WW2 1911a1 And Walther P.38

I'm no expert, and I only have modern iterations of those guns. My Walther is an 80's version, but I assume little changed. And my 1911 experiences are not with WW2 versions.

Generally, factory ammo should be similar spec as it always was. I would not use +P rounds. Range ball ammo is also on the lower end of pressure and will likely feed better than standard pressure hollow points or +P defense hollow points.

As far as solvents, I wouldn't use anything too fancy or corrosive or exotic. I'm sure some collector will chime in with a good oil for preservation. When in doubt, I use mild cleaners on a small area first to make sure it fits not affect the finish. RemOil and BreakFree CLP is my normal go to for the actions, with Hoppes for the barrel. Considering these guns were designed at a time when grease and heavy oil were king, I'm sure motor oil would make them happy.

Again, my non expert opinion is factory range ammo, and mild gun oil for cleaning.

But I have no definite proof other than my experiences

Hoppe's No. 9, ballistol, CLP, Rem oil, or mobil 1 (or any motor oil) will be fine IMO.

I would purchase new springs and refresh them all before you shoot them. Don't rely on the decocker/hammer drop on the Walther. They've been known to break and go full-auto. That's just hearsay from what I've read so take it with a grain of salt. But I'm pretty gentle with mine. (AC41).

If you decide to try to remove the extractor/plunger/spring do it INSIDE A PLASTIC BAG.

I found this guy's videos helpful.

Can't answer the P38 question, but I have several 1911s, including a first run CMP WW1 1911. I run standard .45 loads through them all day long. If that gun didn't break from the abuse of literally thousands of Joes over nearly a century.......modern 45 ammo loaded to standard pressures is not going to hurt it. The Joes took their guns apart and dumped them in the solvent tank/parts cleaner in the motor pool half the time.......pretty sure if they survived that, a little Hoppe's #9 or anything else on the market isn't going to hurt them.

Despite being around three-quarters of a century old, using factory loadings is what those were designed for. And military grade solvents, too.
Unlike the average toaster, firearms are built to be durable, and they tend to last and last.

I believe the A1 had hardened slides and should be good to go. The earlier models had soft steel and you had to be careful with them. Like said, replace all the springs and it should be good to go for many more rounds.

JeeperCreeper said:

My Walther is an 80's version, but I assume little changed.

Click to expand...

While in profile there is little to distinguish one P38 from another,
there were several changes made on post war P38s over the WWII original design.

The slides were widened slightly (called the 'fat slide' and is identifiable by the larger number of grasping grooves on the slide)
to alleviate a very small percentage of slides cracking on the left side near the extractor.

The most important (and needed) design change was with the firing pin.
All post-war manufactured Ulm Walthers were made with a new, round shaped firing pin.
This was done to eliminate the breakage of the original square shape design.

This breakage was not itself dangerous, but when used in conjunction with the hammer drop safety
and a broken firing pin, the gun can fire when the safety is applied.

My advice to the OP for shooting the WWII P38 is to stick to standard velocity 9mm and to never use the
hammer drop feature (whether the gun is loaded or not) unless you catch and lower the hammer manually
as the safety is applied.

JT

Yup, no +P in the P38 and minimize use of the decocker.