Knockoff or real 9 mm Walther P38?

[DSCITCHR]

Can anyone tell me if I have a real German made Walther P38? This one has confusing markings.
Markings include P38 Cal. 9mm 797 and an F in red under the safety on the left hand side.
9/62 on the slide on the right side and Made in West Germany above the trigger guard on the right side. Behind the trigger guard on the right side is a 66 with a set of antlers? Above a German imperial eagle above the letters IN
The gun digest guide I bought says this has to be post WWII and it is marked made in "West" Germany (and there sure wasn't a "west" Germany prior to WWII). but the waffenfabrik is really throwing me off. It also has that wooden grip.

 

[dfariswheel]

There are no "knockoff" P-38 Pistols.
They were all made by Walther, Mauser, or Spreewerke during WWII, and exclusively by Walther or in France under Walther license after WWII.

Your Walther is a post-war P-38 with an aluminum frame, made in 1962.
The Eagle mark is the post-war West German stamp.
The original checkered black plastic grips were replaced with after market wood.

 

[DSCITCHR]

Thank you. That's a start. That means I was 13 years old when it was made. I have a S&W special 38 ctg. that I think is older than me. How did you find out the age? I go to the manufacturer and can't get any information and run all over the internet. This is the best site I've ever found.
I'm trying to set up a record for all the guns in the house. I have a habit of buying things at garage sales and don't really know what I've got. (My husband says I'm just lucky because the only one I think I paid too much for was a Universal knock-off M1.) I just retired and am getting educated. Thank you so much.
Any idea how much to insure it for? It and the M1 are the only ones I haven't been able to price yet.

 

[DPris]

The "S&W Special .38 CTG" is not a model designator.

You have a Smith & Wesson that fires the .38 Special caliber. CTG is an abbreviation for cartridge used on many models by S&W and Colt. You're reading the caliber stampings on the barrel, not the model.

Your true model designation, if made after 1956, would be stamped on the frame in the area just under the barrel on the left side exposed when the cylinder's open.

If made in 1956 or earlier, there won't be a model stamped there.

There's no way whatever of giving you a value on your Smith, you gave no info to help.
It could be one of three different frame sizes, could be a 5-shot or a 6-shot, could have adjustable sights or fixed, could be a target piece or a pocket snub.

Condition matters greatly.

If you can post clear photos, that would help.

Otherwise, need a complete description, with model markings if any, number of rounds it holds, barrel length, sights, blue or nickel or stainless, and so on. Serial would help determine age.
Denis

 

[owlhoot]

The marking on the slide tells when your gun was made. 9/62 (Sept. 1962)

Your gun may be a commercial model sold originally in this country. Retail on this gun in the early 60's was around $125. which was a high price in those days.

Many p-38's like yours have been sold in this country over the past 25 years as surplus German police weapons. Consequently there are a lot of these post war versions of the P-38 available on the used market. It is by no means a collectible.

I'm not a dealer so I won't venture to say what your gun is worth.

 

[il.bill]

DSCITCHR -

Welcome to THR. It is a great forum with lots of knowledgeable folks, so do not be hesitant to ask any questions. You can really learn a lot on here.

Based on what I can tell from the photos posted, I have bought and sold Walther P.38 pistols of similar age and condition in the last three years for prices ranging from $266 to $320. Condition means a lot when assessing value, but it does not appear to be a particularly collectible handgun, although I like owning and shooting mine. I would imagine the value is roughly $300 +/- 10%.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

A note: it is my understanding that many of the early alloy-framed P-38s and later P-1 had frames that did not hold up well to heavy usage. The later production P1 had the frame reinforced.

Someone here may be able to correct this information if I've got it wrong -- but given that, you may want to keep it in mind when shooting. I don't think its "danger" issue, but may lead to damage to the frame that can't be repaired.

 

[AK103K]

I had an original Mauser P38, as well as a couple of the post war, aluminum framed P1 "police" guns.

One of the P1's, the "newer" gun, had the reinforcing pin, and three dot sights. Its slide was marked P1, and was dated.

The other was an early gun, lacking the pin, and had a Walther P38 marked slide, with no date, or "P1" designation. It also had the smaller P38 sights. Other than the painted frame, that gun looked like my wartime P38.

Of the three, I still have the later P1. It also wears a set of those walnut grips.

All three were good shooters. I always just shot standard 124 grain 9mm loads through them, and never had any issues. Mags have become some what pricey, and arent as easy to find as they once were.

If you want a nice period holster, Pacific Canvas & Leather has some nice repros reasonably priced. I think I paid about $40 for this one.....