shooting ClassicNines - some observations

[max popenker]

Hi
yesterday i had some fun shooting some old ClassicNines (c), that is, military pistols in 9x19 dated back to WW2.

First went the Pistole 08 Lang, or long Luger with 6" barrel. It was DWM marked, with black plastic grips and tiny sights. Barrel was so worn out that i was unable to see rifling at the muzzle
Any way, Lang P08 spoke first. Yes, it fits my hand pretty well, but the light barrel jumped quite noticeably, and, at 25 meters, accuracy was absoulutely nothing. Luger misfired aeach 2 or 3 rounds, and FTE'd each last round in the mag... Nothing facny, and waht a disappointment

Second was the famous Walther P38. Grip is somewhat thick for a single stack 9mm, and sights also too tiny. No jams, but again, poor accuracy and not so much fun.

Third was the polish Radom VIS P35 with german proofs. Its strange-shaped grip fit my palm quite good, surprisingly, but again, i couldn't hit a barn side at 25 meters

But then came the star. the real Star, i mean, the Modelo B in 9x19. It had the very good grip shape of slightly thinned 1911A1, smoothest-riding slide, and very good trigger. Sights also were the best of the bunch, with wide suare-shaped notch and decent front sight. For much of my relaxation it put all the rounds in about 4" to 5" at 25 meters - not bad for a 60+ year old and pretty worn gun and for casual shooter like me.

Last was the most wanted experience, as it was the 'real manstopper' .45ACP. Old M1911, or, more precisely, Norvegian M/1914 made in 1920, was loaded with M1911 ball headstamped "WRA 42". Both worked flawlessly except for slide stop which not worked...
Surprisingly the recoil of the big .45 was hardly any stronger that 9mm in any guns listed above...

So, for my observation. I lost some fancy about Luger... It just not worked for me this time. But i have much more respect for the Spanish steel now, and i wish i couls buy a 9mm Star for me...

But the worst part of the show was that BOTH sets of batteries for my digicam went caput before i made my first photo. That really suks :banghead:

 

[Wildalaska]

War Trophies!

WildletsgotoRussiaAlaska

 

[max popenker]

Wild, you're right as usual. Except for .45 ammo, which apparently is a Lend-Lease leftover
Also shot Nagant (1935 made). Now i wonder why there was so much hyphe about "soldier" Nagants, which were restricted to single action only?
In any way, the only thing you can hit for sure from Nagant in DA mode is your own head...

 

[RON in PA]

Don't pan the P08 just because your speciman was in a sorry state. The story on the Luger seems to be that they are very accurate from a rest, but often have lousy triggers and and sights.

All the handguns from that era that I own or have shot seem to suffer from too small sights and often lousy trigger pulls.

IMO the best pistols from that era are the Polish VIS, the BHP, the 1911 and the P38. The VIS(Radom) may be the best pointing pistol of all time.

 

[BigG]

Thanks for the report, Max! The Luger is a great pistol despite the difficult to see sights. The two I have had seemed to be laser guided even though the bbls had pits from corrosive ammo.

I would like to shoot the Norwegian Colt 45 Auto.

 

[SRYnidan]

Noticeable by it's absense is the FN/inglis High power.

 

[albanian]

I too had a 1945 Star B. It was a German police pistol. Nice gun that pointed and shot well. Pretty accurate and easy to shoot because of the nice trigger and decent sights. I think it is one of the forgotton 9mm from WW-II.

I have a Walther P-1 (alloy framed P-38) that I bought because I couldn't afford the P-38. It is O.K. but nothing to write home about. The BHP is decent if you remove the mag safety but with it in place, it too has a heavy trigger. Never shot a Radom or a Luger but I want to just to see what they are like. I have a friend that has his grandfathers 1911 from WW-II. It is a Switch & Signal and it rattles when you shake it but you can hit with it pretty well as long as you are not tring to target shoot, it is fine. I could hit a man with it if needed but not at ranges beyond 50m. It is my favorite of all WWII guns.