I have been looking at a 1906 Luger but am concerned about century old metallurgy as I would want to shoot the pistol. Any thoughts?

If it has been checked out by somebody who knows Lugers, I wouldn’t be concerned about shooting it. I don’t see any reason why a well designed and manufactured century-old pistol in good condition would be dangerous because the steel is 100 years old.

Metallurgy is probably the last probelm you will have. 1906 type Lugers of both types, DWM and W+F can still be seen on Swiss ranges. No problem. It's a sound desing. People dont worry about shooting a Swiss K11 or a Mauser C96 either. Why should it be a problem with the Luger?

Here's the most Luger I could afford. I don't worry about putting range ammo through it. The thing to not do is close it full force or fire it on an empty chamber. So I keep a snap cap in mine.

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:
The thing to not do is close it full force or fire it on an empty chamber. So I keep a snap cap in mine.

There is nothing wrong with this procedure, but why is that? The distance between face and battery is fix. The breech face cannot collide with the battery. Besides of care, is there a technical rason?

Primarily damaging of the firing pin and channel. Peening, possible breakage. I think you'd have to do it a lot, but without knowing where we are in the service life, and possibly having to repair and replace parts, it's easier to just be careful.

It could be bunk, but that's what other folks who collect Lugers told me to do.

I highly recommend the Mec-Gar Luger mags for range use. They function flawlessly and really improve the reliability of an old war horse.

That’s a good looking pistol Arc. The toggle lock is such an interesting design. According to Wikipedia, 3 million Lugers were built.

I'd bet money that the pictured P08 is a "police Luger". It has the sear safety and the LH grip shows that at one time it had a magazine safety (now removed).

Does it have the 1937(?) firing pin mod.? That is,four little dirt/grease relief cuts on the shoulder nearest the pni?

I'm somewhat confused with the 1906 designation. AIR, 1906 Lugers all had a grip safety. Is there an open slot in the rear of the grip frame where the safety was removed?

I find the police pistols (not just P08's) to be quite interesting and have several with the city marking of the front of the grip.

Many (most?) police P08's were made by reworking WW1 military pistols. Some were reworked/refurbished a great deal; some had very little done to them. I possess an example that is all matching, but I know it was made from parts. It has a DWM proofed frame and an Erfurt proofed bbl./slide assembly. The matching no. mag. has an aluminun bottom. WW1 Luger mags. were all wood bottom.

As an P08 enthusiast I strongly recommend you to use very mild ammo, not today’s modern stuff. S&B has some great subsonic ammo for your P08. Most likely to break with todays strong ammo is the extractor. If you have a matching number P08, you might want to replace the extractor.

quote:

Originally posted by Speedwobble:
As an P08 enthusiast I strongly recommend you to use very mild ammo, not today’s modern stuff. S&B has some great subsonic ammo for your P08. Most likely to break with todays strong ammo is the extractor. If you have a matching number P08, you might want to replace the extractor.

the OP has an 06. These are chambered in 7.65mm Luger, both makes, DWM and W+F.

The 1906 Luger has(if memory serves) a two(2) leaf mainspring, not a coil spring that later Lugers have fitted. The leaf springs are prone to breakage, and can be a bit of a problem to locate....and purchase.

I own Lugers, and shoot all of mine.....I also accept the risk that I might break a part. I have broken two(2) extractor claws, one(1) firing pin spring retainer, and a breechblock. This is over a lot of ammo and years. I am a handloader, and load my ammo as low as possible, and still cycle the toggle. Lugers are a hoot to shoot.


If the 1906 Luger in the OP is a mismatched Luger, then it is a "shooter" and one that you can shoot and enjoy.

I have an all matching 1917 that I have shot with 124g 9mm just to do it.

Agree with above, parts can/do break, been lucky so far


No issues

Just out of curiosity, what would have been the standard load and bullet weight for a Luger of that vintage?

I saved this some time ago from a cartridge collectors website.

do have performance data from 1932 (RWS) which shows the MV of 327m/sec. That would have been a 124gr bullet-probably a truncated bullet, but that is not clear, but inferred from the specimens in my collection. I also have 1942 data on both the 124gr P08 load and the P08mE load. The 124gr load is listed as MV=330m/sec and the mE as MV=400m/sec. Note that the 8g bullet is 124gr."

quote:

Originally posted by pillboxesghost:
I'd bet money that the pictured P08 is a "police Luger". It has the sear safety and the LH grip shows that at one time it had a magazine safety (now removed).

Does it have the 1937(?) firing pin mod.? That is,four little dirt/grease relief cuts on the shoulder nearest the pni?

I'm somewhat confused with the 1906 designation. AIR, 1906 Lugers all had a grip safety. Is there an open slot in the rear of the grip frame where the safety was removed?

I find the police pistols (not just P08's) to be quite interesting and have several with the city marking of the front of the grip.

Many (most?) police P08's were made by reworking WW1 military pistols. Some were reworked/refurbished a great deal; some had very little done to them. I possess an example that is all matching, but I know it was made from parts. It has a DWM proofed frame and an Erfurt proofed bbl./slide assembly. The matching no. mag. has an aluminun bottom. WW1 Luger mags. were all wood bottom.

Guys, for review, the OP is "looking" at an 06 Luger, meaning he doesn't own it yet. The Luger pictured is mine, because why not post luger pics.

Mine is a DWM made in 1920, marked for the Duesseldorf Shutzpolizei on the frontstrap. It's all matching, with some cosmetic issues.

OK then, what type ot 1906 Luger. There is more than one type and there was more then one manufacturer. If an answer about "metalurgy" is of importance the latest publication of Görtz and Sturgess is recommended. Its an investment of USD250. Horrorstories collectors like to worry avout like blowing parts, total failures and all tabloid stories we like to quote as experience from our network are debunked in such literature as well. This is the cost for buying a collector gun and not the story. Also, get a book about proof markings and proof proceedures, because having understood both will answer some questions about longvity of a gun automatically and you can go to sleep with a smile in your face rather then being worried after having visited a gun forum. It will help to seperate between opinion, heard experience and knowledge.
When this is not enough find a kinematic scheme of the pistol and study it. Information you can find on such drawings will help you to estimate the fragility of a system. Buy books, read, understand, learn, become independent.
My opinion about the Luger 06 can be read above.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: OTD,

quote:

Originally posted by OTD:

quote:

Originally posted by Speedwobble:
As an P08 enthusiast I strongly recommend you to use very mild ammo, not today’s modern stuff. S&B has some great subsonic ammo for your P08. Most likely to break with todays strong ammo is the extractor. If you have a matching number P08, you might want to replace the extractor.

the OP has an 06. These are chambered in 7.65mm Luger, both makes, DWM and W+F.

Oops, you’re right, looked over the fact it’s an ‘06 in 7.65L.

quote:

The 1906 Luger has(if memory serves) a two(2) leaf mainspring, not a coil spring that later Lugers have fitted.

I no longer have the book, but it sticks in my head that the 1906 Luger marked the introduction of the coil mainspring.

As one wise guy remarked, they made about a million Lugers and to a Luger collector, each and every one is a distinct model.

Specifically I have been thinking about the DWM 1906 Brazilian Luger for sale at Cabelas. I like the 4 1/2 inch barrel. When I had a P08 the barrel seemed too short. But I worry about breaking an extractor and not being able to replace it.