[Gebirg]

I did not have a vintage holster for my P.38 AC-43 until i got a hold of one few weeks ago. Hard to find 100% original holster for P.38 here in Norway because the army reworked them for nato belt.
Well i got my hand on a reworked, and removed the natobelthook to maybee find some old markings of the producer...
Got lucky - it was a ewx 1943 with WaA195

(WaA195 ewx F. u. K. Voegels Köln 1942, 44)

Same production year as my AC-43

I will rework it back with the original mount for leather belt - i hope the old owner Ünteroffizer Klose will smile at me from up above...

 

[Kevin Gibson]

The P-38 was SUCH an improvement over the P-08. Certainly not in the looks department, but the P-38 is a much more reliable pistol, and much easier to manufacture. I’ve always enjoyed shooting P-38’s. I’ve had a Spandau and it was fun, but I let it go. I really wish I would have nabbed one of the P1’s that came in a few years ago when they were cheap. The P1’s are so much more refined than the wartime P38’s. Lighter, more reliable, better triggers, more accurate. But they seriously lack the cool factor of a real wartime P38.

Still, when the Germans over-ran Belgium, they would have done well to just move all handgun manufacturing over to the Hi Power. It’s cheaper to manufacture, easier to manufacture, and the pistol is much more reliable and robust. It would have interrupted production lines for a while, but it would have been a good idea.

 

[Snake45]

The P-38 was SUCH an improvement over the P-08. Certainly not in the looks department...

I'll have to take issue with that. I've always thought the P.38 was an extremely handsome pistol, combining both gracefulness/elegance and beligerance/business/purpose in one design--like a FW 190. That's not easy to do.

The .22 P.38 I built up out of parts a few years ago has become one of my favorite "shootin' " .22s, and always draws favorable comments from everyone who sees and shoots it. One range buddy liked it so much that he set out to buy a "real" .22 P.38 for big, BIG bucks--though I don't know if he ever actually consummated the deal or not.

 

[stand watie]

Snake45,

I have just one thing against the P38. = I cannot hit a [email protected]#$%^& thing with one.
Make mine a BHP, as I shoot that handgun pretty good.
(otoh, my favorite is still my little Sig P6, which is always w/i reach.).

yours, sw

 

[Gebirg]

The Officers in Norwegian army who used this German 9 mm in active duty, many decades after 1945 has one conclution of wich gun who was "the best" - yes it was the P.08 parabellum...
Personal i must say that my Luger from 1940 made by Mauser is a more accurate and better shooter compare to my AC-43...

 

[IrishCop]

...I really wish I would have nabbed one of the P1's that came in a few years ago when they were cheap.

You and me both, Brother. I could have had one for well under $300 a couple years back. But I hesitated, and lost.

 

[Kevin Gibson]

I'll have to take issue with that. I've always thought the P.38 was an extremely handsome pistol, combining both gracefulness/elegance and beligerance/business/purpose in one design--like a FW 190. That's not easy to do.

The .22 P.38 I built up out of parts a few years ago has become one of my favorite "shootin' " .22s, and always draws favorable comments from everyone who sees and shoots it. One range buddy liked it so much that he set out to buy a "real" .22 P.38 for big, BIG bucks--though I don't know if he ever actually consummated the deal or not.

Didn't mean to offend. Specifically I was talking about the P38's looks in comparison to the P-08. P-38's tend to be roughly manufactured, where the Lugers are often monuments to industrial artistry. Beautiful rust bluing, not a machine mark to be found anywhere and grips of honest walnut; the Lugers are just good looking pistols. Aesthetically I think the P-38 is just a distinctive pistol; there's just something incredibly Germanic about it. I wouldn't go as far as comparing it to the FW-190. I for one, happen to think that is one VERY good looking aircraft The early ones were better looking than the D's just because the front was more "proportional" but the D was one bad hombre. I too would love to have a .22 P-38, that would be the cats-ass Drop some nice walnut grips on it, and you'd be the envy of the range.

 

[Kevin Gibson]

You and me both, Brother. I could have had one for well under $300 a couple years back. But I hesitated, and lost.

It never fails, every time something cool comes in cheap, I'm drop dead broke. As cool as the wartime P-38's are, I really like the P1's much better as a shooter. They're smoother, tend to be more reliable, and generally just shoot better. So since I'm a shooter first and collector only if I get to shoot the cap out of it, I just find the P1 preferable. I'm probably somewhat alone in that opinion though, most people I know would rather have the P-38.

 

[Kevin Gibson]

The Officers in Norwegian army who used this German 9 mm in active duty, many decades after 1945 has one conclution of wich gun who was "the best" - yes it was the P.08 parabellum...
Personal i must say that my Luger from 1940 made by Mauser is a more accurate and better shooter compare to my AC-43...

Here's a tip for your Luger. If at some point you have functioning issues, often the solution is a cheap and easy fix; replace the magazine spring. There are a lot of people who think the Luger requires "hot" ammo to work properly; not true. "hot" ammo just gives it more of a "dwell" at the end of the stroke, giving the next round more time to bump up. The Luger has a VERY fast action, and needs a very stiff magazine spring to work correctly; that's why they all came with a loading tool. So if she starts jamming, get you a new spring and you're probably good to go.

Lugers have a weird "squishy" trigger. But MAN they shoot! Just get used to the trigger and then get used to the sights, and you'll be shooting some fantastic groups. I've never owned a Luger personally, it's on my bucket list. Honestly, if I'm dreaming, might as well dream big: I'd like an Artillery Luger with shoulder stock and snail drum magazine.

The famous John Martz lived in my home town. I used to regularly foam at the mouth when I visited his table a the local gun shows. The coolest was a 3 gun set, with a "baby" Luger, 6" Navy, and a Luger Carbine…in .38 Super!! Oh, coolness off the charts.

 

[Gebirg]

Wery good tip about the spring - keep that in my mind...

 

[felix's tattoo]

Two of my pals and I bought P1s a couple years ago when they became available. They looked nice, but were nothing to write home about in the accuracy department. In fact, they were lousy shooters. I gave mine away.