Interarms Mauser P08 Luger American Eagle

Don't know much about them but the ones that I have seen had exceptional fit and finishes. Its probably worth what you offered.

 

I remember seeing those in Gun Stores of the 1970's. They are wonderfully made, very expensive even back then. Those were made by Mauser, the FBM proof mark is Freiwilliger Beschuß Mauser.

They sure have not gotten any cheaper in times: https://simpsonltd.com/mauser-interarms-american-eagle-4-9mm-d16314/

 

.30 cal kinda takes it out of the casual shooter catagory......
Any decent 9mm Luger will run close to 2G these days, but the cheaper and much more available ammo will eventually make up the difference.
I would (and did) save up for a 9. They are super fun shooters.
Good luck either way.

 

The background on these guns is that Sam Cummings of Interarms found -and bought- the tooling for the Swiss Model 1929 in a Swiss armory in the late 1960s. He then approached Mauser to use the original tooling to make modern reissues of the Model 1929. I believe Interarms started selling the guns in 1970, as my gun was listed as an Interarms Mauser Model 29/70.

The .30 caliber guns generally sell for less than the 9mm ones. Models with the Swiss frame (straight front strap) also often sell for less than those with the P08 frame (hump at the bottom of the front strap). Models with longer 6" barrels no longer seem to carry much of a premium over more plentiful models with 4" barrels.

Interarms had Mauser produce many very limited edition commemorative models for colllectors; most of those models sell above $2,000.

The more generic models tend to sell in the $1,000 to $2,000 range, but prices can be mixed. If you are patient, you should be able to find a 9mm with a German frame and 4" barrel near the lower end of that price range.

 

I wonder how the .30 Luger and the 30 Super Carry compare ballistically? Sorry for the thread drift.

 

This article which is around shooting an Interarms 30 Luger may be of interest. Looks like ballistics between 30 Luger and 30 SC are very similar.

https://gunsmagazine.com/our-experts/the-30-luger/

 

Just a couple addendums: Mauser found that the Swiss tooling was largely obsolete and unusable. The design was based on Furrer's 1929 simplifications to lower Swiss production costs.



Once Mauser finally began production, the project was run at a loss due to higher than expected production costs.

https://www.forgottenweapons.com/the-parabellum-story-mausers-luger/

I'd buy one at the $1.5K price, assuming prime condition and a healthy bank balance. I think this version is worth owning just for the story.

I just bought a quantity of .30 Luger brass from Graf and Sons last month (I'm planning ahead for a Swiss Luger) and Lee makes dies, so while loaded ammo is hard to find, reloading is no more difficult than any similar cartridge.

If you do buy this handgun, look for a copy of this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Parabellum-Back-1945-2000-Mauro-Baudino/dp/0982560729

 

Info on 30 Super Carry, 30 Luger, 380 ACP and 9mm:

 

Per the chart from @gc70 , close-ish. If utterly different in design, the 30luger being a bottleneck and all.

The 30sc was meant to be an 80-90% 9x19 at 80% of the size, and is predicated on being used in compact pistols.

Which suggests that the notion of a Luger in .30sc is an interesting academic idea, it might be a bit lackluster in actual, practical use.

Which presents an interesting notion: Which would be better, a Luger in 30sc or a Luger in 9x17 (380)?

All of the bottleneck 30s are interesting. But, I'm glad I'm not reloading pistol bottlenecks.

 

I updated the above chart to include 380 ACP and 9mm for comparison. Looking at energy, 30 Super Carry is about 95% of 9mm, 30 Luger is 90% of 30 Super Carry or 85% of 9mm, and 380 ACP is in a different league at around 2/3rds of 30 Luger and correspondingly lower for the other two calibers..

One interesting point is the difference in maximum pressure; 30 Super Carry is about 52K PSI while 30 Luger and 9mm are both about 34K.

 

I've long found the 30 Luger to be an interesting cartridge. I always keep an eye opened for a 30 Luger, but never came across one. The only place I ever see them for sale is on the internet; I just can't bring myself to buy a used gun unseen.

Several years ago, I was looking for a replacement Glock barrel. While checking Bar-Sto barrels, I noticed they offered Glock barrels in 30 Luger. I bought one, it was an easy fit. I already cast bullets for my 327 Fed Mag, so bullets were no problem. I just size them a little smaller for the 30 Luger. Star Line brass offers 30 Luge brass, so that was no problem. I bought a set of Lee dies, and I was all set.

The 30 Luger shoots great out of the Glock. It feeds with no problems and is very accurate.

 

Those 1970's Mausers were nice pistols. I've had a couple over the years.

I do own a 9mm Sport model, which is a keeper. They were made in 1975. Less than 100 exist. They are beautiful pistols, but rare and valuable enough, that I don't shoot it. I did put a few rounds through it in the past just to check function.