Does anyone turn (machine) Luger barrels?

[Blindeye]

Does anyone turn barrel blanks to fit Luger P-08's?

It's a pretty simple design (in terms of machining); I'm sure someone does it somewhere.

Thanks in advance!

Garrett

[flytrout]

I'm also looking for someone to turn down a 16 inch barrel blank for a carbine project. I know Numrich had a older 16.5 slim looking barrel, but I'm looking for a full thicker one.

[John Sabato]

Blind eye,

Anyone who can turn barrels can make one for a Luger. I sell the blueprints for the P.08 and any part you want can be manufactured by a machinist/gunsmith for a price. See the sticky post in the For Sale forum for the Blueprints.

The hard part about the standard Luger barrel is the machining of the integral front sight base into the barrel. It can be done, but it isn't easy, or cheap.

flytrout,

You can't make the barrel too heavy, or you will have a great deal of difficulty getting the action to function without using hot ammunition... and the Luger is not designed for HOT ammo. That is the reason that the 16 inch barrel has to be so slender.

[pors12]

Hi,

The Lothar Walther Company from Germany has them
in stock. As far as I know you can order 3 different length
(100,150 and 200 mm)

regards

Otto

[Ben M.]

listed in georgia state, usa

http://www.lothar-walther.com/287.php

[mystical_tutor]

I have a couple new short ones but I think they are in 7.65. Drop me a PM if they might work for you.

Gary

[Leif Thoreson]

Ben , any idea what they mean by "without chamber" ?

[DavidJayUden]

John S.
Give me your thoughts on why a thicker barrel effects the function of the action differently than a slimmer profile. Edumacate me...
dju

[alanint]

Sheer mass and weight. The action, as in most semi auto pistols, is a balance of energy overcoming mechanical impediments and the mass of the reciprocating parts. Too much mass to overcome results in an inconsistent or simply non functional system. All these factors can often be managed through compoments such as spring tention, locking/unlocking geometry, projectile energy, mass/weight of all action parts, etc.

Drastically changing one component of an already balanced system will affect it adversely.

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by Leif Thoreson

Ben , any idea what they mean by "without chamber" ?

It means the chamber has not been created yet. It will need to be bored to rough spec and I.D., then finished off with the proper chamber reamer to a depth that will yield proper head space for a round. This will add to the already steep selling price, so you'll be approaching $400--just to have a barrel. Changing it out will cost another hundred or so, and may need to happen in concert with the chamber reaming to achieve correct head space.

I'd seriously consider a heaping helping of patience while finding a good one at one of the myriad online sites available. I changed one of my 7.65 bbls to a 6" -- $100 for bbl from a forum member, $100 (minus $25 for the old bbl.) for changeover, and I'm good to go! I paid a local machinist about $50 to turn and mill a standard configuration bbl. into one with the "pencil taper", more elegant IMO., so this cost would be added to my total changeover expense. This setup actually makes my pistol work better, perhaps because of the extra weight, no malfunctions so far, though round count is quite low, to date. I agree with the above, that installing an extra-heavy bbl. greatly risks establishing problems.

I'm not saying it can't be done successfully, but when significantly changing an element in this "balanced" system, one would need to change other parts of the system to compensate. The first Luger carbines used a special, somewhat hotter round made specifically for them. This was necessary because of the extra weight of the longer barrel and fore-stock, plus the energy to overcome an extra spring, hidden within the sliding interface of upper/stock and the grip frame. Some custom loads might be in order for a pistol with a long bull barrel.

D.P.

[John Sabato]

Originally Posted by DavidJayUden

John S.
Give me your thoughts on why a thicker barrel effects the function of the action differently than a slimmer profile. Edumacate me...
dju

"Alanint" saved me the trouble. Thanks Doug.

[alanint]

I might add that in tilting barrel designs, barrel LENGTH may even be a factor. Although lighweight, an extra long barrel might put mass too far away from the tilting fulcrum, which unlocks the system. This unbalance of mass might affect proper barrel unlocking.

[Michael Zeleny]

Originally Posted by alanint

I might add that in tilting barrel designs, barrel LENGTH may even be a factor. Although lighweight, an extra long barrel might put mass too far away from the tilting fulcrum, which unlocks the system. This unbalance of mass might affect proper barrel unlocking.

In my experience, long-barreled Lugers are much more reliable than short-barreled ones.

[lfid]

Garrett,
I have a barrel that may work ok for you
I purchased it some time ago from another luger forum member

I think it was from someones abandoned carbine project and is at least 12" probably 9mm and P08 (short receiver) threaded with extractor notch cut

but does not have the carbine rear sight or sight mount collar, so is like a heavier standard profile luger barrel similiar to some of the 12" post ww1 commercial lugers
it is in the white unblued and no front sight

forum member GT offers barrel mounting and fitting services and would be an excellent way to for you resolve the fitting etc work

in any case you should have someone with needed skills do the barrel install

will look for it now in storage somewhere if you are interested

in any case good luck with your project
thanks !!!
Bill

[Blindeye]

Thanks for all the replies.
I'm interested in a 5 inch barrel, and perhaps no taper (not a true bull barrel, but simply straight).

The integral front sight isn't really an issue, as a slightly undersized collar (for the front sight),
heated and then slipped onto the barrel (with carefully hidden silver solder) works well on my hunting rifles (like the 500 Jeffery).

I'll speak to a couple of machinists I know and see what they tell me.

Garrett

[rhuff]

Garrett,

I have a 5in aftermarket barrel installed onto a 1939 receiver/barrel extension. To me, it is the ideal length for looks and for shooting. Good luck with your search.

[Olle]

I have been thinking about turning my own 6" barrel, but I can't find any reliable info on the twist. Some say that it's very important to get it exactly right, while others say that it doesn't matter much at all. So what would you recommend for a 9mm/115 grain bullet?