Range Report: $450 1915 DWM Imperial Luger-Military Issue

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Retro

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Pictures can be found here:

http://www.pbase.com/fasr2323rwer/inbox

Pistol: 1915 DWM Luger - Military Issue 9355a SES
Ammo: 9 mm Remington 115 Grain FMJ Luger
Range: 25 Yards
Group: ~ 2 inch
Rounds fired: 20 rounds
Trigger pull: 4 lbs

I got this luger for $450 at a gunshow from a very nice Vietnam Vet who traded and collected war items... I talked to him for a while and I told him that I have also served in the US Army, and he showed me how to disassemble and reassemble this luger. The number is all matching (everything including the firing pin and grips) with decent barrel (inevitable black pitting due to age).

I took it to the range today not knowing what to expect. And I fired 20 rounds, with flawless feeding and ejecting, extreme accuracy, and the recoil was mild. It is probably the most accurate 9 mm I have shot, even more accurate than Glock G26.

I have compared it to the WWII P38, and man... the luger is twice as accurate and well-made as the P38... No wonder most higher ranking German officers opted to carry lugers during WWII than P38.

They don't make pistols like the luger anymore... the gun was hand-machined/crafted with such precision and tightness that it is almost a piece of art.

I am passing this piece to my grand kids.
 
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...it is almost a piece of art.
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NO, I'd say it is a fully blown piece of useful Art. A Masterpiece. Yours is beautiful Retro and you got a fine deal on it.
I bought a pair of Russian/East German mismatched shooters back in '94, grips worn smooth, some blood pitting, barrels almost smoothbore. One is a double stamp (1918/1920 byf) the second a 1938 DWM. I can't begin to imagine what they've been through.
More than any other firearm I own, I find these two fascinating just due to their design and probable history, however horrific, of which they were part.
 
Thanks Baba Louie.

And when you mention the term "blood pitting", do you mean that the pitting is a result of splattered blood onto the piece? How do you distinguish pitting as a result of corrosive ammos from pitting due to blood? It will be cool to have some blood pitting as a result of blood... that will be indeed a piece of history there.

Yeah, the rifling on my piece is also worn but there is still some left... one must wonder how accurate this piece must had been when it was brand new in 1915... I am sure my piece saw serious actions in the trenches in WWI.

The seller told me that he got that piece from a old GI who told him that his grandfather passed this piece down from WWI in Europe. He probably took this from a German officer since only officers were assigned sidearms.
 
An unmolested Luger will outshoot any other service handgun. The .30 Luger chambering is especially accurate. The long barrel P06/29 world championship target guns built in Switzerland circa 1947 on the basis of their contemporaneous service sidearm shot with nearly minute of angle accuracy at 50 meters. The SIG P210, developed at the same time, is the only Browning-pattern short recoil tilting barrel service handgun to approach the accuracy of the Luger, owing in part to duplicating its inverted rail relationship between the grip frame and the reciprocating receiver/slide.
 
I got this luger for $450 at a gunshow
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Wow. If I ever came across a $500 Luger, I'd have the cash out before the seller could finish the sentence. I wouldn't even care if it was matching.

Nice find! I'm officially jealous.

It's hard to tell, but it looks like it still has decent bluing in the pics. Is the finish pretty decent?

No wonder most higher ranking German officers opted to carry lugers during WWII than P38.
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Lugers are works of art and that fixed barrel does marvels for accuracy. I read somewhere that P38s were more reliable though. Probably because they were crude in comparison.
 
Based on your description, that gun ought to be worth at least 3 times what you paid for it. I would recommend that you post photos on lugerforum.com and ask for comments.
 
Retro,

I know what you mean about the hand work compared to today's designs. Early last year I inherited a 1920 commercial in .30 Luger. Mine is in very, very good shape and the bore is good to excellent. Once I figured out a load using a .312" bullet, the gun is very accurate and with 90 grain bullets the recoil is lite.

Too bad they don't make them like that anymore, but at the same time I'd hate to think what it would cost to build today.

Chuck
 
It will be cool to have some blood pitting as a result of blood...
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I don't know about cool, but you can tell that these two got some really serious use somewhere in their lives.

The only serious negative I find with Lugers lie in the sights and the trigger.

But then I'm comparing them to things like newer 1911's and S&W/Colt revolvers. I still marvel at the design and machining that took place at the turn of the last century. Or taking a .30 luger round and blowing it out to the newfangled (then) 9mm parabellum.

Now if Numrich could only get a few parts in stock (hold open latch/spring & takedown locking bar/spring) for them I'd try to get them back in action. Might have to see if Lugerman (or anyone) is still selling Luger parts on ebay.
 
I just had a heart attack... everyone talks about .30 caliber... how do I know if my 1915 Luger is a 9 mm or .30 caliber? I have fired 20-30 rounds of 9 mm luger rounds through it with no problem... does a .30 caliber chamber take 9 mm luger also? Is there a difference between 9 mm and .30 caliber.

Forgive me of my ignorance. :uhoh:

I had the piece appraised at the local gunstore, and quote was between 900 to 11,00 dollars due to lost of straw and a slightly worn barrel. I was really surprised that I only paid 450 total.
 
Well, I put a 9mm luger round into the chamber, and it fits perfectly, not too tight, not too loose.

But the way, will there be markings on the pistol that says "7.65 mm caliber" ?

I thought all lugers were in 9 mm luger rounds. 1915, pre-WWI era should be 9 mm, right?

Edit: I searched, it appears that DWM stopped manufacturing 7.65 caliber after 1900s, and all models around 1908 are 9 mm calibers.

whew....

Retro
 
I searched, it appears that DWM stopped manufacturing 7.65 caliber after 1900s, and all models around 1908 are 9 mm calibers.
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Not so. There are many DWM Parabellums of all vintages chambered in 7.65 Luger. Many of them are unmarked as to caliber.
Well, I put a 9mm luger round into the chamber, and it fits perfectly, not too tight, not too loose.
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Your gun is almost certainly chambered in 9mm.
 
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