A blast from the WWII past....

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I have one also, an AC 41. All marching numbers. Firing pin broke this spring. Numrich Arms has parts. Nice shooters.

Matching numbers. The spell check gremlin is at it again.
 
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Neato!
I lurk on Walther forums sometimes. They recommend only shooting 115gr fmj (no +P!) to avoid slide cracks and try not to use the decocker as it can cause hammer and safety damage over time.
Thanks for the heads up on the de-cocker.

I’ve had good luck with Berry’s 115 plated. Mine, a Walther, has a dark bore but at 12 yards gives very acceptable groups for a shooter at my level. Paid something like $200 over thirty years ago. No markings to indicate an import, no nazi marking either.

The OP is fortunate to know some history of his.
 
Wow, that's really kool. It's that ngs like this that make you wonder where all it's been & the conflict s it's been thru & some people can't understand why I appreciate & collect milsurp & historical firearms and I don't own any off the rack run of the mill or polymer (plastic) firearms that are everywhere these days.
 
TikkaShooter

Nice bring-back from WWII! One thing you might want to do is have a qualified gunsmith look the gun over as late war (your Mauser built P38 was made in 1944), weapons manufacturing in Germany was subject to numerous shortcomings in terms of overall quality. Some things that affected the weapons industry was the use of substandard materials, improper heat treatment, manufacturing shortcuts, use of slave labor for building and assembly (guns and ammunition were often times sabotaged by the forced laborers), and constant bombings from Allied air forces caused numerous problems with the supply line to the factories.
 
TikkaShooter

Nice bring-back from WWII! One thing you might want to do is have a qualified gunsmith look the gun over as late war (your Mauser built P38 was made in 1944), weapons manufacturing in Germany was subject to numerous shortcomings in terms of overall quality. Some things that affected the weapons industry was the use of substandard materials, improper heat treatment, manufacturing shortcuts, use of slave labor for building and assembly (guns and ammunition were often times sabotaged by the forced laborers), and constant bombings from Allied air forces caused numerous problems with the supply line to the factories.

As I've done a lot of looking; how do you know when it was made?

It isn't as easy as my WWII 1911-A1s were to learn the year of manufacture. Any assistance would be appreciated.

I'm an old fart; so I remember when "Ye Olde Hunter" sold Lugers and P38s for under $50 delivered to your door. And, the NRA/DCM selling WWII firearms cheaply. My father bought ours from Letterkenny Arsenal.
 
TikkaShooter

The "BYF 44" mark on the slide indicates that it was made by Mauser (BYF being the secret code designation for this manufacturer), and 44 being the year it was made (1944).

Years ago my first P38 was a BYF 43 and while it was still totally functional it was easy to see where shortcuts were taken in producing this gun. Lots of tool marks, sharp edges, and little in the way of having polished the metal pieces along with a very thin matte blue finish were already evident at this stage of wartime production.
 
Neato!

I lurk on Walther forums sometimes. They recommend only shooting 115gr fmj (no +P!) to avoid slide cracks and try not to use the decocker as it can cause hammer and safety damage over time.

Th safety/decocker blocks the firing pin and trips the sear. If the part of the pin that’s engaged by the safety breaks, the gun can machine gun itself dry when decocked.
 
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