hollow points for my Luger
- Thread starter robbt
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I don't know of many hp's that would feed reliably. Federal makes an EFMJ that might feed properly, but Lugers are notoriously finicky about ammo.
The Luger is NOT a pistol I'd recommend for defense.
The Luger is NOT a pistol I'd recommend for defense.
9mmBHP Federal 115 grain Jacketed Hollowpoints.
Federal sells and markets this ammunition in the "Classic" line.
If you can find some that's my recommendation and what I use in my guns for defense.
It feeds in just about all but the most finicky pistols and offers good terminal performance too. HTH
Federal sells and markets this ammunition in the "Classic" line.
If you can find some that's my recommendation and what I use in my guns for defense.
It feeds in just about all but the most finicky pistols and offers good terminal performance too. HTH
I would NOT polish the feed ramp on your Luger unless you are a qualified gunsmith. Lugers are finicky as heck, and fiddling with them makes them worse and will likely lower the value of the weapon. Pick an ammo it will feed and stick with it, rather than modifying it to do something it wasn't designed for.
While I have heard of some Lugers digesting hollow points I don't see the point of it. That is unless one were to already have a large supply of them. So far my 1938 Mauser has been 100% reliable with 115 gr. FMJ Blaser Brass and if that keeps up I see no reason to deviate. As we all know Lugers can be finicky about ammo and once you find something that works you are good to go. To me hollow points iare pushing it. Even if my Luger turns out to be 100% reliable over many rounds I would not consider it for self defense.
As to hand loading, I would go with 115 gr. FMJ starting with lighter loads working my way up until I found reliable operation. I have heard that the Luger was designed around 124 gr. bullets but comparing that to today's round is somewhat apples to oranges. If I worked a 115 gr. hand load up to a hotter load and still didn't have reliability I might switch to 124 gr. FMJ and work my way up. Of course it will be important to differentiate between reliability issues caused by load, magazine or mechanical issues.
Based on my 1938 Mauser, pretty close kin to the OP's gun I would confirm reliable operation with a factory FMJ round, work out any bugs if need be, and then create a hand load based on that foundation.
BTW, welcome to the world of the Parabellum. I had wanted one since I was a yute first seeing one watching Combat many, many moons ago. Then there was Where Eagles Dare with the prototypical Luger yielding Gestapo Major Von Hapen uttering that classic line: "Sit down, Colonel.".
As to hand loading, I would go with 115 gr. FMJ starting with lighter loads working my way up until I found reliable operation. I have heard that the Luger was designed around 124 gr. bullets but comparing that to today's round is somewhat apples to oranges. If I worked a 115 gr. hand load up to a hotter load and still didn't have reliability I might switch to 124 gr. FMJ and work my way up. Of course it will be important to differentiate between reliability issues caused by load, magazine or mechanical issues.
Based on my 1938 Mauser, pretty close kin to the OP's gun I would confirm reliable operation with a factory FMJ round, work out any bugs if need be, and then create a hand load based on that foundation.
BTW, welcome to the world of the Parabellum. I had wanted one since I was a yute first seeing one watching Combat many, many moons ago. Then there was Where Eagles Dare with the prototypical Luger yielding Gestapo Major Von Hapen uttering that classic line: "Sit down, Colonel.".
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Any discussion about Lugers is worth having! I'll get a fresh photo of my 1938 tomorrow when the sun returns.
BTW, about mags. While I have an original 1938/39 commercial Mauser mag with un-stamped aluminum base, I shoot the gun with aftermarkets. For some reason my gun doesn't want to strip the last and eight round with MecGars. They tend to be the best aftermarket overall. My gun does work 100% reliable with mags that have been sold on eBay that only hold seven rounds. These are mags made for the Aimco/Mitchell (not Mitchell's)/Stoeger. Same result on round count but with my gun and the MecGars I only get eight if I toggle the last round. Nice to have one correct mag.
BTW, about mags. While I have an original 1938/39 commercial Mauser mag with un-stamped aluminum base, I shoot the gun with aftermarkets. For some reason my gun doesn't want to strip the last and eight round with MecGars. They tend to be the best aftermarket overall. My gun does work 100% reliable with mags that have been sold on eBay that only hold seven rounds. These are mags made for the Aimco/Mitchell (not Mitchell's)/Stoeger. Same result on round count but with my gun and the MecGars I only get eight if I toggle the last round. Nice to have one correct mag.
HOME DEPOT GEORGE
Member
1938 numbers matching but it's been reblued
Sunray
Member
Can't imagine why loading for a Luger would be any different than loading for anything else. Even though the design is not as robust as other designs.
Next thing you know somebody'll say no HP's in an M1 Carbine. The OAL is important. As is the bullet shape. Any Hornady Action Pistol or Sierra 'Sports Master' bullets will do nicely. Just be careful not to go too hot. There just happens to be 125 grain HAP bullet specific data on Hodgdon's site. 124 or 125 being the supposed weight for German W.W. II ammo. Lugers are not exactly comfortable to shoot anyway.
Next thing you know somebody'll say no HP's in an M1 Carbine. The OAL is important. As is the bullet shape. Any Hornady Action Pistol or Sierra 'Sports Master' bullets will do nicely. Just be careful not to go too hot. There just happens to be 125 grain HAP bullet specific data on Hodgdon's site. 124 or 125 being the supposed weight for German W.W. II ammo. Lugers are not exactly comfortable to shoot anyway.
Hey Sunray. There just seem to be some guns that don't like hollow points. A prime example is the Benelli B76 which coincidentally has the same grip angle as a Luger. Other guns for different reasons. I think that OAL can be potentially be tweaked to compensate, but bullet profile seems to be more critical with the mechanical aspects of some guns. I have to admit that I haven't tried hollow points in my Benelli, but it admittedly remains unfired after several years. An oversight I will soon rectify.
As to the strength of a round, many of these guns are over 100 years old, and my 1938 is old to a lesser but still significant degree. Parts break. My gun isn't matching by one internal part and is therefore a shooter, but if someone with an all matching collectible gun shoots it and breaks one part he has lost a boatload of value. Collectible or not I would recommend going with the lightest load that operates the pistol as reliably as is required.
As to the strength of a round, many of these guns are over 100 years old, and my 1938 is old to a lesser but still significant degree. Parts break. My gun isn't matching by one internal part and is therefore a shooter, but if someone with an all matching collectible gun shoots it and breaks one part he has lost a boatload of value. Collectible or not I would recommend going with the lightest load that operates the pistol as reliably as is required.
Jim Watson
Member
I sure would not go polishing the feed ramp or anything else on an even halfway decent Luger, they are just worth too much in unmolested condition.
Is this your only gun that you need it to shoot hollowpoints to repel home invaders or such?
If so, you might do like I did when a 1911 was my only available gun; keep a hollowpoint in the chamber and hardball in the magazine.
Is this your only gun that you need it to shoot hollowpoints to repel home invaders or such?
If so, you might do like I did when a 1911 was my only available gun; keep a hollowpoint in the chamber and hardball in the magazine.
Up to now, I have owned about 8 Lugers. There have been TWO only, TWO, that shot reliably with ball ammo, 124 gr.
The two that I have that shoot well will only do so with -1 loaded into the magazine. Full mags make them jam. These two are both re-blued and highly polished. The six or so that would not run? All were in original finish.
I realize that this is a small sampling, but knowing how precisely Lugers are made, I'm thinking that buffing them till there's a bit more tolerance between parts might just be the best think (though I do NOT recommend doing this to a very nice original Luger).
I run hollow points through the guns that I use for self-defense, to make darn sure they serve well in their emergency capacity. Lugers are not my go-to guns for emergency.
The two that I have that shoot well will only do so with -1 loaded into the magazine. Full mags make them jam. These two are both re-blued and highly polished. The six or so that would not run? All were in original finish.
I realize that this is a small sampling, but knowing how precisely Lugers are made, I'm thinking that buffing them till there's a bit more tolerance between parts might just be the best think (though I do NOT recommend doing this to a very nice original Luger).
I run hollow points through the guns that I use for self-defense, to make darn sure they serve well in their emergency capacity. Lugers are not my go-to guns for emergency.
22250Rem
Member
My 1916 Erfurt Luger would not be my go-to gun in an emergency either. It has shown itself to be a little ammo finicky with certain rounds but fine with others. If I grab a 9mm in an emergency it's gonna be a Glock 19. When I got the Luger it had occasional feeding problems that were traced to a weak magazine spring because my uncle, who I inherited it from, had left it sitting for 20-something years with a full magazine. Put in an aftermarket mag and it feeds fine, the old mag wasn't numbered to the gun anyway, but all the rest of it's matching. I don't shoot it much because one look at the bore says its had a heckuva lotta rounds through it already. I feel that if an old Luger gets shot it should be with the type of bullets that it was designed for, and a different style bullet doesn't meet that design criteria. I've got some 124 gr. NATO-spec 9mm FMJ ammo that works well in it and I don't shoot it enough to experiment with it anymore, so that has become my go-to Luger ammo if I'm gonna shoot it.
I've reloaded a fair amount of 9x19mm in my life, but never for a Luger. I've been told they're finicky. but I wonder if that's feed-ramp angle issue, or a feed-ramp roughness issue, or perhaps a ballistics issue.
If memory serves, Lugers are remarkably strong mechanisms and tend toward "stiffness", even when not new. The sheer geometry of the motions through which the articulating parts must go in a complete cycle kinda makes me wonder if a +P, or +P+ loading might improve feeding. Just a thought.
If memory serves, Lugers are remarkably strong mechanisms and tend toward "stiffness", even when not new. The sheer geometry of the motions through which the articulating parts must go in a complete cycle kinda makes me wonder if a +P, or +P+ loading might improve feeding. Just a thought.
vaupet
Member
That is a beautifull piece, with guaranteed historic value.
You do as you like of course, but here is wat I would do:
Don't fiddle with it (changing ramp etc).
Look for standard load ball ammo, and use the gun for range and safe only.
Buy a good modern reliable (used) semi auto for EDC and HD, it will pay for itself because the value of your beautiful luger will remain or probably even climb.
If I remember correctly, toggle actions are NOT the strongest in their sort (otherwise most of todays semi-auto's would be toggle action, I suppose)
You do as you like of course, but here is wat I would do:
Don't fiddle with it (changing ramp etc).
Look for standard load ball ammo, and use the gun for range and safe only.
Buy a good modern reliable (used) semi auto for EDC and HD, it will pay for itself because the value of your beautiful luger will remain or probably even climb.
If I remember correctly, toggle actions are NOT the strongest in their sort (otherwise most of todays semi-auto's would be toggle action, I suppose)
I reload 9MM extensively. That is all I shoot, except for my SD rounds which are factory, and are tested for carry, then cycled out after six months.
My P-08 Luger shoots everything that I reload, and all the factory ammo that I've tried, no matter the bullet profile. It even shoots my 9MM LSWC 115 grain reloads. Mostly I shoot 115g or 124 g plated, round nose bullets in it, or FMJ reloads.
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