The P38

[XxWINxX94]

I'm looking into purchasing a WWII-Era P38. I know alot about them but I don't want to make a huge mistake knowing something I should have. I would prefer an earlier one, none of the SVW or french capture ones that are from 1945. No last ditch ones or post-war models. My price range is $800 and lower. If anyone knows something special or a secret about them, by all means let me know.


Thanks!

 

[76shuvlinoff]

When I was asking about Dad's bring back P38 here I was directed to check out this forum http://p38forum.com/

Lots of real good help there too.

Here's mine. It's got some pitting but not nearly as rough as it appears, photography is not my thing. It functions perfectly, I ran a mag thru it last summer and it's a good shooter. I think these pistols were pretty advanced for their time.

 

[searcher451]

+1 on the P.38 Forum. It's the single best resource on the planet, if you are looking to purchase a P.38. The guys who literally wrote the books on the subject reside on that forum, and they are happy to share their expertise. In many cases, they will weigh in on the merits of a specific gun you might be thinking of buying, so long as you provide photos and a decent description. I've seen a few folks get saved from future embarrassment after checking in there first before pulling the trigger on a gun that wasn't quite as advertised.

The classified board there also tends to be honest, given the expertise on the forum.

 

[Trebor]

FGS imported a bunch of Russian capture P-38's a few years ago. The Russians ran them all through a dip blue process before putting them in storage.

I think FGS might be out of these guns, but it's worth checking out. Even if they are out you might find one on the secondary market. They go for a little less then a WWII bringback as they were dipped and also because of the import marks.

I have one and it's a nice pistol. All matching numbers and shoots very well.

 

[searcher451]

If you choose to go with a Russian dipped gun, as suggested by Trebor above, there are ways that you can actually remove the dip and more or less restore the gun to its original pre-dipped condition. Some descriptions of how to do this can be found in threads on the P.38 Forum. It's not a bad way to go to pick up a nice P.38 at a reasonable price, although even these are getting pricey these days. For example, SOG is selling Russian-captures for $449.95 currently. These guns also are mismatched or forced-matched -- better for shooting purposes than for collection purposes, IMO.