P-38 questions

[TimboKhan]

Years ago, my dad had a P-38 and he told me that it was the most inaccurate auto he had ever shot. I have basically turned my nose up at P-38's since then, but now that I have been bitten by the milsurp bug, I find that I have some interest in owning one. So, thinking that maybe my dad had a bad gun or that I misunderstood him and have been operating on false pretense all these years, I want to know what you all think of them? Good? Bad? Better suited to a paperweight? I collect mil-surps to shoot, so I am most interested in how they shoot...

 

[denfoote]

Your dad may be right.
It depends on when and where it was made!!
If it is a late wartime P38, then I would say probably yes!!
Toward the end of WW2, the quality of P38s made was not to good!!
If it was a Spreewerk made gun, then I would also say probably yes!!
Several Deutsch companies made the P38 during the war with various degrees of accuracy and quality.
However, it it is a Walther made gun, then I'd say hogwash!!

 

[Onmilo]

3"-6" groups at 25 meters on average with most guns leaning towards the larger group sizes.
P-38s were kind sorta the AK47 of the semiauto pistol world,,combat accurate and reliable but no target pistol by any stretch of the imagination.

Commercial post war P-38 pistols were built to much tighter tolerances and most tend to shoot towards the tighter side of the group averages but most also have aluminum frames and a lot of people don't care for this type of material for the receiver.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Commercial post war P-38 pistols were built to much tighter tolerances and most tend to shoot towards the tighter side of the group averages but most also have aluminum frames and a lot of people don't care for this type of material for the receiver.

Here's a post war aluminum framed Walther P-38 made in 1960. It shoots a nice tight group, but like most military handguns, this one shoots somewhat high...center target sight picture works better instead of 6:00 hold.

no regrets...

 

[shooter503]

Don't be mislead about the P38, it is probably the finest combat handgun ever made. In WW2 GI's were very pleased to get their hands on a P38. The Nazis even issued an order that any allied soldier carrying a P38 was to be shot immediately.

Today you can buy the P38's descendant, the Walther P1. at a very good price. If you search around you may find one unused and still in its NATO storage bag. Go to the "P38 Forum" on the net and the people there will be glad to help you. There are junkers around at ridiculous prices, of course, so be careful. You either buy a P38 to collect or a P1 to shoot. Make sure you chose the right gun.

Late model P38s and the P1 use aluminum frames. In early production these frames caused problems after long use. If you want a shooter, make sure you buy a gun with the steel, hexagonal shaped. reinforcing pin through the frame forward of the trigger guard.

Once you get used to the left-pointing extractor and the european magazine release you will fall in love with this pistol.

You can rest assured that the German military post WW2 and the German police force would not use anything other than THE BEST issue pistol available at the time. The P38 may be getting outdated compared with some later autos, magazine capacity, ammunition choice, etc but it is still a great pistol and full of character.

 

[vanfunk]

Spreewerke (cyq coded) WWII pistols get a bad rap, but it's undeserved. They are not as nicely finished as their cousins made by Walther and Mauser, but are as well made and as accurate as any. The benefit of the cyq pistols is that "shooters" can still be found in the $400-500 range, which is increasingly rare for the byf and ac coded pistols. Any collector of WWII ordnance has to have a P.38 - get one!
vanfunk

 

[Onmilo]

Just to avoid the misconception that I may not like P-38 pistols or aluminum frame pistols here is a picture of my postwar aluminum frame P1 and a picture of my very postwar aluminum frame P5.
The P5 shoots way better than the P1 but I like them both.

 

[nero45acp]

I own a CYQ and a BYF44. Both are 100% reliable (with FMJ ammo), and very accurate. I've shot quarter-sized groups at 7yds with my CYQ using WWB ammo. If you can get one in good condition, at a decent price, buy it. If you do buy one, replace the recoil springs and avoid +P ammo to save the frame from an unnecessary beating.


nero