Family heirlooms that had been through a house fire, as well as rare and historic guns are the usual recipients of this treatment. It’s not cheap as it often entails welding up pits or adding missing metal, reheat treating fire damaged parts, relining barrels, restoring original markings that have been buffed or worn mostly away, and producing the exact finish the gun had when it left a specific factory. It’s not cheap but the results are identical to a new gun. This can determine the long-term survival of a particular piece, as pristine guns are treasured by museums and individuals while those in poor condition are the first to be culled and discarded. When Golubstov set out to make a duplicate of the original M1907 Test Trials Luger, he made sure to meet the manufacturing standards used by the Deutsche Waffen und Munitions Fabriken (DWM), the original manufacturer of the Luger.

RECREATING THE M1907 LUGER

Golubstov started by obtaining a set of the blueprints of the M1907 Luger that Army Ordnance had drawn up at the time of its 1907 tests. At this time the .45 caliber round had not been standardized and the ammunition at the tests was variable and of poor quality, resulting in Georg Luger making the perfectly reasonable demand (under the circumstances) of being able to provide his own ammo. U.S. Army Ordnance found fault with him and not their ammo over that. As a result, the blueprints did not reflect a gun made for today’s standardized 45 ACP ammo and it was up to Golubstov to make the necessary modifications a century later. Spring tension had to be worked out and the feed ramp had to be adjusted. All of this took time. One thing you will notice is that Luger had made the grip angle slightly less steep to work best with the .45 cartridge.

When Golubstov had fired 10,000 rounds through his prototype, he brought it to my farm where we shot a one-inch group at 50 yards with it. While the current generation of pistols often has a lifespan of 5000 to 10,000 rounds, the Luger never seems to wear out just—like the toggle lock Maxim machinegun that inspired it. He also brought a cut down Baby Luger version inspired by Luger’s personal carry pistol. I liked this one a lot. Finally, there was a target version machined to closer tolerances than the regular Lugers.

All of these were made to DWM commercial standards. Finished in the traditional rust blue that takes about 20 hours of labor to produce, this finish is very durable and rust resistant. Golubstov warns customers that some modern lubricants (like WD-40) attack rust, and, over time, can degrade a rust-blue finish. The solution is Ballistol oil which is available now in the U.S. Developed in Germany as the one oil for all the soldier’s equipment, whether it be steel, wood, or leather, Ballistol does not harm a rust-blue finish. The Germans used this oil in both World Wars, and it is still in use in NATO today. When it contacts water, it forms an emulsion and as long as the emulsion is at least 5% Ballistol, the water will evaporate without causing rust while the Ballistol remains. This is the oil we needed in Vietnam.

MADE TO BE USED

Many of Golubstov’s customers buy these guns for personal protection, wanting the natural-pointing, easy-to-hit-with, super accurate Luger but also wanting the perceived stopping power of a 45 ACP. When it’s your life and the lives of your family are at stake, price ceases to be a hindrance. Each gun is function tested with 150 rounds of eight types of ammo to ensure total reliability. Prices are high compared to the mass-produced guns of Colt or Smith & Wesson because these are largely hand-made in a relatively small shop. You get what you pay for, though.

THE 1907 TEST TRIALS

By now you are probably wondering how the Luger did in the 1907 Army Test trials. Actually, it did quite well. Too well to suit Army Ordnance who were still reeling from the backlash that came when they had adopted the Norwegian Krag rifle instead of an American design. They sure didn’t want a repeat of that which was sure to come if a foreign weapon was adopted again.

Before the tests even began, they had already decided that the Browning-designed Colt 45 Auto was what they wanted, but not in its original 1905 form. They were confident that their old pistol supplier, Colt, could iron the wrinkles out of the design if given enough time. Indeed, the final M1911 version has only a passing resemblance to the M1905 that it began as. Revolvers were included in the tests, as Ordnance figured they might need a stopgap handgun if this dragged on too long. The M1909 Colt New Service revolver was the result of these trials.

To give the M1905 Colt .45 automatic a rival to race against, they chose the Savage automatic. This gun utilizes the Searles locking system which does work, but it works so fast that it might as well be a straight blow back design, as it has all the attendant recoil of a straight blow back gun. However, its simple design promised enough reliability to task the Colt gun in competition… even if its excessive recoil when paired with the powerful .45 cartridge made it forever unsuitable for issue. Scaled down to .32 and .380, it sold well commercially as a pocket pistol, though.

REAL COMPETITION

Other guns were there just to give the impression of an open competition and they were to be gotten rid of as soon as possible, but there was one pistol that they had reason to fear. The Bergman pistol was designed by Louis Schmeisser, who was regarded by some of his contemporaries as a better designer than John Browning. It featured the strongest locking system of all automatic pistols and was exceptionally steady in the hand for precision shooting. When the Bergman needed to replace a defective hammer spring, that was used as a reason to discontinue testing it. However, Ordnance had no problem letting the Savage entry replace its bad main spring in the middle of its test. The Bergman went on to be adopted by Denmark and widely used elsewhere.

A much higher profile gun was the Luger which had been adopted by Switzerland in 1900 and the German Navy in 1904 (Designated the M1906) and was rapidly being adopted by militaries around the world. The Luger gave no excuse to dismiss it though as it was performing well against the Colt and Savage pistols. During the endurance test the Luger had 8 jams in 506 rounds, all of which were cleared by simply slapping the toggle. The M1905 Colt had 24 jams in 500 rounds while the Savage had 18 misfires, 8 failures to eject, and 6 other malfunctions in 500 rounds plus it had to have a new recoil spring after round 151. Malfunctions in the Colt and Savage could not be cleared by a simple slap on the toggle like the Luger but were longer and harder to clear.

SAND, DUST, RUST

The sand box test went to the Colt. The barrels were corked tightly, and the magazines were empty as a blast of fine sand in a specially prepared box hit the pistols for one minute. Excess sand was removed from the gun by blowing, jarring, and wiping with the bare hand. The Colt had no jams, the Luger had two, and the Savage only was able to fire three rounds.

The dust box test was the same as the sand box test, except that fine dust was used. The Luger had four jams, all of which were quickly cleared by striking the toggle. At Luger’s request, a second magazine was fired resulting in only one jam as the pistol was throwing the dust out of itself as it fired. The Colt had no jams, while the Savage had three misfires and one jam.

The rust test was clearly won by the Luger as it was the easiest to put back in action. In this test the bore was plugged, and the guns were soaked for 5 minutes in a saturated solution of salammoniac for 5 minutes then hanging it up indoors to rust for 22 hours. The Luger had to be manually cocked and the toggle closed by hand to fire. Only the application of oil was required to make it work. No rust removal or tools were required. In sharp contrast, the Colt needed a wooden rod to manipulate the mainspring and release the slide catch. The slide was worked back and forth, and the hammer snapped several times before the test was deemed started. The Savage had to have its parts operated by striking it on a bench and manipulating them by hand before firing. The magazine spring had to be repeatedly forced back and forth by a metal rod before it would work, and the gun could be fired.

Significantly, there was no test with wet sticky mud. This is where the German P08 Luger earned its reputation in the trenches of WWI as the most reliable pistol used in that conflict. Drop the Luger in the mud of the Western front and it comes up firing, throwing the mud off. Drop a pistol with an exposed hammer in the same mud and it jams the hammer so it can’t fire, as the mud goes inside the gun there. If the barrel is blocked with mud and you fire it, the barrel will bulge. The exposed barrel of the Luger bulges and keeps firing whereas any pistol with a slide has the slide jammed by the bulge so that it cannot work until the barrel is replaced. In WWI if you didn’t end up crawling through the mud, the exploding artillery shells would cover you and your gun with mud.

When it came time for troop trials, Ordnance declined to let the Luger be tested. They said that it didn’t have an inline mainspring. The real reason was that in the earlier 1900 troop trials with the famed American Eagle .30 caliber Luger pistols, a lot of the troops fell in love with the accurate and easy-shooting Luger. Still, everyone knew by now that you couldn’t stop a charging cavalry horse or Philippine Moro with anything less than a .45. The 1907 Luger was a .45. Old Ordnance veterans told me of all the flack Ordnance got over adopting the Norwegian Krag rifle instead of an American design and how they did not ever want to go through that again. Ordnance could not afford the troops favoring a foreign gun, so they didn’t let it go on the troop trials. Luger knew that there was no hope of his pistol being adopted without them, so he went back to Germany to concentrate on getting his 9mm version adopted by the German government. This became the famed P08 of both World Wars.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Golubstov has also made a new version called the P2020 Luger 45 which incorporates two changes to the original design. First, the ejector was changed to a fixed position. The original ejector design is spring-loaded and needs to flex in and out of the slide to allow the breechblock to move. This isn’t good because it creates additional resistance to the gun cycling. Small changes were made to the breechblock and ejector to eliminate the need for the ejector to flex when the breechblock moves, making the gun more reliable.

The original Luger hold-open spring is a flat spring in front of the bolt hold-open and was delicate and unreliable. Golubstov moved the spring to the back of the hold open to make it more reliable.

The grip safety is available as an option on the 2020 version, whereas it’s standard on the M1907 version.

All these guns are also available in stainless steel. For an additional $2500, any of these can be turned into a Baby Luger. Existing 9mm Lugers can also be converted to Baby Lugers for the same price. LugerMan also makes any style of holster you may desire to carry them in.

Golubstov can also furnish these guns as target versions for match shooting for $1500 extra. The conversion consists of adjustable Partridge sights, a tighter toggle assembly, and a 6.5-inch target barrel. The Luger is one of the most accurate pistols ever made, so a target version is logical. If speed of firing figures into the match, the Luger wins, hands down, as it’s the fastest cycling of all semi-automatics. Its light toggle is extremely fast and travels only a very short distance. You can fire off a magazine and have all the empty cases in the air at the same time.

For those who want the easiest .45 to hit with in a gun that’s built to the highest quality standards, high enough to stake their life on, the .45 Lugers from LugerMan are the answer.

SPECIFICATIONS

Due to its popularity in recent media, such as its appearance in the popular video games Battlefield 1 and Battlefield 5, the mystery of the Luger rifle has become quite infamous. As a consequence, more myths and misinformation have been shared about this unique rifle than many of its contemporaries. My objective today is to clarify a bit of the rifle’s history and speculate on where it might reside nowadays.

The Origins of the Luger

Hugo Borchardt was an innovative firearms designer, having made one of the first-ever automatic pistols in the world. He was infamous for his arrogance, holding such a high opinion of his pistol design that he felt it was flawless. This has caused his legacy to be overshadowed by his successor, Georg Luger.

Georg Luger was born in March 1849 at Steinach on the Bremmer pass in the Austrian Alps. He would join the army as an officer-cadet in 1867, giving him valuable experience in his later career. By 1882, he was already registered as a “Waffentechniker” ¹ and in 1892, Luger would move to Berlin and be employed by Ludwig Loewe & Cie, later renamed to Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken. Although he was an aspiring firearms designer, he was employed as a travelling salesman for the company’s products.

By 1893, he was given permission to have his own creations patented by DWM. In return, DWM would reserve the rights to profit from Luger’s inventions. Although he is known today for his toggle-locked-action pistol, Luger started out his engineering career with bolt-action rifles. Notably, the United States Navy was interested in adopting such a rifle, though the deal fell short when Luger refused to alter his rifle to meet with the calibre requirements of the trials. When Hugo Borchardt abandoned his semi-automatic pistol project to work on gas-operated appliances, Luger took over the project and refined it, leading to the Parabellum model of 1900; More commonly known today bearing the name of its creator, the Luger.

The Kaiser needs a semi-automatic rifle

In 1896, Paul Mauser would personally demonstrate his C96 pistol to Kaiser Wilhelm II. He found it to be remarkable, asking Mauser if such a design could work for an infantry rifle. “Five years, your majesty,” he reportedly replied. Until Mauser’s death in 1914, he would try to perfect such a design for the Kaiser, but, to no avail.

Luger would join Paul Mauser in his attempt to provide a successful self-loading rifle for the German military. His first patent taken out in 1905 was simply titled “Recoil-loader”. However, Luger’s earliest semi-automatic rifle, the one that is well known today, would be made in around 1911, when trials were held against the Borchardt self-loading rifle and possibly the Schwarzlose rifle, though I was not able to confirm that this rifle was ever made. The Luger rifle operated in a similar way to its pistol counterpart; It had a 5-round internal magazine, fed by either a stripper clip or by releasing the base plate and inserting rounds from beneath, similar to a RSC but without the en-bloc clip and the stock, which was similar in construction to the G98.

After the war, Luger was involved in a lawsuit with DWM about the rights to the guns he made while he worked there. During this trial, he exhibited a letter DWM received in 1914 from the Allgemeines Kriegsdepartment, a part of the German war department, where they reject the Borchardt and praised the Luger design, writing, “The Department most earnestly requests that the Luger self-loading rifle is kept secret until further notice.” Though, due to the war being declared later in the same year, no further testing was ever done with the Luger rifle.

PostbellumLuger passed away in 1923, leaving his son, Georg Luger Jr., in control of his estate. Luger Jr. persevered in attempting to promote his father’s rifles to the post-WWI successor of the GPK, the IWG. Having finally rejected it on the grounds of cost and complexity in 1927, he would sell his example of the rifle to the IWG’s study collection, where it remained in inventory until 1945, when the Russians raided the building during the Battle of Berlin. Most of the collection was taken to the St. Petersburg Artillery Museum, where it remains today. However, it is unclear if the IWG’s Luger rifle survived, as some expeditions into their private areas have failed to locate it. However, a Borchardt Self-Loading Rifle was found to still be under their care, so it is possible that they still have it somewhere on-site.

The only Luger rifle we know of today is serial number 4, which was located at the Mauser factory collection until the French took over and plundered it in the final stages of World War Two. It would stay at the St. Etienne Arsenal until it was sold off to the collector market, specifically the company Interarms, founded by Sam Cummings. In a “Guns Review” article from March of 1994, the author J. W. Sawyers got permission to visit the Interarms facility in Manchester and closely inspect the Luger rifle. After that, it was sold off in a Christie’s auction in 1995 and subsequently resold at an unknown auction-house in 1999.

Where is it today?

Sadly, no one has ever come out with this very rare and elusive rifle, so it is still unknown where it is located. The last time it was sold, from an unknown auction house, only gives a number of “167,500”, almost certainly this is how much it was sold for but there is no specific currency attached to it. The weight of the rifle is given in pounds and ounces, nothing uncommon for either the U.K. or the U.S., and there are no words that would give away if it was written in British English or American English.

So it is probable that the Luger rifle is still in the United Kingdom, although it is also possible someone exported it after it was sold. Possibly to the U.S., Switzerland or maybe even Malta.

Geoffrey Sturgess, a possible candidate for its ownership, sold his firearm collection around 2014 and some of his very rare firearms ended up in Maltese collections, like the unfinished 1921 Furrer Maschinenpistole, serial number 1.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that the Luger rifle will be found unless someone comes forward with it, or it ends up in another auction. As always, if anyone has any additional information or leads, you can always send me an email at sircoutin@gmail.com.

By Frank Iannamico

One of the most famous military pistols of all time is arguably the P.08 Luger. The Luger has often been recognized as the standard issue handgun of the German Wehrmacht. The Luger was actually the standard German pistol of World War One and issued in great numbers during that conflict. Although the Luger continued to be manufactured during the Second World War, the P.38 was the predominant German pistol from 1940 to 1945. The double action P.38 was much better suited for military use than the labor intensive Luger. The P.38 was issued to all branches of the German military during the war. The Germans used a large variety of handguns during WWII. Other pistols issued to the German troops like the Belgium Browning Hi-Power and the Polish Radom were produced by forced labor in countries that the Nazis had occupied.

Walther Waffenfabrik of Zella-Mehlis designed and developed the P.38. The P.38 was preceded by two prototypes; the MP Militar Pistole and AP Armee Pistole, both of these designs were rejected by the German Army. The Walther Company had been briefly closed shortly after the conclusion of WWI because of the restrictive treaty of Versailles that disallowed the Germans from developing or manufacturing firearms. The company reopened in 1920 and began to produce handguns for the civilian and police market. During the 1930s many militant groups within Germany were secretly rearming in preparation for a revolution against the countries that had plunged the country into post war chaos. Walther, like most other German firearm manufacturers, was quietly developing weapons for the military. The P.38 double-action design was patented in January of 1938. The prewar P.38s were offered as the Heeres Pistol or HP model and sold on the civilian market. The HP was beautifully fitted and finished. The pistol was offered and exported to quite a few countries including the United States. The Walther pistol was offered in several calibers including 9mm, 7.62 Parabellum (.30 Luger) and .45 ACP. The retail price of the HP pistol was quite expensive and few were sold.

The P.38 was the third production double-action pistol design built by Walther (the P.38 was preceded by the PP and PPK models). The pistol was very advanced for the time. The conventional double-action design allowed a round to be safely carried in the chamber. The pistol could be quickly fired by simply pulling the double-action trigger. Subsequent shots would be fired with the hammer back (single-action). There were a few minor changes in the design once production had begun. One modification was made to the firing pin, changing it from a triangle configuration to an easier to manufacture round type. The other change was to the extractor. The original extractor design was considered difficult to clean and was redesigned to the exposed style. The rear sight is a large rear U notch, the front sight is a triangle shaped affair that can be drifted right or left if necessary. A slide-mounted “hammer drop” safety operates opposite the U.S. 1911. On the P.38 the fire or feuer position is obtained by pushing the lever upward. Safe or Sicher position is down. In 1943 the frame was redesigned to be strengthened around the trigger pin. A slight bulge extending down into an otherwise symmetrical trigger guard can easily identify these pistols. The all steel P.38 weights 34 ounces unloaded. An eight round capacity magazine is positioned inside the grip. The magazine release lever is the awkward “European” style located at the base of the grip. A six-groove 1:10 twist barrel is 4 15/16 inches in length. The overall length of the pistol is 8 7/16 inch. A loaded chamber indicator was incorporated in the design. The indicator pin protrudes from the rear of the slide when the weapon is loaded, and could be easily felt with a fingertip at night. One characteristic of the P.38 that many American shooters find unique is that it ejects spent cases out of the left side of the slide. A black or brown leather holster of varying styles was issued for carrying the pistol.

Walther P.38 pistols were produced in several variations that differed mainly in finish and markings. The first ones produced for the military contracts were similar to those made for the civilian market. The early contract pistols are known by collectors as the zero series, because of the zero first digit in the serial number. The slides on these pistols featured the Walther name and banner. The zero series was followed by the newly assigned Walther wartime code 480. The 480 code appeared only briefly until the Germans changed from numeric to letter codes. Walther P.38s were assigned the letter code ac. Slide markings on Walthers were subsequently marked with the letter code ac followed by a two digit number designating the year the particular weapon was manufactured. A number of P.38 pistols were sold to Sweden for their military. Those pre-war pistols are identified by an H on the frame. The Swedish issue P.38 was designated as the M39 pistol.

After the German Wehrmacht officially adopted the P.38, civilian and export sales were suspended and all available production went to the military. As WWII escalated the demand for sidearms grew. Walter’s production could not keep up with the demand and new companies were contracted to produce the pistol. Mauser-Werke at Oberndorf, who was also manufacturing the P.08 Luger, began tooling up to produce the P.38. By November of 1942, the first Mauser manufactured P.38s were coming off the assembly lines. Mauser had been experimenting with a phosphate finish for their pistols and many that were manufactured by them had components, and even complete pistols that were phospated in a gray color. Mauser produced pistols were marked with the manufacturing code byf and the Waffenampt inspector’s mark 135. While most wartime P.38s had brown or black plastic grips, Mauser installed stamped sheet metal grips on some weapons. Mauser also made the P.38 for the German police; the markings are different on the police contract pistols. In 1945 Mauser’s manufacturer code was changed to SVW.

Spreewerk, a third manufacturer, was selected in 1943 to begin production of the P.38. The Spreewerk factory was manufacturing heavy artillery pieces. Mauser assisted Spreewerk in setting up their P.38 production line. The Spreewerk manufactured P.38s are recognized by the assigned factory code cyq, and Waffenampts WaA 88, although Spreewerk pistols were also assembled using Walther and Mauser parts. Pistols manufactured by Speewerk did not include the year of manufacture stamped on the slide. Spreewerk operated two factories that assembled the P.38, one in Czechoslovakia the other at Spandau, Germany. Like other P.38s the Spreewerk guns had a four-digit serial number with a letter suffix. After the letter z was reached, the lettering was started again at the letter “a” but as a prefix instead of a suffix. All P.38s have their serial numbers stamped on the frame, slide and barrel. Because of their efforts to expedite production, Spreewerk pistols normally have a rougher machine finish with excess tool marks. By December of 1943 completed Spreewerk pistols were being sent into service. Late manufacture Spreewerk pistols, like the early Walther manufactured P.38s also had a limited run of “zero” prefix serial numbers, these pistols were hastily manufactured as Russian troops were closing in on the factory in the spring of 1945.

After the Allies captured the Mauser factory, manufacture of the P.38 was temporarily halted, and the French occupied the factory. The French being short on weapons for their police and occupation troops soon resumed production of the pistol. The French began assembling pistols from the parts that were left inside the factory.

The French P.38s are identified by a five point star stamped on the left side of the slide. The pistols also retained the Mauser code SVW, usually marked with the year 45 or 46. The pistols destined for police use were blued while the military guns were finished in a gray phosphate. Collectors refer to the latter guns as “Gray Ghosts”. The French P.38s eventually found their way to Indo China and Algiers in the holsters of French troops.

When the Spreewerk and Walther plants were taken over by the Allies, there were enough parts remaining to assemble a fair amount of additional P.38 pistols. After the war had ended the Czechs and East Germans, like the French, opened the factories to assemble complete pistols from the parts. The Czech pistols were stamped with that country’s Rampant Lion symbol. The pistols were used for issue to the police and military. The East German Police (Vopo) P.38s were marked with a “sunburst” stamp and/or a crown, and various letters or numbers. Beginning in 1957 Walther began to manufacture the P.38 design once again. A new alloy frame post war model was introduced as the P1. The pistol was for police and military sales. In 1962 Walther began offering the P1 to the civilian market.

The P.38 was quite an advanced military handgun for its time. Those familiar with the U.S. Army’s current issue M9 pistol will see quite a few similarities between the two designs. The WWII P.38 can be easily located on the collector market and is usually very reasonably priced when compared to other weapons of the era. There are enough variations of the pistol to intrigue any collector.