Could be my first, assist needed

[rlelvis]

Hello all, I am new to this forum. New to Lugers also. I have read allot already here but am still completely lost on the piece in question.

It seems that this has been â??scrubbedâ?? of almost all markings and refinished at least once if not twice. There is an RC on the left side of the bbl base (very faint), std DWM on top of the action (sharp and clear), faint remnants of a proof on the right side base of the bbl (to little to make out), and the top of the chamber is completely smooth with no indication of any dates or marking. The frame has a three digit (?serial?) number (3xx) and the bbl has two numbers on the bottom one four digits (67xx) and the other is a three digit but not readable. There is also some writing under the safety. (see pics for details)
The frame has some pitting that has been blued over. The mag is in good condition. The bore is clean and has no visible pitting and potentially some light frosting though I have not cleaned it thoroughly. The wood is in good condition with what I would consider normal usage wear.
Overall the metal finish is good, maybe 40% on the frame but 80-90% on the rest of the gun. The action is very tight but smooth.

Pictures attached;

full set of pics posted at this link on photobucket
http://s40.photobucket.com/albums/e237/rlelvis/lugar/









(BTW the speeling mistake was intentional to see how it will serch in Photo Bucket this way)

Any input would be appreciated as this was offered to me on a â??make me an offer basisâ?? and I want to be fair on the offer. I am sure whatever it is will be accepted. Anything you have to offer about this piece from age - to refinish - to numbers - and writing identification would be helpful. I also need some suggestions on price, I consider this a shooter and not a collector for the simple reason it has been scrubbed. I was thinking in the $150 to $250 range but may be way off. There may be something about this piece that I have yet to learn that makes it unique.

Also I would like to know what I can use to clean the wood. Buy it or return it I would like to clean the grips. I was thinking a medium tooth brush and a mix to 2:1 BLO and Mineral Spirits. Scrub them well but gently then wipe of as much as possible. If this is a mistake based on the original finish please advise.

Thanks in advance for any input on this Luger as ALL info, no matter how basic, is valuable to this novice.

[Ron Wood]

Kind of a cool piece. It has a 1908 Bulgarian frame. A fairly good sized lot of Bulgarians came in to the country in the '60s and a bunch of them were parted out. This gun is a collection of parts. It looks to be in pretty good shape and should make a good shooter. Shooter Lugers usually fall into the $400-$600 range depending on condition, how many parts match, model, etc. Your offer is a bit on the low side but who knows? The grips look pretty good for their age and I don't believe you should clean them if you plan on returning the gun. After you have bought it that is quite another matter. There are a number of posts on cleaning grips and a few minutes of using the search function should bring some of them up.
Good luck

[lugerholsterrepair]

Ron is right on the money so to speak. The grips almost look to be plastic...Lift up the extractor and see what it written on it.

Jerry Burney

[rlelvis]

Thanks for the help. I did not realizethat a parts gun would be worth that amount. I have been looking for a while and they are always out of my price range, the much even for a parts gun explains the market.

I will check the grips but am syure they are wood; even the checkering patern shows the tooling marks.


Again thanks for the info.

[lugerholsterrepair]

Lift up the extractor and see what is written on it.
Jerry Burney

[rlelvis]

Could the markings have been obliterated durring rebuild/refinish or am I missing something?
The side of the extracter is marked GELADEN and there is what appears to be a U or half a 0 under the extractor but that is it.

Grips are wood, no question about it. They are slightly larger then the frame, front and rear overhang of about 1/16 inch +.

If I am not mistaken the RC on the bbl indicated an Erfurt/DWM rebuild or modification.

Also where might I look for info on the Bulgarian frame, history use of Lugers produced, etc?

Thanks Bob

[Edward Tinker]

Bulgarians are one of those areas discussed in few ooks. Little information here an there. I know that Walters in "The Luger story" discusses bulgarians and many other types.


Ed

[rlelvis]

You are correct about there being a little info out there. Internet searches return almost nothing. If I decide to purchase I will look for printed material.

The bottom line opinion looks to be if I give him anything less then $400 I would be cheating him.

Thanks for the help and time on these questions.

Bob

[Lugerdoc]

Bob, Your grips are probably the standard post 1914 PO8 replacements and would definately overhang an earlier M1908 frame without the stock lug. If you remove the grips, you will note a hole drilled in the lower rear for a lanyard loop. If you decide to add this, I do have a few set of original M08 Bulgarian grips available starting @$50/set. hellerarms@webtv.net

[rlelvis]

lugerholsterrepair

what is the significance of what is on the extractor? Are they prone to breakage? If so would this be a replacement?


Lugerdoc

Thanks for the offer but I have added 7 new C7R's in the past two months and a pre 64 win 94 so funds are tight as well as the wifes enjoyment of collecting. LOL Will keep it mind though; maybe one day

[Ron Wood]

Jerry was wanting to know if the extractor was also donated by the 1908 Bulgarian. If it was, the marking would be in Cyrillic. I am sure it is not a replacement and I expected it to be marked GELADEN, since the toggle was marked as DWM rather than with the Bulgarian crest. The frame of your gun is Bulgarian, and I believe the receiver is also even though it has been scrubbed of its markings The barrel and toggle assembly have been replaced.
If the funds aren't too tight I hope you can pick this one up. It is just unique enough to be special and you can shoot it without being concerned with breaking a valuable matching part.

[rlelvis]

I think we have made a deal on it and it does shoot well thought I did frind some frost and minor pitting after cleanup.

I thank everybody for their help. I always wanted to pick one up but never had the funds when I found them or for what they were asking.

Thanks again and good shooting