Yeah, early 1960s. Is there a date on the left side of the slide?

The "E" prefix s something of a mystery, even for the experts. No one knows for sure what the E means. One thing I can tell you for sure is that it was not part of the original serial number. These "E" marks are all applied by hand after the fact.

Some say it's for "Export" but I think that's wrong. Yours looks for all the world like an ex-military piece. Any markings on the magazine?

First look over I didn’t see any right side markings, but a little wipe and 2/61 became visible. Mag says “P38 9mm”. Finish doesn’t really match the pistol, so I don’t know if it’s matching to pistol. Also found the import marks, had overlooked them first glance too.









Edit: sorry about the pic sizes, I thought I’d shrunk them more

Looks like your pistol is all original- that is to say, the slide and frame appear to go together. The slide is parkerized steel and the frame is black-anodized aluminum, so the finish is not going to match, but the two parts appear to be period-correct.

And the date- sorry, I meant right side of the slide.

Thanks for the info! I know almost nothing about the P38/P1. I usually do a fair bit of research before buying. Something about the P38 just made me want one.

You’ve got some hella nice ones in your pix. I didn’t even know they made a kurz (and I watch a lot of forgotten weapons!). Immediately saw how they got to the P5 look.

Got it cleaned up tonight. Man, was there some gunk.

Almost detail stripped, at least the frame. Had trouble with the trigger bar and didn’t want to force anything so that and the trigger and the sear stayed put. And the takedown lever, as I didn’t want to launch the detent. Plus I just couldn’t get the recoil springs out…is there some trick? Gouged up my nail and couldn’t even get them out with a tweaker.

Will have to look up how to do the slide.

The mag strikes me a bit odd. The base plate shifts a bit, front to back. And taking it apart, the detent plate seems oddly shaped.

Anyway, it’s clean and lightly lubed now. Confirmed it’s not rusty. Not an awesome finish, but there are more toolmarks than I would’ve expected from Germans, so I’m not sure it was every a real shiny pistol.



The light is actually deceiving. It looks more like this, which is fine:

quote:

Originally posted by BuddyChryst:
Got it cleaned up tonight. Man, was there some gunk.

I love the smell of cosmoline in the evening!

quote:

Originally posted by BuddyChryst:
Plus I just couldn’t get the recoil springs out…is there some trick? Gouged up my nail and couldn’t even get them out with a tweaker.

Will have to look up how to do the slide.

Yes, there's several tricks. The frame can easily be damaged if you don't do it correctly. That said, you shouldn't need to remove the springs. If there's any cosmo down in there I'd recommend soaking in mineral spirits and then just blasting out with a aerosol degreaser or brake cleaner. If you're determined for some reason to take the springs out, check on one of the Walther geek forums for instructions.

I would recommend cleaning the slide internals--the firing pin channel on these is a bit different, with multiple springs, and there may be cosmo in there. To get you started, you'll ned to pry off the top plate. Not difficult. The internets has instructions, videos........

quote:

Originally posted by BuddyChryst:
The mag strikes me a bit odd. The base plate shifts a bit, front to back. And taking it apart, the detent plate seems oddly shaped.

They all move a "bit," but maybe yours is loose. The 'detent plate' I think you describe should be bent up at the front and have a notch at the rear for the dent at the rear of the base plate.

Luckily it just appears to be grease, not cosmoline. So no need to mineral spirit soak. Still, I got it back out to detail clean the slide. Got a bit confused because apparently there’s two styles of firing pin return springs. And the dust cover is a real SOB to get back on.

It’s all cleaned up now, just gotta make time to shoot it!

My recommendation is standard velocity 124 grain fmj and nothing but. The sights are regulated for 124 grain ammunition and though P38s have seen plenty of NATO-spec ammunition, I wouldn't shoot it in your pistol. Winchester Q4318, for example, is a no-no in my book; much too warm. For the later pistols, with reinforced slide and frame, Winchester's NATO load is OK. Federal 124 grain American Eagle is the ticket for your pistol.

The feedramp of your pistol will not care for most hollowpoint ammo. You can find P38s out there with gouged feedramps. Hollowpoints and thousands of rounds of anything are the reasons for these worn feedramps. Word to the wise.