Help with firearms ID: Walter p-38?

[bannockburn]

flytyr232

I think your gunsmith gave you good advice though I think you could shoot it more than a couple of times a year. I would keep the loads on the light side and not over do it. The biggest problem with the late war guns is that there are a number of intangibles like the quality of the metal going into making the gun, the quality of the heat treatment, and the quality of the gun itself along with all of it's ancillary parts. I'm glad you got it inspected by a qualified gunsmith and that he replaced all of the springs. Just keep an eye on the locking block and the slide for cracks (also watch the firing pin cover on top of the slide), and have some fun shooting this wartime relic!

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Update: I got the gun back from the gunsmith. He said it was functionally okay to shoot, and did confirm that it was a late war Nazi gun. He suspects it was probably refinished (cold blued) later on. He checked the barrel, and slide for hardness, which he said was okay. He did say the springs should be replaced, so i had him take care of that.

The gun smith did warn that this shouldn't be a range to, instead maybe be taken out a couple of times a year, and shot lightly. This is due to the frame cracking issues that is common with this vintage of P38.

With the inspection and the springs replacement, i was out the door for $120, so the price of the gun has gone up. However, the gun smith did give me a certificate, saying it had been inspected, and the value of the gun (for insurance reasons), which he said was $700 (i think he added a little cushion to the value).

I will let you guys know how shooting goes, but first i need to cast up some 9mm projectiles, so it may be a couple of weeks.

Thanks for all the help.

While he may be a good gunsmith, I don't think he's a P38 expert. The issue was with cracked slides, not frames on the wartime guns. He may have been thinking of the early postwar aluminum frames. Before the hex bolt, the locking block shelf would wear quickly and could eventually lead to frame failure. I've seen a few P1 frames also with worn out springs that cracked at the bolt or trigger pin when subjected to +p rounds.

As a matter of fact, there are quite a few guys on Waltherforums who have taken "thick" P1 slides and put them on wartime steel frames to create the strongest P38 possible. Its not a drop-in swap, due to dimensional differences, and can require a bit of tinkering to work right.

With new springs, I think that one would be safe to shoot it regularly with commercial FMJ loads, just inspect the slide periodically at its thinnest points-

I agree he was probably being a bit generous as to valuation too. Really nice Nazi P38s can be had in the $7-800 range.