School me on Lugers please

[Messenger Guard]

My uncle is having flashbacks to his childhood and wants one. It seems my grandfather tried to bring back a Luger he "acquired" on the western front. Despite the idea that WWII afforded the opportunity to bring back anything you acquired, my grandfather was forced to surrender his Luger before boarding a troop ship home. My uncle has retold the story enough and wants a Luger. He has looked at Stoegers. He nearly got a 1914 "Death's Head" (sounds impressive). I'm not wanting to see him get burned. What should he look out for? Will the Stoeger be good?

 

[Rembrandt]

http://www.simpsonltd.com/

Give these guys a call....last time I was there they had over 600 Luger variations in the "Luger Room"...very knowledgeable folks.

 

[JTH]

I've been looking around for a high capacity 9mm Luger. I have a Norinco Tokerev, which is a fairly decent pistol if you keep it clean and lubed but low capacity single stack mag. I purchased it back in the mid 90's NIB for $110, they're double that now.I've looked at Stoegers and it gets good reviews as a quality weapon but too big for a CCW, so might as well go for the Stoeger Cougar 8000 in a 45ACP. The Stoeger is about $100-150 less than say a Glock19 but mags are pleantiful a not too expensive. If I buy another pistol I want to eventually have 5-10 mags. The 9mm Luger ammo is reasonably priced for ball and ammo but I'd want a pistol that could handle +P HP's, that's where the 9mm ammo goes up in price. I've tried to keep most my weapons to a common caliber 7.62x39 for my SKS and AK and 9mm for my Tok and Fugly Hi-Point carbine, still may purchase a Draco AK pistol. I have a lot of ammo, purchased when it was really inexpensive. Not being very knowledgable about the variants of 9mm ammunition, for a good while I thought 9mm was one fits all, wrong! Still Luger ammo is relatively inexpensive in the ball ammo compared to 45ACP though. Use ball ammo for plinking and +P HP for SD.
JT

 

[451 Detonics]

Schooling someone on Lugers would be like the equivalent of a BS from college. There have been hundreds of books written on them.

The Stoeger American Eagle guns are well made but don't have any historical flavor. They are modern reproductions and were made by Mitchell. They have a so-so reputation for function.

Best bet is to contact Simpsons as linked to above and talk to them.

 

[Shear_stress]

I've been looking around for a high capacity 9mm Luger

The OP's looking for a Luger Luger, not just a pistol chambered in 9mm Luger.

Schooling someone on Lugers would be like the equivalent of a BS from college.

Very true.

Some of the cheaper options might be Russian or Finnish captures or commercial guns in 7.65 Luger. You might also look at the Swiss-made Mauser Lugers imported by Interarms in the 1970s. Though very well made, these lack any historical value and so tend to go for a lot less than other variants. Many are still new in the box.

 

[aka108]

I owned a Swiss pattern Mauser built Interarms Luger. Very nice looking piece of machinery. Also very ammo sensetive and not something you would ever consider for a personal defense weapon. The novelty of ownership wore off so I sold it.

 

[Slamfire]

my grandfather was forced to surrender his Luger before boarding a troop ship home

REMF’s have existed at all times and in all periods of the military. I have heard a number of stories from WWII enlisted where REMF Officer’s stole war trophies from combat enlisted men. They would call an inspection, make the men empty their duffy bags, and take what they wanted.

I suspect that is where that Luger went. REMF’s stole Zeiss binoculars, neat war photos, camera’s, you name it.

Swiss pattern Mauser built Interarms Luger

If this is the same, I remember seeing those in the 70's. Beautifully built pistols. About twice as much as a Colt M1911 of the era. I really doubt prices have fallen since then.

The last Lugers I saw that came into country were Russian capture rebuilds, and they still wanted $400-500 for them.

Got to shoot one. Barrel was pitted but it worked.

On television shows of the 60's, Lugers were the quintessential Evil Guy gun. Fashionable Evil Guys always carried Lugers. The gun looked sharp, the Evil Guys looked sharp, I think all the black suit/black glove visibility of the thing, and the fact that it was a primo carry back item for the WWII generation, Lugers have had and still maintain a high price.

Good luck finding one. Carry big bags of money.

 

[Messenger Guard]

Slamfire, you have the jist of what happened. My grandfather said they were ready to board the troop ship and an officer called for an inspection of contraband items. My grandfather was forced to leave the Luger behind. The real shame was he had acquired it fairly, earning a bronze star and having the previous owner make the ultimate sacrifice for Der Fatherland.