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I have a couple of P08's and still take one to the range most of the time ( a 1916 DWM with all matching parts but refinished). But I have a couple that I am pretty proud of. Here is a little 1937 that I have that was captured in Italy in 1945. I purchased the gun from the son of the veteran that brought the gun back so the only story I have is second hand except for the documentation that came with the gun. It seems his father had obtained a copy of a publication called "The Morning Report", which was a complete log of the 339th FA BN, part of the 88th Infantry Division. It takes them from boot camp through the end of the war. Here is a link if you've a mind to read some of it, which I personally found to be a treasure. http://www.moviephotoforums.com/1937/ Now along with the Morning Report I also obtained a photo of the soldier and the capture papers that went with the gun.

Interested to see if there are any other P08 fans with some treasures around here?

This is a 100% matching including the magazine 1937 with the original finish, great bore with no frosting.

for me they are as timeless as a 1911, a ppk or a high power.

cheezit wrote:for me they are as timeless as a 1911, a ppk or a high power.

How true that is. I remember reading one time that the Luger was the most recognizable gun ever but I think that's an old survey. I'm sure now it's a Glock, Beretta 92 or the greatest gun ever made the 1911. :)


A little 1944 that has been in my family for almost 60 years.

I would really like to get a hold of a P08 myself.

I hear they feel wonderful to hold and fire.

I see them quite a bit at local gunshows, but they tend to run between $500 to $700 dollars.
I would rather put that money to an AK or AR, or more magazines and ammo...

Mando'a wrote:I would really like to get a hold of a P08 myself.

I hear they feel wonderful to hold and fire.

I see them quite a bit at local gunshows, but they tend to run between $500 to $700 dollars.
I would rather put that money to an AK or AR, or more magazines and ammo...

If you find any of those 500-700 dollar P08's look them over good. Odds are they are some the russian capture guns that flooded the US market during the 90's. They make excellent shooters but have almost no collector value due to the altered finish and mix matched parts. A correct 100% matching Luger in good condition will easily bring 1500-2000 most of the time and some more rare variations I have seen go for as much as 15,000.

Of course if this were my only gun I might sell it to buy other guns but as luck would have it I have ample to play with. I have a Colt AR that I have had for years and rarely shoot and if I were to get an AK style I would want one of the Galil models with the machined receiver and not the cheaper stamped steel models.

If I remember correctly there was a .45acp version that is very rare.

cheezit wrote:If I remember correctly there was a .45acp version that is very rare.

I'm not sure if the location of the two I know about is known but I'll bet they are. They were known as Aberman and the Norton, Aberman I think had the serial number 2 on the side plate and the number 21 on the magazine while Norton had a single 3 on the magazine and no other marks or proofs. But if you want a rare in the 10k-20k range look for a krieghoff suhl. They were usually in the hands of the Luftwaffe. Of course I could be wrong, not really a Luger expert but have done some playing with them.

Max wrote:A little 1944 that has been in my family for almost 60 years.

My 1943 Ithaca which was my dad's sidearm in WW2. I put the Pachmyars on it because I'm left-handed and I don't want to mar the finish on the front strap with my wedding ring, but I still have the original grip panels:


BTW, the idiot marks were already there when I got it.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

Max wrote:A little 1944 that has been in my family for almost 60 years.

My 1943 Ithaca which was my dad's sidearm in WW2. I put the Pachmyars on it because I'm left-handed and I don't want to mar the finish on the front strap with my wedding ring, but I still have the original grip panels:


BTW, the idiot marks were already there when I got it.

That's what they ALL say!....

Very nice old Ithaca Annoyed Man. Mine was purchased by my father via Kleins Sporting Goods mail order. I still have the original receipt for the purchase. Note they call it a colt but the serial number is correct.

Mando'a wrote: . . . I see them quite a bit at local gunshows, but they tend to run between $500 to $700 dollars.

That's a good price for a mechanically sound "shooter" grade Luger, unless it's rusty and pitted.The better ones on Gunbroker seem to have awfully high reserve prices . . . most have been listed a long time with no bids. I figure the seller is just waiting for a fish to swim by . . .

I've been looking for one myself, just to add as a representative sample for my collection, but all the halfway decent ones I've seen are going for WELL over the $500-$700 price point because they're a "rare variation" (there are >3000 Luger variations known) or have some "history" with them . ("All that pitting came from the blood of the Nazi general who died fighting my grandpa in WWI")

Buy the gun, not the story. Duh.

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As for 1911s . . . my Dad carried one in WWII, made by Ithaca like the one mentioned in an earlier post. He often told me he regretted not bringing it home. If I knew the serial number, I'd be keeping an eye out for it . . . but I'm afraid that information is lost forever in the mists of history.

Hank truer words have not been spoken. It seems like every Luger has some story when the truth is most of them were dumped in piles when surrendered and picked out of the piles later. I have heard they dumped the magazines in one pile and the pistols in another explaining why so few have the matching magazine. Of course that's just a story as well. I have several with matching magazines and all matching parts but only know the entire story verifiable on a couple.

How about a clean little 42 byf the gun most often turned into what later became known as the black widow as a selling tool. :)

Looks like you've got some nice pistols, Max - I'm jealous.

I still have a few magazines from the early '60s (I was a young'un then) that show Lugers, P-38s, Garands, SAFNs, Johnson rifles, M1 carbines, etc., all for sale via MAIL ORDER at prices that make me shake my head . . . even after I allow for several decades of inflation.

If only GCA '68 hadn't passed until 5 or 10 years later . . . or better yet, not at all.