Popular Military Surplus Handguns

[Dr.Rob]

Did I miss something? Please let me know.

Are you a collector or do you shoot yours?

It used to be that military surplus pistols were very well made and could be had at bargain prices, though supplies of them are dwindling and prices skyrocketing.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Victory model S&W, Astra A600, Luger......I only collect shooters.

Is it too late to add the P38 or PPK?
Oh, the Beretta 1934\35 too. I think the Glisenti and Bodeo might be a stretch, but probably not rarer than the Radom or Lahti.

 

[GBExpat]

All of my firearms (longgun or handgun, commercial or milsurp) are shooters ... o'course, there are several that I have not yet fired, but ...

 

[Dr.Rob]

P-38 was a huge oversight, and P-1's are still available reasonably.

 

[cp1969]

I only had it for about a month, a Nazi-marked Radom 35, brought back from WWII by my father. It had very crude sights and being an all-steel full-size 9mm, had almost no recoil.

 

[Hooda Thunkit]

Still no Star ?

 

[Sistema1927]

VZ/CZ82 in 9x18 is missing unless you intended to lump it in with the Makarovs.

 

[444]

CZ52
P38

I have a P38 made at the very tail end of the war. Very rough external finish. I have never fired it. I also have a P1, which was not a military pistol, but it allows you to fire an example of a military pistol.

I have about half the stuff on that list and have shot all of it. I probably shoot all of them once a year.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I came close to buying a P-1 about 10 years ago when they could still be had for around $250. I was spending a lot of money that day and changed my mind late. My Pa-63 was re-chambered to .380 and marked AP-9 as well so it was never an issue gun.
.
Still shoot my Luger and my 1917 Colt yearly. Haven't shot my East German Mak much.

 

[chicharrones]

The only surplus handgun I have is a CZ82.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Replaced French pistols with Walther, expanded CZ pistols to include multiple models.

 

[cc-hangfire]

I submitted before I remembered my Beretta Model 51; I should have checked “other” as well. And as mentioned above, no Stars? I’ve had several models but have kept the Super B.

I’m a shooter, a cheapskate, & a tinkerer. I’m addicted to seeking those old guns that need some TLC (always cheaper than the safe queens) and getting them into presentable shape.

Example: I have a P38 that had a shortened barrel with a brass bead front sight on the slide. I gathered parts to take it to the original configuration (but also have the short barrel just for kicks).

Late edit: good to see a few Lahti’s show up. I covet those (along with the P08), but I’m too cheap to ever get those.

 

[Danoobie]

CZ70, love the very heavy DA trigger pull.


During WWII, Mauser was also making P-38s. IIRC, Three companies were making the Walther pattern,
popular because it was a simpler, stronger design than the still very well liked Luger.

 

[Hasaf]

As my votes show, I have a Browning Inglis HP, and a Makarov. The Makarov is a real favorite. I detail stripped it and polished the internal parts. After that the action was quite smooth. I recently even ended up getting some more ammo for it as it is my daughters favorite.

 

[Tallball]

I own almost half of those. Star should definitely be on the list. Milsurp and police trade-ins are generally where I get my best deals.

I don't have any safe queens. All of mine get shot.

 

[Pelo801]

You left out the earlier CZ pistols. And I think the P83 in 9x18 could be lumped in with P64.

 

[FL-NC]

As far as these things go, I'm mostly a collector, in that my milsurp guns rarely get fired. I primarily collect only US mil firearms- for shooting, CCW, HD, hunting, etc. I generally side with modern firearms like Glocks or AR's (#technoogy). If I want to shoot a 1911, I just take out my old springfield armory 1911. I do enjoy firing my 1917's on occasion.

 

[cfullgraf]

I have a Walther PP, Luger P-08, and an Astra 400. They all can get shot but I only drag them out on rare occasions.

I have commercial versions of some of the allies handguns (1911, Hi-power, Colt 1908) but really do not a desire to get the surplus counterpart.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

My military pistols are surplus 7,63 Mauser C96, 7.62 CZ 52, and .455 Webley IV cut for .45 AutoRim.

Are you a collector or do you shoot yours?

I bought them as historical curios but I also shoot them in the local vintage and modern military matches. I also load cartridges for the Webley and C96 with black powder substitute and shoot them in the black powder cartridge matches.

 

[aarondhgraham]

I selected "Other" as I don't own even one of the listed guns.

Mine is an 1898 French 8mm Lebel revolver,,,
I named her Margaux


A few years back I got extremely lucky and found some new manufactured ammo for her,,,
So along with the 24 rounds of handloaded ammo I have 550 rounds of new Fiocchi to burn through her.

I don't shoot her very often,,,
Usually just 6 rounds here and there,,,
I don't know if I'll ever be able to restock the stash.

Aarond

.

 

[Dr.Rob]

French military handguns seem pretty rare in the US. Though I've seen a couple MAB autos and Lebel revolvers here.

 

[aarondhgraham]

French military handguns seem pretty rare in the US. Though I've seen a couple MAB autos and Lebel revolvers here.

I have seen a few at the larger gun shows in Tulsa,,,
I saw one that was in as good a shape as mine just last year.

The seller was only asking $175.00 for it,,,
I'm still kicking my backside for not snapping it up.

Aarond

.

 

[MedWheeler]

Not duplicating Poland (P-64 and Radom could have been a single entry) would have left room for my "other" selection, from Star. I did also select entries for the P-64, CZ-70, Tokarev (though Romanian), and Makarov PM (Bulgarian.)

 

[tark]

I also load cartridges for the Webley and C96 with black powder substitute and shoot them in the black powder cartridge matches.

I have never heard of anyone loading a C-96 with black powder substitute. Lol. Does the barrel extension even move? I can't imagine any black powder substitute generating enough pressure to cycle the gun, but if it works, I want your load and bullet weight! I'll try it in my shooter C-96

 

[jonnyc]

I have at least one Luger, P38, Radom, Lahti, Makarov, CZ75, CZ82, Bolo, Astra 600, Walam, Hi-Power, Enfield, 1911, Colt 1917, S&W 1917, M57, TT33, Sistema, Ballester, Webley, Beretta, Nagant, HD Military. Some in multiples of up to 7. They're like children; no matter how many you have, you love them all equally.
And I do shoot them all, as often as possible.