need help identifying dwm luger 9mm commercial model

[padredan]

if anyone can help me identify a commercial luger early undated dwm luger 4" 9mm pistol i would greatly appreciate it, i have owned and severl p08 lugers but never as nice as this one, it is about 98 percent, excellant bore, grips, has stock lug, undated, dwm toggel all numbers matching inner and out , have shot it function great, mags are wood bottoms,unmarked, crown n on left side ,right side looks like a wza66 on upper, serial number 2331 an letter t , maybe not sure, has unit /regiment stanps on front strap L.Hi.65, barrel is marked serial number and crown n, side plate marked 31, above the side plate is a pinned spring or strap that allso holds the side plate, this i have never seen before. it is commercial and like i said undated, 9mm caliber , i tried to get pics to attach, but have failed to do so, will try again, not real sure about the alpha letter on the serial number , any help on this pistol i would be very greatfull for, regards Padre Dan

 

[nwilliams]

Pictures would help for sure.

I would also suggest posting your question here www.lugerforum.com, the good folks over there are extremely knowledgeable and helpful.

 

[padredan]

see if these pics will help, i am new here bare with me, ty

 

[padredan]

p08 luger undated comercial

any help identifyin[email protected]g would be grate full, padre Dan a few more pics

 

[padredan]

thanks will do, any help from and forum will be appreactiated

 

[rcmodel]

You might look at these and make comparisons:
http://www.simpsonltd.com/index.php?cPath=179_181&osCsid=e93030738dcea83bb9b09f0df39fa490

rc

 

[unspellable]

You quote part of a military serial number. The chamber date was the first four digits of the serial number on military P08s. After WWI DWM assembled Lugers from left over "new" military P08 parts and removed the chamber date for the commercial market. These were chambered for the 7.65 cartridge and had a 98 mm barrel as opposed to the military 100 mm barrel chambered for the 9. There was also a cottage industry refurbishing military Lugers for the commercial market.

A lot of histroy has gone by and many were rebarreled later. It would be a good idea to check the recoil spring and see if it's a 7.65 or 9 mm recoil spring.

DWM did a quality job grinding off the chamber date. The cottage industry Lugers are rather variable on this point.

 

[Edarnold]

Spring on sideplate

That looks like it bears on the sear bar, so perhaps this is intended to make the trigger-pull more consistent?
Just a WAG...

 

[padredan]

being told it is a 1929dwm, and that is a police sear safety, when conveted to police service , allso was 7.65 and rebarreled to 9mm, i know everything matchs, how do i check to find which spring it may have? also the unit marikings are L.Hi.65 weimar era landiger(rural constabulary) hildesheim district, number 65. anyway shoots great and functions great looks better than any luger that i ahve owned, is this considerd to be a reworked pistol? and what are the proof marks.any idea on price. thanks

 

[unspellable]

A police rework would be considered a rework, but would be more desirable than many other types of rework. One assumes these police reworks were done by someone who knew what they were doing so there is a good chance it has the correct recoil spring if nobody has monkeyed with it since.

I am quoting from shaking memory as my DWM drawings are in storage, but as I recall the 7.65 spring has 17 turns and the 9 spring has 19 turns.

 

[padredan]

correct, i checked a 1918 9mm dwm i own and it has 19 coils, so does the police luger, had it inspected today by a very knowledable luger collector, he confirms everything is correct and confirms the police unit markings and it never had a chamber date, again thanks for your help

 

[HisSoldier]

I have one like that, without the safety sear, made in the middle 20's and mint mint mint. The non mint part is the Mecgar mag. Three Luger's now and that's probably it. Fascinating weapons, with a beauty few firearms even begin to approach.
It's too bad that one can't display beautiful guns without fearing the betrayal of thieves. Slimy scum, one of them told me many years ago that he stole a Luger in a home burglary, shot it a few time and then threw it into a river.

What a tragic waste, both of a fine handgun and his own human potential.

 

[padredan]

this is another of my lugers a military 1918/1920 with imperial weimar era ,simson shul and masuer an Waffenamt inspection mark and in excellant condition. what you said is very true, you have to gun safes bolted to the floor to be sure your guns are safe.

 

[GCMkc]

being told it is a 1929dwm, and that is a police sear safety, when conveted to police service , allso was 7.65 and rebarreled to 9mm, i know everything matchs, how do i check to find which spring it may have? also the unit marikings are L.Hi.65 weimar era landiger(rural constabulary) hildesheim district, number 65. anyway shoots great and functions great looks better than any luger that i ahve owned, is this considerd to be a reworked pistol? and what are the proof marks.any idea on price. thanks

I used Charles Kenyon Jr's book, Lugers at Random to find this info.

I was looking at the 1920 Commercial Luger's Page and this is what is described:

Toggle Assembly: DWM Scroll, crown over "ERFURT," or unmarked front link. V notch rear sight on rear link.

Frame: With or without stock lug. Serial number on front.

Receiver: Area above chamber unmarked.

Extractor: Marked "GELADEN" or "LOADED" on left side.

Barrel: 3 5/8, 3 7/8, 4, 4 3/4, or 6", cal. 7.65 m/m or 9 m/m. Barrel may or may not have a serial number. Dovetailed inverted V front sight.

Proofing: Nitro proof mark on right or left side of receiver, breechblock, and front toggle link. Barrel may or may not be proofed. Some rework examples have military proofs.

Proofs: 28,62. (28 = Crown with N underneath and 62 = "GERMANY" or "MADE IN GERMANY".

Safety: Thumb safety lever or thumb safety lever and grip safety. Safe position may be with lever upward or downward, depending on type of safety mechanism employed. Safety lever area of frame may be marked "GESICHERT" in the upper or lower position, or may be unmarked.

Grips: Checkered walnut or beech.

Serial Range: Military serial number (mostly located in commercial style) of one to five digits, with or without a letter.

Estimated Total: Many, many thousands.

General Notes: Manufactured or reworked by DWM, or reworked by lesser know firms, for commercial sale in Germany and at large. As many were made up from whatever type of military Luger was available, and from surplus used parts, nearly any type of barrel length, caliber, safety and sight combination is possible. Most often found, however, is the type shown above(picture), with 3 7/8" barrel in 7.65 m/m. Most of the reworked military examples have the chamber date and military proofs removed, with variable workmanship, while those of new manufacture generally are of excellent quality. "GERMANY" or "MADE IN GERMANY" is usually stamped somewhere on the weapon.

The WZA66 proof mark appears to be proof 37 in the book stating: Waffen Amt (Ordnance Department) proof. Found on receivers of 1930-1933 Mauser and Simson reworks.

Hope this helps!

 

[padredan]

thanks the luger forum has pretty much nailed it a 1929 comercial /police 9mm used by the rural costbulary, hildesheim distric,weimar era

 

[GCMkc]

thanks the luger forum has pretty much nailed it a 1929 comercial /police 9mm used by the rural costbulary, hildesheim distric,weimar era

Excellent! I inherited a few Luger pistols myself. Early 1920's commercial, and two WWII Nazi proofed Lugers. Beautiful guns. I'll post pics if I ever get a chance.