Drum beat! Pretend crazy or real crazy!

G.T. · 03-01-2023, 11:17 PM

Hi to all, if you remember last time I reported on drum magazine issues, I had installed a slightly longer ejector and it aliveated the ejection problem I was having with a customers drum mag! I thought it was cured, but in running a few strings thru the drum I still experienced very random ejection issues! Soooo, is it the drum or the Luger? Finding out proved to be much more difficult then I would have ever imagined. I finally had tried the drum in enough Lugers to determine that the problem was not with the drum.
Sooo, testing the Luger and swapping parts between working and non-working Lugers, I isolated it to the upper receiver, and then to the toggle train, and then, where do you go next! After repeating the testing several times, I came to the conclusion the culprit was the very bottom recessed lip on the breechblock!!! If it has been refinished, or worn so that there is a radius on the lip, the empty brass is coming off the extractor before it even gets to the ejector. I installed a sweet toggle train off of a 1940/42 luger and the combination worked perfectly! The I realized, I had once posted a note about installing a new breechblock into my bench testing Luger and it threw the brass out so robustly that it almost eliminated my computer screen!!!

So, there you have it, and I have to add, the only time it affects the ejection is with the drum? With a stick mag, it runs fine. The drum brings out any little problem. You need a healthy Luger to use the drum. Best to all, til....lat'r....GT

rolandtg · 03-02-2023, 12:55 AM

You always make the most interesting posts.

G.T. · 03-02-2023, 11:26 AM

I appreciate the kind words! I always give considerable thought as to what I'm going to write, and one of the prerequisites is that it be food for thought, or a knowledge sharing experience that fellow collectors, forum members, or Luger shooters can relate to?
I was thinking about what it took in effort, to reach some of my conclusions on this ongoing quest? As to date I have run about / approx. 16,000 rounds thru my bench test Luger, and another 6,000
rounds live at the range. That's where these Luger drum malfunctions and demons live and the problems I now find are in un-charted territory, AND, beginning to seriously challenge my skill sets... Still, I suit up every day to do some more polishing and tuning to give my fellow forum members a fighting chance to enjoy their investment in our hobby!
Best to all, til....lat'r.....GT..

Stu · 03-02-2023, 05:58 PM

So satisfying to be able to determine the root cause of a problem like that !

G.T. · 03-02-2023, 07:34 PM

It's more satisfying adding something, "relatively finite" (Oxymoron?)

to the knowledge base! Now if I can just retain what i've learned!

Best, til.....lat'r.....GT

Ron Wood · 03-02-2023, 07:57 PM

Oh man!...retaining what you have learned is the hardest part of advancing years. I speak from experience.

chuck17 · 03-04-2023, 08:27 PM

I agree that your posts are interesting. Thanks for all of your insight into Lugers! I recently bought one of the GT Special drum magazines but have yet to try it out. I will get it to the range soon!

03-01-2023, 11:17 PM	#1
G.T. Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Chandler Arizona Posts: 3,394 Thanks: 1,211 Thanked 3,343 Times in 937 Posts	Drum beat! Pretend crazy or real crazy! Hi to all, if you remember last time I reported on drum magazine issues, I had installed a slightly longer ejector and it aliveated the ejection problem I was having with a customers drum mag! I thought it was cured, but in running a few strings thru the drum I still experienced very random ejection issues! Soooo, is it the drum or the Luger? Finding out proved to be much more difficult then I would have ever imagined. I finally had tried the drum in enough Lugers to determine that the problem was not with the drum. Sooo, testing the Luger and swapping parts between working and non-working Lugers, I isolated it to the upper receiver, and then to the toggle train, and then, where do you go next! After repeating the testing several times, I came to the conclusion the culprit was the very bottom recessed lip on the breechblock!!! If it has been refinished, or worn so that there is a radius on the lip, the empty brass is coming off the extractor before it even gets to the ejector. I installed a sweet toggle train off of a 1940/42 luger and the combination worked perfectly! The I realized, I had once posted a note about installing a new breechblock into my bench testing Luger and it threw the brass out so robustly that it almost eliminated my computer screen!!! So, there you have it, and I have to add, the only time it affects the ejection is with the drum? With a stick mag, it runs fine. The drum brings out any little problem. You need a healthy Luger to use the drum. Best to all, til....lat'r....GT

03-02-2023, 11:26 AM	#3
G.T. Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Chandler Arizona Posts: 3,394 Thanks: 1,211 Thanked 3,343 Times in 937 Posts	Thanks Dana! I appreciate the kind words! I always give considerable thought as to what I'm going to write, and one of the prerequisites is that it be food for thought, or a knowledge sharing experience that fellow collectors, forum members, or Luger shooters can relate to? I was thinking about what it took in effort, to reach some of my conclusions on this ongoing quest? As to date I have run about / approx. 16,000 rounds thru my bench test Luger, and another 6,000 rounds live at the range. That's where these Luger drum malfunctions and demons live and the problems I now find are in un-charted territory, AND, beginning to seriously challenge my skill sets... Still, I suit up every day to do some more polishing and tuning to give my fellow forum members a fighting chance to enjoy their investment in our hobby! Best to all, til....lat'r.....GT..

03-02-2023, 07:34 PM	#5
G.T. Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Chandler Arizona Posts: 3,394 Thanks: 1,211 Thanked 3,343 Times in 937 Posts	Hi Stu It's more satisfying adding something, "relatively finite" (Oxymoron?) to the knowledge base! Now if I can just retain what i've learned! Best, til.....lat'r.....GT

03-02-2023, 07:57 PM	#6
Ron Wood Moderator 2010 LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Santa Teresa New Mexico just outside of the West Texas town of El Paso Posts: 6,923 Thanks: 963 Thanked 4,805 Times in 1,619 Posts	Oh man!...retaining what you have learned is the hardest part of advancing years. I speak from experience. __________________ If it's made after 1918...it's a reproduction

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03-02-2023, 12:55 AM	#2
rolandtg User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Hill Country Posts: 464 Thanks: 340 Thanked 249 Times in 110 Posts	You always make the most interesting posts.

03-02-2023, 05:58 PM	#4
Stu User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 449 Thanks: 4 Thanked 23 Times in 15 Posts	So satisfying to be able to determine the root cause of a problem like that !

03-04-2023, 08:27 PM	#7
chuck17 User Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Fla Posts: 27 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	I agree that your posts are interesting. Thanks for all of your insight into Lugers! I recently bought one of the GT Special drum magazines but have yet to try it out. I will get it to the range soon!