deals, covering the cost of overhead and inventory.

[Sergio Natali]

Don (54rndball)

I would advise you to read a lot, but also to look for a cheap rusty mixmaster just to get first hand experience, get accustomed to it, take it down and reassemble a few times, that would be the best way to understand how a Luger works.
Welcome to this Forum.

[Edward Tinker]

Read the stickies here on the forum (under sub-forums, the ones at the top)
http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthread.php?t=6937

Old books with old info but still interesting - Datig, Jones, Kenyon

Imperial Lugers was 'essentially' replaced by Central Powers by Jan C Still - it is now sold out by Jan, but you can still find it.

Best advice given is keep calm - there are more lugers out there than you'd think, especially in the collecting world.

Ed

[DavidJayUden]

There is a dealer calling himself misterluger who usually has a good assortment and at semi reasonable prices.
Check his web site.
dju

[alvin]

$1800 should be able to find a nice gun. $800 is hard, but $1800 should work.

If you want good price, you cannot just monitor Luger dealers. Luger dealers knows Luger market better than you. Check local gun shops, especially those gun shops mainly selling American C&R guns. Those people are familiar with Colt and S&W, their European pistols could be cheap (but they only occasionally have one or two).

[Arizona Slim]

First of all let me welcome you to the forum 54rndball, as was mentioned above, you came to the right place for the information you are looking for. Another suggestion that should be of help as to what price you can expect to pay for a nice shooter or collectible Luger would be to check some of the major auction sites such as www.rockislandauction.com or www.jamesdjulia.com, once there you may have to create an account to access their prices realized for past auctions, I'm not sure about that. Then go to Auctions & Events, click on Past Auctions, then Search Catalog, type in Luger in Keyword, note any pistols that you may be interested in and note the Lot#'s, then click on Prices Realized and that will give you a pretty good idea of what the current prices are. Good luck in your search.

Lon

[Maestro]

i prefer to buy, sell, trade with members here... check out current list of Lugers for sale by George Anderson http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthread.php?t=34629

[cirelaw]

I would check with George Anderson. His list contains almost every type of luger. I've purchased 6 over the last four years. Equally important he includes the lugers' history including regimental background and stands behind what he sells. My last was a rare 1914 DWM artillery. He can be trusted and has a great available inventory at hand! Eric I trust none other!!!

[Arizona Slim]

Originally Posted by Maestro

i prefer to buy, sell, trade with members here... check out current list of Lugers for sale by George Anderson http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthread.php?t=34629

As do I, however, no matter who you prefer to buy from it is important to know the approximate value of what you are interested in buying, especially true for a first time buyer from someone he has never dealt with before.

Lon

[alvin]

Besides dealers, local gun shops, and members, there is another popular source -- auction houses.

RIAC Regional is coming, take a look (avoid those PRF marked gun, those are totally redone. NPRF marked gun is case by case), search the word "Luger", you will see about 80 of them.

http://www.rockislandauction.com/search/aid/1026

The negative part is the 15% buyer premium, but that's controllable. e.g. your budget is $1800, remove $50 shipping cost, $1750 left, divided that number by 1.15, you have $1521. If found something interesting, max bid is $1500 and control your bid within that, then your max total cost will be $1500 x 1.15 + $50 = $1775.

[Pistole+Parabellum]

http://jamesdjulia.com/James D. Julia Auctioneers is another one to catch!!