The “Guns you sorta want but never get around to” thread reminded me that I’ve wanted a wartime German pistol for years, I know squat about them as far as collecting goes and I’d like to learn in case I even find myself looking at a purchase.

Ideally, I’d want something nice, but not particularly rare in order to keep the price reasonable. I’m thinking a P38 would be a better choice as I don’t want to spend $2k+.

PO-8 or P-08 something like that would be able to help, dog gif avatar
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@P08

You can buy P38's for $800 on up.  War time P38's were made by 3 companies; Walther, Mauser, and Spreewerk.  Post war P38's were made by Walther and can be either a P38 or P1.  Post war P38's are around $550 plus.

Lugers can be found for under $2000.  Price varies on the model.  .30 Lugers (7.65 Luger) are generally cheaper, but the ammo is a little more expensive than 9mm.  Commerical Lugers (.30) can be found in good condition from $1,000 plus.

9mm Lugers prices vary depending when and who made them.   You can find a nice condition 9mm for about $1,500 plus.    Lugers were made by various manufacturers, in various countries.  Simpson LTD is a good place to start looking and getting an idea of some of the differences in the guns and prices.  One thing nice about buying from Simpson LTD is that you get a 3 day inspection period with the firearm.  If you're not satisfied you can send it back, you just have to cover the shipping.  I've done this.  You don't typically get this with private sellers.

The P38 replaced the 08 for a reason. It is a far better pistol, but doesn't have the recognition the 08 has, but a better weapon.

I somewhat agree with you.  The P38 was easier and cheaper to manufacture, but the Luger is a dream to shoot and more accurate than the P38.  Personally, if I had to go to war with either, I would choose the P38.  The Luger is a very iconic gun that earned it's status across two world wars. My avatar carried the P38..

I bought a luger from Simpsons earlier this year. Always had the itch so I scratched it to the tune of $1500. I watched to much of the Great War channel on YouTube so I wanted specifically a WW1 model with matching numbers and a good to excellent bore. Mine even has a matching magazine. I'm happy with it definitely and the guy at Simpsons was very nice to talk to and answered questions as he held the gun in his hands.

I have an RC p38 and it's fine. Need to get a non RC one.

I also just picked up a Vis35 from the EE last month.

I suggest looking on the for sale board at the Lugerforum.com. Trustworthy collectors who don't over hype their guns and sell them for a fair price.

Unless you luck out and find someone who doesn't know what they have, the lowest a Luger will be is $800-900. There's one at Simpson Ltd. right now for $895. No idea if it's worth it or not, though.

P38s can be found for a bit less. There was an Soviet capture P38 that sit in the EE for a while at $650 or $600.

I'm currently watching for a Luger I can't pass. I'm in the same boat as you. I just want a shooter at an affordable price.

I had a Walther P38 and sold it. It just didn't have the appeal of a Luger. Sure, the P38 is a better weapon. However, neither of the two are going to be more than a historical range gun for me.

C&ARSENAL youtube page

Thanks for the help, guys. I’ve been doing a bit of research and think I want to shoot for a Luger if I can make it happen.

What types of things determine value aside from overall condition? I assume that military models are more desirable, and therefore more expensive?

Also, is a WWII production gun valued differently than earlier guns?

I don’t want to get my heart set on a specific type, only to find out that those are super desirable, and cost $4k.

Overall condition (to include all matching numbered parts), manufacturer, plus matching magazine(s) are a few of the big things that determine value.  It's very typical for a Luger to come with one unmatched magazine.  If it has a matching magazine that bumps the price.  It's rare to find a Luger with 2 matching magazines.  That could bump a $1500 Luger up to $3000+.  A Luger with one part mis-numbered and it's considered a "shooter" grade and drops the value greatly.

WW2 gun values vary a bit.  There were 2 manufacturers (that I know of) during WW2.  Mauser and Krieghoff.  Mauser made somewhere around 40% of all Lugers ever produced, so they are more abundant.  Krieghoff made about the fewest and were contracted for the Luftwaffe, therefor they are more expensive (typically $3000+, $4000+ is the norm)

DWM was the original manufacturer and also made Lugers for the Swiss.  The DWM Swiss Lugers are probably the 2nd most valued Luger.  Other companies and state arsenals made Lugers as well: Simson (Jewish manufacturer that was banned by Hitler once he came to power), Erfurt (German arsenal), Waffenfabrik-Bern (Swiss), Vickers.

You can find WW1 and WW2 Lugers somewhere in the $1500-$2000 range.

Commercial Lugers were made for civilian sales.  Typically what you see are what is known as 1920 and 1923 commercial models that were sold in the US.  These were mostly .30 Luger guns.  Commercial Lugers are a bit cheaper, but the ammo is more expensive.  It's not crazy expensive and if you don't plan to shoot it a lot the cost isn't that bad.  I have a 1920 commercial and an 06/29 Swiss Luger in .30 that I shoot.

Thanks.

Sounds like I should be looking for an Erfurt, Simson, or Mauser gun. A matching magazine would be nice, but not worth the increased cost for me.

I still may pick up a P38 instead, it would save me some money, and I have a lot of projects to fund.

ETA: I’d probably run one or two mags through it a year. Definitely no more than that.

Erfurt and Mauser are probably the cheapest 9mm Lugers to look for.  For the money you're looking to play with you could get 2 P38s.  To be honest, once you shoot a Luger you won't regret buying it.  Swiss 06/29 Lugers are a good deal, too.  These were Lugers made in Switzerland by Waffenfabrik-Bern, based on the 1906 model.  Production started in 1929, henceforth the 06/29 designation.  These probably aren't as nice as a traditional Luger (the Swiss were looking at ways to reduce production costs), but they are typically in very, very good condition, come with 2 magazines and sometimes a holster.  I paid $1600 for mine, and it was almost like new.  It's .30 cal, but not a big deal.

Here's my Swiss Miss:

Nice.  I still need a Swiss 1889.