LugEr pistol

[frans]

I know this old guy, he called me the other day and said he wanted to give me his Luger. I don't know anything about these pistols but am thinking it might make a good addition for personal safety while camping in my landrover.
Can anyone tell me if this is a good pistol to have? Easy to buy ammo for? Easy to clean, shoot etc?
Thanks

 

[The Wizard]

First, it is LugEr not Lugar. It all depends of what type of Luger you will be getting. Luger pistols have been produced since 1900. Some are worth a couple of $100 and some are worth tens of thousands dollar. The vast majority of Luger were produce in 9 mm Parabellum (9 mm Luger, 9 mm NATO, 9 mm X 21 mm) but quite a few were in 7.65 mm Parabellum (.30 Luger). Get a knowledgeable person to look at the Luger and determine what it is. Although the Luger pistol is an excellent pistol and served a number of militaries, there are better pistol out there today for "personal safety". Remember GOOGLE is your friend. Take some time and Google the Luger pistol and familarize yourself with the basics of the pistol.

 

[frans]

Thank you for the spelling correction. I will do due diligence in researching this. Just figured I would ask the group first.
Thank you

 

[CCH]

There are going to be very few Lugers in operable condition for a couple of hundred dollars. If it is in decent shape, it’s likely pretty valuable. They are an extremely well made and generally very accurate pistol. However, they are far from the best choice for a self defense gun. Definitely better collector’s piece.

 

[zimm]

if hes giving it to you, and you fire a few magazines without a failure, use it, it'll be fine. or, sell it and buy a 357 smith snub, if you want simple, or a glock if want more capacity.

don't overthink it.

 

[Mike S]

Most Lugers are chambered for the 380 cartridge. Not really an effective ‘stopper’ cartridge,but better than a .22 rimfire.

 

[mep1811]

Most Lugers are chambered for the 380 cartridge. Not really an effective ‘stopper’ cartridge,but better than a .22 rimfire.

???????????????????????????????????????????? There were some chambered for the 30 Cal Luger and then 9MM Parabellum . There were a few in .45ACP for trial purposes but never in a .380.

 

[mbuckner]

Who is the manufacturer?

 

[perterra]

Most Lugers are chambered for the 380 cartridge. Not really an effective ‘stopper’ cartridge,but better than a .22 rimfire.

"Real" Lugers were not 380's. Erma made a bunch of 380's in the 60's but the pre-1940 Lugers were all in 9X19 and 30 Mauser

 

[The Wizard]

The Lugar pistol was not chambered for the .30 Mauser. The two cartridges that the Lugar was chamber for were the .30 Luger (7.65 mm X 21 mm) (NOT interchangeable with the .30 Mauser) and the 9 mm Lugar (Parabellum) (9 mm X 19 mm).

 

[mep1811]

Do you have pictures?

 

[SBSYNCRO]

I have 4 different Luger P08 pistols - they come in a wide variety of configurations - different calibers, different barrel lengths, etc. In general, I would not recommend them as a personal defense weapon. The only real advantage of them is that the majority are chambered in 9x19 which is the most common pistol caliber. Beyond that they are not very practical. Most of the older "shooters" that are floating around are a mish-mash of spare parts that were carried out of Europe over the last century by either returning soldiers or by import companies. If they don't have matching serial numbers across all the parts they are worth almost nothing (few hundred $ at most). If all matching numbers, then they are more for collecting and not shooting. I have two relatively rare collectibles and two "shooters". Both of the shooters tend to fall apart after firing a dozen or so rounds. (being old the tolerances are sloppy and the side plate that holds them together tends to fall off - you can see a lot of references to this problem online).

So bottom line, they are neat pistols, but I would not consider them "practical" for defensive purposes - they are ungainly, not particularly accurate, old, and they are HEAVY as compared to a modern 9mm.

 

[Teachyboy]

Decent gun. A little temperamental on reliability if they get dirty or aren't maintained properly. If it's a 9mm ammo is everywhere. If 30 luger not so much. If we are talking 2 legged animals either caliber is fine if we are talking four legged not a good caliber. A good caliber for both is 10mm if you want a semi auto. If you like a wheel gun get 357 or bigger. I am a firearms trainer on the side so if you have any questions don't be afraid to ask.

 

[AbleGuy]

Just for fun, modern day “Wild Bill” Hickok shoots and compares...

 

[direwolf82]

I have 4 different Luger P08 pistols - they come in a wide variety of configurations - different calibers, different barrel lengths, etc. In general, I would not recommend them as a personal defense weapon. The only real advantage of them is that the majority are chambered in 9x19 which is the most common pistol caliber. Beyond that they are not very practical. Most of the older "shooters" that are floating around are a mish-mash of spare parts that were carried out of Europe over the last century by either returning soldiers or by import companies. If they don't have matching serial numbers across all the parts they are worth almost nothing (few hundred $ at most). If all matching numbers, then they are more for collecting and not shooting. I have two relatively rare collectibles and two "shooters". Both of the shooters tend to fall apart after firing a dozen or so rounds. (being old the tolerances are sloppy and the side plate that holds them together tends to fall off - you can see a lot of references to this problem online).

So bottom line, they are neat pistols, but I would not consider them "practical" for defensive purposes - they are ungainly, not particularly accurate, old, and they are HEAVY as compared to a modern 9mm.

I know this is an old thread, but curious about something. I was told the German soldiers were supposed to snap off the tab on the sideplate to "decommission" the piece before capture or surrender and that's why there are so many temperamental lugers. Dad was an army armorer and a big fan of ww1 and ww2, he usually knows his stuff. He's got a few different lugers and Mausers, the red nine broom handles are his favorite for some reason. I'd use a luger before a mauser for self defense but get used to that trigger squeeze first.

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