German Luger in 9mm??

[1911crazy]

What a German 9mm Luger Pistol worth?

Here's the skibby:

dated in the 20's or 30's
about 88% bluing left
new wood grips
barrel is very slightly pitted in the lands but has a a lot of rifling left in her.
No pits on the outside that i can find.

So whats she worth? Top and bottom price so i can figure a middle ground I don't want to screw anyone either i want to be fair about it.

[Mikey]

Probably between 5-800$depending on how pretty she is.  That is a commercial Luger.  The pitting in the bore gives you some negotiating room as it means it may have been used during the war when corrosive ammo was used, and then not well cleaned afterward.  The new grips don't add a thing to the value.  Take off the grips and see if there are any rust pitts under the grip panels - that should drop the price more.  Check to see if the firing pin works - take a thin pencil with you, one that will fit down a 9mm bore - cock the pistol, drop the pencil in eraser first and fire it and the pencil should shoot clear of the barrel.  The action should lock open with an empty magazine - if not, either the holdopen spring (flat spring) is weak or needs replacement.  

Do not dry-fire Luger pistols on empty chambers - you will bust your firing pin faster than if you were dry-firing a CZ-52 - use a fired case.

Beyond that there is little to do until you are ready to fire the pistol.  I woulad advocate getting a take-down manual and replace the springs with a kit from Wolff.  

If you purchase this pistol do not fire +P ammunition - it is too hot for the pistol. The pistol is designed to fire 9mm ball, 124-5 grain, at 1100'/sec or less, and that is hot enough for a P-08 Luger.    HTH.  Mikey.

[1911crazy]

Mikey;  I shoot mainly Russian made Wolf 9mm ammo. I have some surplus spanish 9mm but its hotter than hati. My astra 600 really barks when i shoot it with the spanish ammo.  I was thinking its machine pistol ammo. I'm afraid to try it in my other 9mm's.

[Mikey]

Your old Astra 600 is a direct blowback 9mm and if you use sub-gun ammo you will start losing parts, like the extractor and possibly the firing pin.  All those old 9mms were designed for regular ball 9mm ammo that clocks less than 1100'/sec with a 124/5 gn slug.  A little faster if you're throwin' 115 grainers down the tube.  

I think the Russian mil-spec 9mm should be OK as that would most likely be made to european mil-spec and not American +P loads.  

Those old Lugers are fun to shoot, with the right ammo.  The Winchester white box stuff is within the right pressure ranges and there is a lot of 9mm ammo available that can be fired through that old P08 without any problems - you just have to be careful of your ammo selection with the older pistols like the P08.  Mikey.

[1911crazy]

Its a non matching numbered gun so its mismatched does that lower the price any more?

[Mikey]

Yep!  Mismatched numbers on a Luger bring it right down into the 'shooter' category.  Without matching numbers it is not a collectable and with a pitted barrel it is simply a shooter.  Drop the price range to 450-600 depending on how pretty she is.  

Now, look to the extent of the mismatched numbers.  Every part of a Luger is serial numbered, at least with the last two digits, right on down to the Toggle pin.  Check the sideplate for numbers, the bolt, the Toggle retaining pin, maybe the firing pin too.  While it is true that Lugers need be hand assembled to function properly, a mismatched piece is not always a great bet - some simply will not function at all.  I once had a mismatched piece go full auto on me - it was funnier than the dickens but none the less I sold the gun.  HTH.  Mikey.

[1911crazy]

I passed on it because its a non matching, slightly pitted barrel and the $600 just isn't worth it.