Walther P38 hand gun

grelmar said:
Bearhunter

Matches with what I've heard (but not experienced, thankfully).

There was another fellow on CGN who ended up with a cracked slide after running hot reloads through his.

But I've never seen a confirmed wrecked P38 from running normal NATO spec ammo, or standard hardball. I wouldn't expect any troubles from defensive ammo either, so long as you stay away from +P rated ammo.

These are great guns, and a design that remained in service well into the 80's in Germany (with various police agencies), among other nations. I have little doubt it would still be popular if it wasn't for the "double stack" revolution that happened in 9mm. As it is, for institutional users, it gets hard to justify a full sized service pistol with an 8+1 capacity.

I love the lines of it. For my money, it's the classiest looking service pistol of WWII. And the ergonomics of the grip are stellar. Makes holding my TT-33 or 1911 feel like grabbing a 2x4 in comparison.
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We ran a few P38s (post war) and P1s on the range here. They did not last long before a myriad of parts gave out. Slides cracked pretty quickly compared to new production guns, locking blocks cracked, a frame cracked and a barrel cracked too. They are really not made for lots of shooting and I would be careful of using a collectible one at all. I am of the opinion that all the tales of hot ammo being the cause are just that, tales. I don't doubt that the pistols are of a weak design and that hot ammo makes it worse, but regular commercial 9mm will destroy one pretty quickly too (compared to newer guns).
 
Thanks again guys, you are awesome. Great hints, great personal experience. I understand that some of you experienced problems with them and some don't. I'm not and will not be a hard shooter with this pistol. I will show you what is my main goal in buying a pistol like this one. It may take a while but I always do what I plan...

My choice has been made. It'll be a cheap one as first buy. Just to see how it is to shoot a mag or two than will probably ended on the display. Then, if I fall in love with it, why not getting one with great collectible value?!

As a last question, where can I buy a WW2 holster for this pistol? Strangely, I am ready to put more efforts in finding an original holster than a very nice pistol. If you ever have one that you would agree to part with, please let me know, either in private message or on my email. martin@aboire.ca

Again, I want to thank you all, it is one of the greatest community here!

Martin
 
Researching the holsters can be as involved as researching the pistols.
Depending on the pistol the same can be said for the magazine markings.

You have to know which holster "might" be correct with the P.38 that you own. (Mostly has to do with holster dating markings)

If you do not purchase a correct rig and you purchase the pistol first ---that is when you need to do your holster homework to find a compatible holster.
 
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