Walther P88 vs P08 Lug

I have several Lugers. Two are collector grade that I don't shoot and two are shooters. Both of my shooters were purchase in the past two years. I got one for $800 and the other for $1200. Both look and shoot great. You can find a good Luger P.08 shooter for less than $1400.

I have to consider the Luger a collector gun, not a using gun. There are a couple of reasons, but the main one is that they are unreliable. Even when they were standard issue, the Germans recognized that there were problems and reliability was one of the reasons (cost was the other) they dropped the Luger and went to the P.38. (The P.88 was never a military pistol, AFAIK.)

But IMHO, no pistol collection, and certainly no military pistol collection, could be complete without at least one Luger and, if possible, its ancestor, the Borchardt (even though the latter was also never adopted by any country). Both,, BTW, are now exempt from the NFA with original shoulder stocks, but repro stocks are still a no-no.

Jim

When East and West Germany were re-united back in the early 1990s lots of very interesting pistols came into the U.S.. I managed to obtain a Polish VIS 1935 made under German occupation and for $400 a 1940 Mauser Luger. The Luger has a relined barrel and some parts don't match the serial number, so a shooter grade gun. I've only shot Winchester White Box through it, never had a malfunction. Over the years I've seen a number of reports from folks who use WWB ammo in their Lugers and they don't have problems. There is a myth that Lugers require hot ammo, I disagree.

Jim K said:

I have to consider the Luger a collector gun, not a using gun. There are a couple of reasons, but the main one is that they are unreliable. Even when they were standard issue, the Germans recognized that there were problems and reliability was one of the reasons (cost was the other) they dropped the Luger and went to the P.38. (The P.88 was never a military pistol, AFAIK.)

But IMHO, no pistol collection, and certainly no military pistol collection, could be complete without at least one Luger and, if possible, its ancestor, the Borchardt (even though the latter was also never adopted by any country). Both,, BTW, are now exempt from the NFA with original shoulder stocks, but repro stocks are still a no-no.

Jim

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+1

Walther P88 full size.
Personally I'd stay away from the compact version of the P88 and totally ignore the P'08 luger.

I've had two Luger shooters. The only problems I ever had with "reliability" had to do with magazines, and new Mec-Gar magazines for the P-08 solved that problem. (I did have to replace a part or two, over time, but they weren't difficult to find.) Both of the shooters were very accurate guns, and one of them (a Soviet-capture used by the East German police) had horrible corrosion inside the barrel near the chamber, but it didn't bother its accuracy. I had one collectible model, as well, but eventually sold it -- the more I read, the more I realized that collecting "collectible" Lugers took more Luger-knowledge than I was ever likely to accumulate.

The Luger is a great gun and I don't think you'll regret getting one. You can probably find a pretty good "shooter" Luger more reasonably-priced than you'd expect (especially if you don't buy from a shop that specializes in Lugers -- do that for a "collectible" unless you really know your stuff!) (Don't know about the P-88, as I've only seen a few of them over the years.) I know folks always felt them to be too heavy -- but that makes for a less felt recoil.

Both the Luger and P-88* are handsome weapons, but if you're serious about using either gun for home defense or self defense, I'd get something else. If they are to be used for occasional range visits, either one is fine. With the P-88 being many decades newer, it has some of the advantages that generally accompanies newer designs..

That said, buy the one that offers you the best deal, and when you have some more $$$, look for the other. if you still think it's worth the wait.

(*Typo earlier, was 99, should've been 88.)

Redcoat, I bought a new P88 back when they were in production. This, based solely on magazine articles I'd read that proclaiming that the P88 was the most accurate 9mm pistol in the known universe, etc. I'd never seen one in the flesh, handled or shot one prior to ordering mine. It was a beautiful, obviously very high quality pistol. Unfortunately, the grip design and size, and a backstrap profile that forced my hand lower than comfortable for me, ruined it for me. I put an ad in the paper and sold it NIB without ever firing it. Apparently I was not the only P88 owner who was dissatisfied with the ergonomics of the pistol. At some point, the Compact model P88 was introduced with a frame redesign said to address and resolve the grip issues..........

Look around and you can find shooter Lugers....and every gun fancier should own one. Detail strip it down and marvel at the machining it took to make it....and you'll see why they wanted the P-38 which would be a lot easier to make.

With fresh springs throughout the Luger is pretty darn reliable if my 1916 Artillery mutt is any representative example. I shoot mostly lead 147's through it and can say it's never had a problem and is amazingly accurate. I'd not buy a collectable....get one mismatched and even better refinished as it destroys the collecting value and frees it up for shooting.

Redcoat3340

Complete your Walther collection; get the P88.

The Luger has a unique appearance, and a very different operating system, toggle, than just about anything else out there. There's also the historical aspect of a couple of world wars it was involved in. I've had one, very interesting pistol. Lots of intricate machined parts to look at.

I don't know anything about that model Walther except that it looks similar to many other full sized 9mm pistols. If you've never had one, I'd go for the Luger.

My vote is the full size P88, but I already have 2 of them:


The grip is on the larger size, so if you have small hands, it the P88 may not be the best fit for you.

I would look for Russian refinish Luger or East German police one. The grip is most comfortable of any gun I have held and it should be reliable with standard pressure FMJ ammo. I have never understood infatuation with the P88, but I do remember the retail price was insane when they were made (almost twice that of quality revolver like the Colt Python sold new at that time).