Maybe asking the obvious.. ..but how has no company manufactured repro Lugers?

A

avroe

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Perhaps i'm missing the obvious, but..

With Lugers drawing fairly high prices in most markets, and the 200 that krieghoff is now making drawing $17,000 prices...

How has no firearms company started making reproductions of these?

I believe an american fellow offers hand made reproduction ones in the $5k per range, however this seems more of a custom firearm setup than a manufactured mass product.

Are they just too technical to manufacture in quantity at this point?

....my assumption is that China doesn't copy these because of the technical requirements vs profitability on simpler knock offs that aren't as picky, but i'm sure some of the non-Chinese companies pumping out 1911 clones could just as easily tool up for these if a market existed?

One would assume that the tooling for these would have existed in many copies around the world, and not just what Mauser/krieghoff have.

Am I incorrect in assuming a market exists for new ones and that enough surplus stock still exists to make it not worthwhile?

Am I missing the possibility that a patent on this design somehow still exists?

...curious as to what I must be missing.

I appreciate anyones feedback.
 
My understanding is that a new copy of the Luger will be much more expensive than any modern polymer-frame pistol, while at the same time it is not the real thing.

Shooters will go for the safer and less expensive options, and collectors would prefer to pay more to have a real vintage Luger than buying a new production copy. It does not make sense to mass produce such a product commercially.
 
bear.23 said:
Norinco has made a copy.. Getting one into Canada is another story...
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Wasn't that found to just be the work of a gunsmith as a one off custom and not actual "Norinco" line production?

As I recall only a couple of photos have ever surfaced, and they are all of the same unit?

Perhaps i'm remembering wrong here though, i'll admit i'm not overly sure.
 
.. Simple answer: Cost to manufacture, additionally, a limited market, for what is perceived, to be an "Outdated" design". Really too bad. .... David K
 
--Terry-- said:
My understanding is that a new copy of the Luger will be much more expensive than any modern polymer-frame pistol, while at the same time it is not the real thing.

Shooters will go for the safer and less expensive options, and collectors would prefer to pay more to have a real vintage Luger than buying a new production copy. It does not make sense to mass produce such a product commercially.
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I realize it would require a premium price tag, but when you look back at "American Eagle" lugers, is this not the same concept?

Is it unrealistic to assume that a company could find a market for a $1,000 range new production luger?

(Note: I fully admit that I have no idea if it's realistic to assume you could manufacture it in this range, and have 0 concept of manufacturing costs involved with firearms production.)

If not the $1,000 range, the $1,500 range?

Part of my reasoning also revolves around the logic that a lot of Luger collectors don't actually want to shoot the 30-100 year old pieces they have, as they are classic collector pieces.

A new production Luger would fit a market for a Luger you're actually shooting with new parts available etc.

With the unique shooting experience a Luger presents, would this not be a viable market?
 
MegaMonkeyChunk said:
Probably the same reason nobody makes Mauser C96s, the cost.
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Is the cost purely associated with the number of parts and the complexity of their design and interactions?

Or do parts need to be manufactured using a specific process that isn't as cost effective as manufacturing 1911s?
 
the Mitchell Arms Luger was produced in all stainless with 4" and 6" barrels, and they sold for ~ $500.00 in 1995.

it was reported that they are not very reliable.
 
Interarms had a go at having Lugers made in Germany by Mauser years ago. These were machined. They had acquired the Swiss tooling. Reworked the tooling to produce non-Swiss pattern Lugers. Production costs & limited market/sales killed the project.
Inspected one of the Mitchells at a trade show. Didn't look bad, better than I expected. Nothing really came of the project.
Erma made sort of Lugers in .380 and .22. Stampings, pot metal, etc.
To make a quality reproduction of a Luger is challenging, even with CNC, precision castings, etc.
A 96 Mauser would be easy in comparison. Mauser type pistols have been mass produced in Spain, China. With modern production technology, a 96 would be possible to manufacture at a reasonable price.
But is there a market for an awkward, marginally ergonomic pistol?
 
Part of the problem with Lugers is that they are a reminder of the Nazi's, a lot of company's would not want to tarnish their image by producing something used by the bad guys to enforce their agenda.
 
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