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P38 question
- Thread starter htshot
- Start date
Take it to a gunsmith...do not fire it anymore
And do the second thing first. I'm not a big expert on the P-38, but no pistol is supposed to have parts fly off when it fires. If this is wrong, who knows what else might be wrong, or getting reaqdy to go wrong. I do know that the P-38 hammer drop safety can fail, and when it fails the gun can fire when the safety is put ON!
Get thee to a gunsmith, one who either knows P-38s, or is willing to find out. DON'T shoot it any more until a qualified gunsmith gives you the OK!
And do the second thing first. I'm not a big expert on the P-38, but no pistol is supposed to have parts fly off when it fires. If this is wrong, who knows what else might be wrong, or getting reaqdy to go wrong. I do know that the P-38 hammer drop safety can fail, and when it fails the gun can fire when the safety is put ON!
Get thee to a gunsmith, one who either knows P-38s, or is willing to find out. DON'T shoot it any more until a qualified gunsmith gives you the OK!
Htshot,
I just bought a P1 and this advice was left for me over on "the high road":
"The P-38/P1 ejects to the LEFT and you may get an occasional case bounced off your head.
Otherwise, NO hot ammo, or heavy bullets.
These guns were designed to work with 125 grain ammo, and will work nicely with 115 grain, STANDARD LOAD. Again, no hotter ammo or heavier bullets.
Also, no "heavy-duty" springs.
Hot ammo and/or heavier springs will cause frame and slide cracks.
Do not remove the slide cover unless you have NO choice. It's easy to spring or mis-assemble, and will blow off, scattering parts.
Other than that, the P1 is a fun to shoot gun."
I just bought a P1 and this advice was left for me over on "the high road":
"The P-38/P1 ejects to the LEFT and you may get an occasional case bounced off your head.
Otherwise, NO hot ammo, or heavy bullets.
These guns were designed to work with 125 grain ammo, and will work nicely with 115 grain, STANDARD LOAD. Again, no hotter ammo or heavier bullets.
Also, no "heavy-duty" springs.
Hot ammo and/or heavier springs will cause frame and slide cracks.
Do not remove the slide cover unless you have NO choice. It's easy to spring or mis-assemble, and will blow off, scattering parts.
Other than that, the P1 is a fun to shoot gun."
The slide top cover is one of the weak spots in the original P38/P1 design; later models did away with it completely in favor of a solid slide. The problem with the slide cover is that the two forward projections rely on spring tension to lock into a rather slight ledge within the slide. When the side projections begin to lose their tension, or the inner ledges begin to be worn down, or a combination of both, it could lead to the top cover taking off, along with the rear sight, firing pin retainer, and firing pin lock and spring. If the top cover appears to be solidly in place, do not remove it. Doing so could damage the retaining arms and render the top cover unusable.
Stay with 115gr. and 125gr. FMJ ammo in standard velocity loadings, and you'll do just fine with you P38/P1.
Stay with 115gr. and 125gr. FMJ ammo in standard velocity loadings, and you'll do just fine with you P38/P1.
Dfariswheel
New member
In this case, it's likely the spring "fingers" on the top cover are weak or have been sprung.
This is a hardened part so bending is "iffy"
With that said, you can TRY to bend the spring fingers outward so they grip the slide better.
OR:
You can buy a new top cover.
Gun Parts will have used parts, so it may be no better than the one you have:
http://www.e-gunparts.com/productschem.asp?chrMasterModel=2100zP38
(New style refers to guns made after WWII).
If you want a NEW part and can stand the price, Earl's Walther has brand new genuine Walther parts:
http://www.carlwalther.com/
Since you have nothing to loose, I'd try slightly bending the fingers.
This is a hardened part so bending is "iffy"
With that said, you can TRY to bend the spring fingers outward so they grip the slide better.
OR:
You can buy a new top cover.
Gun Parts will have used parts, so it may be no better than the one you have:
http://www.e-gunparts.com/productschem.asp?chrMasterModel=2100zP38
(New style refers to guns made after WWII).
If you want a NEW part and can stand the price, Earl's Walther has brand new genuine Walther parts:
http://www.carlwalther.com/
Since you have nothing to loose, I'd try slightly bending the fingers.
I took off the top cover of my P-1. It was in very good shape but not unissued so I wanted to check for rust. I like to take milsurps completely apart not just for the fun of doing it but to give them a good cleaning everywhere.
Putting the top cover back on was one of the hardest things I've ever done on a milsurp. I wouldn't want to do it again. Maybe it was my particular pistol or maybe it was just lack of experience from never having done it before, but it was a bitch.
Putting the top cover back on was one of the hardest things I've ever done on a milsurp. I wouldn't want to do it again. Maybe it was my particular pistol or maybe it was just lack of experience from never having done it before, but it was a bitch.
It was not literally a female dog, I suspect. I took the cover off of a import milsurp once, just for the reason stated, to see the innards and clean it up etc. Don't recall it being that hard to put back or ever coming loose from firing, but it is not something I would want to do more than once and probably is unnessary on anything but an old war relic. Sounds like he needs a new one to me. Or the seller knew about that and is laughing now.