Information about the German P-08 Luger

[Remmy]

Lately i have gotten more interested in this gun...My great grandfather got the gun off of a dead soldier in the world war, my grandfather ended up with the gun and holster. He has passed a few years ago and willed the gun to my brother.
So the gun has alot of background and sentimental value to our family.
So, as i have become more interested in the gun, i have a few questions...first off, i thought the gun was chambered for 9mm, once my father asked a local gunsmith what it took and he told him something "like" 32 cal., i am a little foggy though.

Would this gun still be safe to shoot? It has been sitting around for so long, un-oiled/uncleaned...i found a good informational site about the gun and now am going to try to clean it, and maybe shoot it if my brother/family think it is ok.

What is the basic rundown on the gun...i have read some about it, but i would rather have some first hand knowledge. I know that these guns were considered complicated and powerful, built to strict tolerances because of the complicated "knee"(?) that blows back...
Also it is an official german soldiers gun, as it has the markings on it, this is good p-08 identification site i found. When i go home this weekend, i will try to match up all the markings on the gun with those on the site.
Because it is such a nice gun, i think...should it even be shot?

Thanks in advance

 

[dsk]

The first Lugers were chambered in .30 Luger. It was considered somewhat anemic so the case was necked up to form the world-famous 9mm Luger (9mm NATO, 9x19mm, 9mm Para, what have you). Lugers were made in both calibers until sometime between the wars when the .30 Luger caliber was dropped.

The Luger is a marvel of engineering and design. However, the gun was also extremely intricate in its construction and difficult (read: expensive) to produce. Because of its tight tolerances it was also very dirt-sensitive, which isn't ideal for a service weapon. As a result the gun was phased out of production early in World War Two and replaced by the Walther P.38 as standard German issue. However, Lugers continued to serve until war's end.

Any Luger in good mechanical condition is safe to shoot. However, given their age you need to go easy on them and also bear in mind that spare parts are very difficult to come by. Also, if your gun has matching numbers and a numbered part breaks, you'll have to replace it with whatever numbered part you can find which will lower the pistol's value drastically.

For really good info on Lugers, go to this site: http://www.lugerforum.com

 

[Remmy]

Thanks for clearing that up with me...thats a great forum about the lugers too...the more i see the pictures of the luger and the p38 i am more and more torn on which gun my brother actually has. You would think i would remember the blow back "knee" action of the p08...but i cant. Either way they both have some similarities in heritage, even the time frame that the gun was picked up off of the soldier should help me, but it doesnt.
I hate this feeling, i think it might actually be a P-38.

I want to be able to identify it (the markings)...would the marking of the p08 and the p38 correlate? I really want to be able to tell what they mean.

 

[Lone Star]

I hate to be obvious, but does the gun have P-38 marked on the left side of the slide? I thought you meant the great-grandfather brought it back from the Great War, so it would HAVE to be a Luger. Does it have a fancy scrolled "DWM" or markings such as "Erfurt" on the toggle or over the chamber? A date over the chamber?

Keep in mind that all the guns have in common is a slim barrel. You really can't confuse a P-38 with a Luger...how can you be unsure? Have you maybe just not seen the gun for a long time and can't recall what it looks like?

Keep in mind that the P-38 didn't enter production until 1938.

Lone Star

 

[Remmy]

I thought i mentioned i wasnt at home and able to view it...if i didnt, then, i cant view the gun now. Dont think i am a moron.
I simply cant compare the gun to anything, and the last time i saw the gun was about 3 years ago or more.
Like you said, im going on details that stuck out in my mind from years ago.

Jesse

 

[dsk]

With what you said in mind, it would really help if you actually knew what it is or at least looked at it before asking us questions about it. It seems to me that you don't even know which war your great-grandfather was in, which doesn't help us out much in answering your questions either. It could be a P-08, a P-38, a PPK, a Radom, or even a P-35 Hi-Power.

 

[Remmy]

guess i should have waited...

But i just felt like asking some questions, and couldnt wait.
Anyways, i talked to my brother and confirmed it is a P-38. I wanted to find out some info based onthe serial number and other markings...the serial number is 9082, and the numbered markings on it are "ac 45". And it has the 3 proofs that look like # 46.

It also has the six sided star on the gun, like the star of David...

Im guessing the star has something to do with the persecution of the Jews but dont know for sure.

What can someone tell me about these guns, im guessing they are more reliable, and would not hurt the gun to be shot...also would i be able to shoot regular 9mm ball out of the gun?

I read that the acXX numbers were the numbers used in regular production that started in '40, by walther, and each two numbers were stamped corresponding to the year the gun was produced..."Walther kept this code with the last two digits of the year of manufacture until the end of the war in 1945."
So i guess it would be a good assumption to say that the gun was produced in '45. Ehh?

 

[James K]

Yes, the gun was made by Walther in 1945. Are you sure the star is six pointed and not five? A five pointed star was the mark used by the French on pistols they took over for their own use, but of course one of those would not have been captured from a German.

Whatever the star means, I am pretty sure it had nothing to do with the Jews, one way or another. Some pics might help if you can post them.

Jim