P08 lugers ww1 to ww2

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Weeedoggie

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Just a question to anyone who owns one , what are the major problems that occur with them , are they super finicky pistols ? Thinking about getting a rebarelled one any imput would be great
Thanks
 
I would say go ahead and buy the gun.Replacement parts may be a little hard to get at times but they are a hoot to shoot.

Dave G
 
I rarely have and issued with my Lugers.
One of my Lugers has a matching mag and last shot doesn't hold open on it, but it does with other mags
If anything, it's going to be old springs that might cause issues.
 
I like the S42 Lugers prefer “K” and “G” code ones over date stamped ones.
I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the 9mm ones but I suggest to do some reading and go with one that may appeal to you historically speaking.And then take it apart and examine the wonderful workmanship of the time and the design.
I think the toggle action is a remarkable innovation taken from the Maxim machine gun design and is a huge improvement over the Borchardt design
 
The only problem I have would be mag related. Mec Gar works best, I believe due the the heavy spring. I bought a KCI, or something like that, which has a substantially weaker spring and it either will not lock open on empty or will jam.

I like to avoid jams, as I've not figured out how to obtain the third hand that seems necessary to clear them.

They're like a match pistol in service pistol drag. Unfortunately with a service pistol trigger... It's good practice for trigger control, however!

I don't think that it's possible to regret owning one.
 
i have a 1917 police rework with a mauser banner toggle, great shooter & far more accurate than i expected.
as mentioned earlier, most stoppages are caused by weak springs.
 
I've owned a lot of Luger Parabellums from the early 1900's to late 70's and one of the most fun to shoot is a 1916 DWM in 9mm. Eventhough the inside showed very little use this one had a complete springs swap when I got it but it deserved it since it's all matching (beside magazine and 6" restricted barrel, of course), is crazy tight and has a delightful trigger. Accuracy is also well above average with it's 6" barrel, it matches my 1933 Swiss 06/29 in 7.65mm and that speak volumes. It was also partially restored to prevent the pitted areas to grow but straw and fire blue parts were kept in original form and intact.

The most common issues with Parabellums are weak follower springs, out of specs magazines bodies and soft/used main & recoil springs. Once you find some good mags and replace worn springs, they are usually marvelous shooting pieces.

I found a bunch of older "non marked" black body, black follower & black plastic bottom Mec-Gars magazines and they are working best.

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Also, being built pretty tight they don't like to be dirty and can start to fail after close to 100 rounds fired without cleaning. Later WWII models were less prone to jams since they were built a bit looser.
 
Georg Luger's redesign of the Borchardt pistol was magnificent. I think total production was over one million pistols of various calibers & special features.
The most common are chambered in 9mm 124 grain round nose FMJ bullet. DWM submitted 10 Lugers in 45acp for the US trials for their new firearm requirement. At one point in the trials it was JMB's Colt made 1911 vs Savage's pistol in 45, vs the Luger.
 
My 1917 dwm VOPO rework is pretty reliable. Just very delicate in construction compared to a 1911. I bought mine for 400$ and had it rebarreled for the fuerers rules. After market mag blows. Original is good. Loading tool is a plus for your thumbs.
 
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