Hi all,

A few weeks ago I picked up a shooter Luger for relatively inexpensive at the local store...sadly it was buffed within an inch of it's life, but other than that it was all matching, everything except the unnumbered extractor and what appears to be a replacement barrel (it has no proofs on it nor is it serial numbered)...and of course it was reblued. It's dated 1917 and most all of the imperial proofs were buffed into just suggestions that it was proofed But, it's a shooter, not a collector's piece now, so I'm ok with that. So long as it functions, which it does! However...

I only have two magazines for it...the one it came with (mag spring in that is basically dead, I need to replace it), and a Mec-Gar mag I picked up years ago. The one it came with appears to be another aftermarket mag of some kind; it's not an imperial nor is it WWII. The gun isn't import marked so if I had to guess I'd say it was bought over as a trophy after WWI but before WWII, as the reblue looks really old, and the rebarrel has a fair bit of corrosion going on from corrosive ammo. (though to be perfectly fair it IS possible it was bought over as a trophy after WWII, I just honestly don't know)

Whenever the action is cycled, the (loaded) Mec-gar mag will pop out. I had difficulty keeping it seated when it was unloaded, but with it loaded...whenever the action is closed, it just forces the magazine right out.

It made my range trip this weekend really frustrating

Has this happened to anyone here before? Anyone have any tips as to what to fix with the mag to keep it seated? I am guessing the magazine catch slot is cut a little too high? Or too low?

Thanks for any help

Without a pic of the mags and the gun I am just going to guess that it may be a worn out mag catch button? Is the button spring still in the gun and does it have sufficient tension?

Yep, the button spring is still in and it still has tension; it kept the other mag I had (unknown make) seated just fine...the mec-gar though needs a solid pound to get it to seat, whether full or empty. I'm guessing the magazine notch cut in the mag may be a skosh too high or low...but the gun could stand for a total spring rehabilitation for sure regardless. I need to order a Wolff spring kit for it. And another mag or two. It (the magazine) seats fine in my other two lugers, just this one is giving it problems...

Sorry, no pictures...if I posted a photo of it you'd cry in horror It was so horribly buffed when it was reblued that the serial number is barely legible, as is the date on the ring. The blue job itself looks pretty solid, it just looks like someone got a bit hamhanded with the buffer It was definitely shot a lot after it came over from Europe, I can promise that much.

The grips that are on it couldn't be much more than a flat piece of wood someone checkered and stuck on it...I don't think they have any curve in 'em

It'll never be a collector's piece but I can at least try to restore it somewhat and ensure it functions correctly going forward....may as well enjoy it for what it was made to do; shoot!

The Mec Gar mags are the best aftermarket option there is. How about trying to insert the mag with the action open? A fully loaded mag with good spring tension ban be hard to seat with the toggle down.

Same issue with the mag full or empty, action open or closed. I just am not sure if the notch is too high or too low, but I'm fairly sure it's just slightly off.

I'll take a look at it some more when I get home, maybe a pass or three with a fine file on the magazine will cure the problem..

Yep, that did it, 10-15 strokes of the file to the top of the catch notch in the mag cured the problem

I popped off the right grip to see what the difference was when seating the mag, comparing the Mec-Gar vs a WWI-ish wood-bottom magazine I have around here (not serial numbered but due to the wood bottom, more a display piece than a live magazine)...the wood one clicked in, you could watch the mag catch in the pistol move out then click in.

On the Mec-Gar it never really moved out...it clicked like it was seated but I could pull it right out with a light tug.

After the light filing the Mec-Gar mag now securely locks in and I can't yank it out. Can't wait to go to the range and try it now, since this is my only useable magazine until the spring kit I ordered comes in

Pics of them gun not loading....................    

Sorry for the thread necro, but I had to share this...

So, filing on the mag catch opening on the mag (the tiny few passes I did anyway) didn't work for crap at the range; it still happily ejected the mag every time the bolt cycled. I just the other day got in two more MecGar mags from Greg Cote LLC, figuring hey, maybe the one I have is bad, so let's order two more...they can't ALL be bad.

Well...neither of the ones I ordered worked, either. The gun kept spitting them out every time the bolt cycled. So I started searching for a new mag catch, figuring it was worn down to a nub.

Anyway, I got home from work, and decided to take a look at the mag catch...you know, just in case; before I spend $60 on a replacement, let's make sure I actually need to replace it.

The mag catch actually looked pretty good! I couldn't believe it. So, WITH THE GRIPS OFF, I put a mag in and cycled the action....hey, wait, it stayed in this time. What the hell? I loaded up some dummy rounds (it NEVER worked with dummy rounds, ever)...and cycled the action...and the mag stayed in like it was supposed to. WTH? I scratched my head and examined the thing up down and sideways...then I looked at the left grip and realized two things:

A) The left grip covers up the mag catch leaf spring
B) The incredibly crappy left grip was cut ...well, crappy, because it was a cheapo grip and not original....and the channel that the mag catch spring rides in, was cut too shallow.

Effectively - the left grip was depressing the magazine catch enough to not lock the mag in.



So, I filed out the channel inside the left grip panel a bit...and now, hand-cycling, it works! The mag stays in. I'll take it to the range and verify it...but I think I'm sorted out. I guess I'll find out soon enough

Hopefully that little tidbit helps someone else further on down the line

Yep, just to close this out...finally had a chance to take it to the range. That fixed it. The only bobbles I had were due to under-powered ammo...which tells me at least the springs I replaced are all doing their jobs.

Now to figure out how to make the trigger actually have a predictable break...I think the sear in the side of the gun was replaced, because it takes forever for it to break, it's total mush (even compared to other lugers, it's totally mushy), and it's pretty unpredictable as to when it'll break; sometimes early, sometimes when the back of the trigger bow is against the frame...but that's a separate issue

Pics of them gun not loading.