Mitchell Mauser Lugers

Can anybody tell me about Mitchells lugers, also which Luger is the most desireable to purchase and where to get it.. I have been looking and am so confused I don't know what to believe.

Mitchells has a rep as being overpriced on most (all?) of their guns. Bear in mind that this is what I've been told by those whom bought their guns, I haven't held one of them, FWIW.

As for "most desirable", that's in the eye of the beholder as well as his wallet. Some prefer the longer barrel artillery or naval models. Others prefer the balance of the 4" barrel models that are both most common as well as cheapest.

So-called "shooters" now sell in the $500-600 range. Part S/N's won't match & the bores may be a bit dark, etc. etc. But for just knocking around, they're tough to beat, IMO.

One piece of advice I might suggest is to NOT fall for the old "taken off of a dead German General by my great-grand pappy" or some shit. Some boobs think this adds $300 to the value of a run of the mill Luger.............

About the best thing you can do is hit some local gun shows & try to find some for sale that you can hold in your hand. This will allow you to learn the pricing structure versus condition, IMO. Don't be afraid to ask questions & don't be afraid to lay it back down & keep looking either.

Good luck!

Were these not the same guys who would take guns, clean them up, refinish the stocks etc and then put them out there as unissued?

If you are referring to the stainless steel Lugers I consider them an abomination! They have horrible fit and finish. If you want a reliable shooter Luger look for one of the 1970's Mauser made guns. They bought the original Swiss pattern tooling and produced them for a few years. They will run you about the same as a shooter grade WWI or II gun but are every bit as good.

What codes on the Luger should I look for?

Look for one that is marked "Original Mauser" on the toggle. Most of these will have a straight front grip strap.

Originally Posted By SplatSTi: Were these not the same guys who would take guns, clean them up, refinish the stocks etc and then put them out there as unissued?

I don't know about "unissued", but they did indeed clean them up greatly. Hence the higher price, I guess?

Originally Posted By graywolf: What codes on the Luger should I look for?

This will depend on whether it's a commercial model (pre-WW2) or war era made model. Personally, unless one is seriously into collecting, I wouldn't be too concerned with this or that code, IMO.

My .o2

If you buy a WWI Luger the 1917 and 1918 dated DWM Lugers will be slightly less than an earlier model or an Erfurt. Early commerical (1900-1902) will normally be in 30 Luger and will almost always have a weak main spring that is costly to replace and 30 Luger is expensive to shoot compared to 9mm. Most of those early guns might be looked at as relegated to collectors if you wish is to own and shoot a Luger. The 1938-1941 WWII Lugers that are military models are nice if you want to own an original and shoot it occasionally, they will be in 9mm if all original. Those Lugers will have S/42, 42 or byf toggle codes along with the date stamp over the chamber, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 41, or 42. A shooter Luger is the best bet as long as the gun functions properly, some need new springs (coil main springs are cheap)., All should be ammo/power evaluated to get the proper main spring/ammo combination for proper functioning and preservation of the weapon. A Luger with a stiff mainspring might not function properly with a weak or standard loading. A Luger with a weaker mainspring might be damaged from standard of +p firings. Each should be evaluated separately and no standard treatment should be used until the gun is fired with standard pressure ammo to evaluate what level of ammo is appropriate. Once you figure out what ammo to use and what set up of mainspring you have or need to upgrade, they function pretty well. Lugers need a strong magazine spring (hence the issuance of a loading tool) to function properly. A weak magazine spring can lead to failures to feed. Have fun and be safe. Lugers are an adventure in firing a vintage weapon that at it's time was very amazing. Heck, we are still amazed by them. Here are two Lugers I restored.

Ted it's good to see you posting again! Are you back to restoring full time?

Somedays are good somedays are not so good. I work a few hours a day on them. Nice to hear from you.

Beautiful k date. Nice to see such workmanship.

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