Luger P08 Question

[MosinT53Hunter]

Been mulling over getting a Luger P08 again, just biding my time to find the right one.

My question to you all is, where pitting is encountered, would you be any concerned in firing it? One I am looking at has some pitting on the frame. Is there a way to clean it up a bit?

 

[LaneP]

I would shoot it if it were mine, presuming it's in proper working order. To quote Jeff Cooper, the Luger is of "...particular ingenuity and tremendous strength". Good luck on your hunt.

 

[gwpercle]

A little pitting would only be cosmetic . Unfortunately the pits are not easily fixed .

In 1961 my Dad decided to order an army surplus pistol from the Klein's Catalog, I tried my best to convince him to get the P08 Luger but being a WWII vet he just knew the P38 was a better pistol . Today I have the P38 and still wish he had bought the P08!
In reality the P38 was probably a better shooter...but the P08 just looks so sexy .
Don't delay...get that P08 and shoot it .
Gary

 

[bannockburn]

MosinT53Hunter

My question to you all is, where pitting is encountered, would you be any concerned in firing it? One I am looking at has some pitting on the frame. Is there a way to clean it up a bit?

I don't think there's any way to "clean up" pitting like that unless you wanted to invest some serious money on a complete restoration. How's the barrel look; is there any pitting in there? That looks like a lot of it is on the outside so if you're getting it just as a shooter and everything checks out okay (and the price is right), then you might want to get it.

 

[MosinT53Hunter]

MosinT53Hunter



I don't thing there's any way to "clean up" pitting like that unless you wanted to invest some serious money on a complete restoration. How's the barrel look; is there any pitting in there? That looks like a lot of it is on the outside so if you're getting it just as a shooter and everything checks out okay (and the price is right), then you might want to get it.

As far as I know, the barrel is in really nice shape. Its one of Lugers on Simpson Ltd. Yes, I only want a shooter, and its in 9mm Luger, so I am getting very tempted.

 

[bannockburn]

Mosin

I looked at the photos on Simpsons Ltd.'s website and the pitting doesn't look that bad on the rest of the gun.

Let us know if you decide to get it!

 

[PzGren]

If you want to shoot the gun a lot, you are better off with a Mauser manufactured pistol. The metallurgy was much improved when Mauser made their own frames. I would recommend to look at post-war Mauser Luger that were manufactured in the 1970s as P06/29 on Swiss equipment or the VOPO pistols that were worked on by qualified armourers.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

A little pitting would only be cosmetic . Unfortunately the pits are not easily fixed .

In 1961 my Dad decided to order an army surplus pistol from the Klein's Catalog, I tried my best to convince him to get the P08 Luger but being a WWII vet he just knew the P38 was a better pistol . Today I have the P38 and still wish he had bought the P08!
In reality the P38 was probably a better shooter...but the P08 just looks so sexy .
Don't delay...get that P08 and shoot it .
Gary

Ive got em both and greatly prefer to shoot the Luger.

That pitting should not have any effect on the safety or function of the gun, but there is probably no amount of buffing that would take it all out......
As such, I say get it, but only if the price is right. I wouldnt go over $500 for that one. You can find nicer refinished Lugers in the $750 range and some original finish examples of common variations for $900-1000. They pop up on Armslist and Gunbroker regularly.

 

[ClemY]

My uncle brought home from the war a P08 Luger made in 1913. The barrel had some light pitting, but it shot very well. I finally found one for myself. Trigger isn’t bad; very reliable, very accurate, but it has some of the worst sights I have ever seen. To add insult to injury, it shoots about 3” high at 50’. I would have been tempted to install a higher front sight way back when, but they are no so valuable as collector items I don’t dare mess with it.

 

[MikeInOr]

A little pitting would only be cosmetic . Unfortunately the pits are not easily fixed .

In 1961 my Dad decided to order an army surplus pistol from the Klein's Catalog, I tried my best to convince him to get the P08 Luger but being a WWII vet he just knew the P38 was a better pistol . Today I have the P38 and still wish he had bought the P08!
In reality the P38 was probably a better shooter...but the P08 just looks so sexy .
Don't delay...get that P08 and shoot it .
Gary

The P38 is definitely a better weapon. It is much more reliable! A P08 definitely wins the coolness factor though. I would choose a P38 to protect my life with over a P08 any day.

I bought my P08 at a gun show many years ago from a P38 collector. At a different gun show I bought my P38 from a P08 collector. I forget exactly what I paid but I remember getting a pretty good deal on each of them.

OP, the pitting you show in the picture is just cosmetic, it should shoot just fine. If it were me I would look around more and see if I could find a prettier one.

 

[MosinT53Hunter]

The P38 is definitely a better weapon. It is much more reliable! A P08 definitely wins the coolness factor though. I would choose a P38 to protect my life with over a P08 any day.

OP, the pitting you show in the picture is just cosmetic, it should shoot just fine. If it were me I would look around more and see if I could find a prettier one.

Perhaps, but, I do know for a fact that the P08 fits my small hands like a glove. Its hard to find pistols that fit my hands that well.

 

[MikeInOr]

Perhaps, but, I do know for a fact that the P08 fits my small hands like a glove. Its hard to find pistols that fit my hands that well.

The P08 is definitely a cool weapon and I really enjoy shooting mine. Pulling the P08 out at the range always turns the eyes my way. They are a very iconic gun. Even people that don't know beans about guns know what a Luger is... they don't know what a P08 is... but they know what a Luger is. LOL!

 

[MosinT53Hunter]

The P08 is definitely a cool weapon and I really enjoy shooting mine. Pulling the P08 out at the range always turns the eyes my way. They are a very iconic gun. Even people that don't know beans about guns know what a Luger is... they don't know what a P08 is... but they know what a Luger is. LOL!

Indeed. I bet your Mauser C96 gets lots of attention too. Han Solo gun and all Seriously though, your collection is awesome!

 

[MikeInOr]

Indeed. I bet your Mauser C96 gets lots of attention too. Han Solo gun and all Seriously though, your collection is awesome!

Thank you, they are a lot of fun.

I actually have to tell people that it is a StarWars blaster... then they say... oh yeah! (I am not referring to gun nerds like those of us that frequent this board of course.) It is not a fun shooter though. A P08 and P38 are both much more fun to shoot. I don't get a very good grip on the Broomhandle, the distance to the trigger is way too short for my hand, the trigger is pretty bad, the trigger guard is too small for me and that high bore axis makes the gun really twist in my hand when I am shooting it. To top it off the C96 is more finicky than the P08... but my inability to get a good grip probably contributes to its unreliability in my hand. I would recommend a P08 over a C96 for shooting fun and a P08 is more iconic to non-gun people... in my experience.

 

[HisSoldier]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but to my eyes the P-08 has the best lines of all handguns, a thing of art, and I always wondered if George Luger was "shooting" for that.
The trigger is far from a 1911's though and the mechanical train it goes through is of dubious engineering IMO but Luger was building upon Borchartd's design ideas. With the toggle lock and breechblock it would take some real work to come up with better. I don't think Luger put an emphasis on trigger excellence.
Borchartd's trigger was even weirder, though it didn't use the little bent arm, it did have the side sear I think. It's easy to look back now and pick at designs made when no one knew anything about automatic pistols.

 

[ClemY]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but to my eyes the P-08 has the best lines of all handguns, a thing of art, and I always wondered if George Luger was "shooting" for that.
The trigger is far from a 1911's though and the mechanical train it goes through is of dubious engineering IMO but Luger was building upon Borchartd's design ideas. With the toggle lock and breechblock it would take some real work to come up with better. I don't think Luger put an emphasis on trigger excellence.
Borchartd's trigger was even weirder, though it didn't use the little bent arm, it did have the side sear I think. It's easy to look back now and pick at designs made when no one knew anything about automatic pistols.

The Luger trigger is a Rube Goldberg linkage that typically provides plenty of slack, but the important part is the sliding sear on the striker. If those surfaces are smooth, you can actually get a pretty smooth trigger action, if not a crisp one.

 

[PzGren]

Lugers were assembled by skilled gun smiths and good fit and proper balance of the magazine and main spring are vital for reliable function, as is the use of the correct ammo. The P.38 was chosen by the Wehrmacht not solely because it was the better pistol but because it was easier and cheaper to manufacture. I have spare parts for all my guns and changing the trigger bar on a P.08 will lead to big differences in trigger characteristics. The wide trigger of the Luger is distributing the trigger weight very nicely over a larger area.

As to the accuracy, the P.08 is every bit as accurate as the P.38 - and I was German military state champion and vice champion with the P1, so it can be taken for granted, that I can shoot the P38/P1 - unlike most people that I have seen shooting them. The Bundeswehr required the P1 to be shot before each official range use and to establish the correct point of aim. I was usually chosen to do that and have fired far over one hundred different P1s. I had owned several P.38s and had found the workmanship, tolerances and accuracy of late war specimens to decline, so I sold them off and kept a very accurate P1.

 

[barnetmill]

The P38 is definitely a better weapon. It is much more reliable!

My experiences with lugers and P38 are minimal, but I am not aware that a luger with proper magazine and properly tension springs is unreliable. Perhaps they will not tolerate a lot of dirt, but they normally were carried by officers in a very protective holster. As already mentioned the luger was not as easy to manufacture as was the P38.
today neither is an attractive first choice for self defense since we have better guns. Most lugers are 75 years or older in age for sure are for the target range and not for combat after so many years.

 

[MikeInOr]

My experiences with lugers and P38 are minimal, but I am not aware that a luger with proper magazine and properly tension springs is unreliable. Perhaps they will not tolerate a lot of dirt, but they normally were carried by officers in a very protective holster. As already mentioned the luger was not as easy to manufacture as was the P38.
today neither is an attractive first choice for self defense since we have better guns. Most lugers are 75 years or older in age for sure are for the target range and not for combat after so many years.

The P08 is a fine firearm and I really enjoy shooting mine. With a good magazine, good springs, proper cleaning and well matched ammo it does function just fine in my experience. The P38 on the other hand just always functions properly in a much wider operating envelope than a P08. If I was in battle or had a single pistol for home defense I would choose a P38 over a P08 hands down. This doesn't make the P08 any less iconic, any less an impressive piece of engineering, any less fun to shoot or any less collectable. For a collectable piece of history I think the P08 is a more desireable firearm than a P38 and the market prices definitely reflect this. From an operational stand point I believe the newer P38 design is more reliable than the older P08 design... it is more apt to function properly in less than optimal circumstances. In my experience the P08 is likewise more reliable than the older C96 design. I really enjoy all three and I value the P08 over the C96 or P38 but it is not the pistol of the three that I would grab to save my life.

 

[MosinT53Hunter]

Ive got em both and greatly prefer to shoot the Luger.

That pitting should not have any effect on the safety or function of the gun, but there is probably no amount of buffing that would take it all out......
As such, I say get it, but only if the price is right. I wouldnt go over $500 for that one. You can find nicer refinished Lugers in the $750 range and some original finish examples of common variations for $900-1000. They pop up on Armslist and Gunbroker regularly.

This one that I am looking at, even in rough condition, is going for $900+ . I have looked else ware, the market is still pretty high on them. Still looking, maybe there's hope yet.
I am sure glad I bought my Super Star when I did, those sure have gone up.

 

[barnetmill]

The P08 is a fine firearm and I really enjoy shooting mine. With a good magazine, good springs, proper cleaning and well matched ammo it does function just fine in my experience. The P38 on the other hand just always functions properly in a much wider operating envelope than a P08. If I was in battle or had a single pistol for home defense I would choose a P38 over a P08 hands down. This doesn't make the P08 any less iconic, any less an impressive piece of engineering, any less fun to shoot or any less collectable. For a collectable piece of history I think the P08 is a more desireable firearm than a P38 and the market prices definitely reflect this. From an operational stand point I believe the newer P38 design is more reliable than the older P08 design... it is more apt to function properly in less than optimal circumstances. In my experience the P08 is likewise more reliable than the older C96 design. I really enjoy all three and I value the P08 over the C96 or P38 but it is not the pistol of the three that I would grab to save my life.

So the C96 is not so reliable. I know that one version of it became real popular with the early bolsheviks and chinese that used it under what were likely very harsh conditions. But again the T33 that the USSR replaced it with was the better pistol and fired a slightly more powerful loading.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

This one that I am looking at, even in rough condition, is going for $900+ . I have looked else ware, the market is still pretty high on them. Still looking, maybe there's hope yet.
I am sure glad I bought my Super Star when I did, those sure have gone up.

Heck no, for that one!

Yep, spend a litle more and get a nicer one, imo.

 

[czhen]

Whatever you pay is your choice, but once you refinish the price might change substantially both ways up or down.
You can re blue it but to remove the specks of oxidation will need a high quality and expensive process.
Use that money to get a better Luger.

 

[MosinT53Hunter]

Whatever you pay is your choice, but once you refinish the price might change substantially both ways up or down.
You can re blue it but to remove the specks of oxidation will need a high quality and expensive process.
Use that money to get a better Luger.

Thank you for your advice. You are right, I will wait on a better deal to come my way.

 

[ClemY]

I saw a nice arsenal refinished Luger that was priced at about half it would have been worth without refinishing.