A molested 1917 Luger gets a little love...

[45collector]

 

[majspud]

...now go forth my son and shoot the snot out of it.

t

 

[45collector]

...now go forth my son and shoot the snot out of it.

t

I will be putting rounds through it today after work! Rain or shine.

 

[majspud]

shine today, rain tomorrow.

t

 

[The5thDentist]

AMAZING!!! Very impressive!

 

[45collector]

AMAZING!!! Very impressive!

Thanks! I'm happy with the results (although I am going to need one more small part, to get the gun to fire reliably).

Finally, for contrast:

 

[namedpipes]

Inspiring...

I have a couple kicking around in the back of the safe that are in similar shape as your start point.

 

[45collector]

Inspiring...

I have a couple kicking around in the back of the safe that are in similar shape as your start point.

Patience and attention to detail is key. Also, if you are dealing with stripping nickel or chrome you'll want to have a well ventilated area to work with the chemicals required to strip that stuff off properly. And find out how you'll dispose of it properly ahead of time. Shit is NASTY.

 

[beaker]

looks better now, nice work!

 

[majspud]

Where's the range report?

t

 

[45collector]

Where's the range report?

t

Ah yes. The pistol fires but the trigger is very mushy and way too much effort is required to fire it. I have ordered a new trigger lever and I may end up having modify the inside of the side plate slightly. It seems that tolerances were indeed loosened up on this gun to the point where the trigger lever is not fully reaching the sear bar to release the firing pin. The tolerance in the barrel/ extension/ toggle train are fine so the pistol is perfectly safe to fire, it's just the parts in the fire control group need some more work, and worst case I have to replace them. If I had to replace the side plate and sear bar, that wouldn't be cheap. But hey, at this point I can't just abandon the project.

 

[45collector]

This was my target @ ~ 12 yards, with the overly heavy trigger pull. I have a new trigger lever from Numrich which I think will mostly fix the issue although it may need some tweaking.

Three magazines through it at this distance should have given me a way better group than this. I'll try it again after I replace the trigger lever.

 

[Beretta92FS]

What an amazing project!

 

[majspud]

Just elevation = breathing.
t

 

[45collector]

Just elevation = breathing.
t

If this were at 200 yards with a rifle maybe. My pistol targets simply don't look like this at 12 yards.

 

[smokey-seven]

Thank you sir for the pics and the work. Pulling one from the War To End All Wars back into use is a worth deed.

Anyone have a good lead on references for Luger Holsters? I have one I cannot locate online.

I will post some pics in the milsurp forum. I've been looking for a year, cannot locate this particular holster.


.

 

[Picton]

Question, Lugerites:

I've always wondered why the trigger has that wraparound part that forms a hook against the front of the triggerguard, almost so you can reset it manually with your finger. Anyone know?

 

[smokey-seven]

Attempting to reset a Luger trigger is impossible without activating the toggle. It is most likely there just to stop further forward travel of the trigger.

Possibly it was to insure sear engagement when in fully auto design, pushing the trigger forward.

.

 

[45collector]

Consider too that if the trigger spring ever broke (unlikely) or was lost, that little forward hook would make it much easier to keep the gun in the fight.

 

[Picton]

Consider too that if the trigger spring ever broke (unlikely) or was lost, that little forward hook would make it much easier to keep the gun in the fight.

I kinda figured it was something like this, or that there was some kind of problem of fouling in the innards under heavy rates of fire? Hinge pin getting gummed up? I know next to nothing about Lugers, but it just seems like an unusual trigger design.

 

[45collector]

Speaking of trigger, I forgot to update the fix. It did end up being that the trigger lever was somewhat out of spec so I put a new one in and the trigger pull improved greatly. I also found a cheap set of crude-cut wood grips on Ebay that I spent hours on so they'd fit somewhat nice. They're snug as hell and look more proper than those VOPO grips I had kicking around. I still have the gun's original grips but they are too loose to use for range work.

This is another two mags through the gun at 12 yards after the trigger lever fix.