Archive for Pistols

German WW2 Luger P-08

Posted in Firearms with tags , , , , on August 4, 2019 by The Dude

The Luger pistol is a prohibited firearm up here north of the border, due to its barrel length of 100mm. Because I came to Canada so late I was unable to be grandfathered into the pistol license required to own one. As a substitute I own a WW1 & WW2 “cock and click” dewat as well as the long barrelled LP-08 Artillery Luger. But I always wanted the real deal. So I went the long route of sourcing a 105mm barrel from the US and then locating a Luger up here to get re-barrelled and reclassified as restricted.

This is it, a 1937 Mauser made S/42 marked Luger P-08. It came with a spare magazine, a takedown tool marked WaA63 (correct for Mauser) and a period holster from 1937.

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Japanese 8mm Pistol Ammunition Cartons

Posted in Ammo & Magazine Pouches, Ammunition & Fusing with tags , , , , on November 10, 2017 by The Dude

Flag_of_Japan.svgThese two cartons arrived in the mail today, all the way from the U.S. I expect you won’t be that excited by them but finding unopened cartons of wartime Japanese Nambu ammunition is almost unobtainium. Getting them into Canada from the States is a painful experience as any ammunition export from the US requires Department of the Interior approval. These two cartons are marked almost identically. The star marking is for the Tokyo First Arsenal. The first line of characters is “ju-yon-nen-shiki-ken-ju-jip-po”  which translates to “Type 14 Handgun Ammunition”. The second row is “ju-go-hatsu” meaning “15 rounds”. On the underneath of the cartons are the stamps for “sho” meaning Showa Year and 19.11, which translates to November 1944. These are perfect for my 1944 Type 14 Pistol here and fit into the front pocket of the 1944 holster I have here.

 

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C96 M30 Broomhandle Mauser

Posted in Firearms with tags , , , on June 29, 2017 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_NSDAP_(1920–1945).svgFlag_of_the_Republic_of_ChinaThis is a M30 variant of the Mauser C96 semi-automatic pistol in 7.3mm calibre. The serial number of this example puts it around 1932. It has the three chinese characters on the magazine indicating it was for the Nationalist Chinese contract. The barrel is the standard 140mm length. Somewhere along the last 80 years it has acquired a commercial stock by Geha. Along with this one, I show below my 1920 regulation police rework with fixed sights and the short barrel. I would rate the condition of this one as tired, I have since cleaned it with a copper brush and it’s looking a lot better, but the ex-China ones are always beaters.

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Japanese Type-14 Nambu Pistol

Posted in Firearms with tags , , , on April 16, 2017 by The Dude

Flag_of_Japan.svgThis is the Nambu Type-14 semi-automatic pistol. This pistol was produced from 1925 until 1945. This example has the digits 19.5 stamped into the frame. This is the year and month of manufacture. In this case you add 19 to 1925, the first year of the Showa Emperor. This gets you to 1944. May is the fifth month so the pistol was produced in May 1944. The manufacturer is Toriimatsu and this pistol is from the second series. 1944 was the high point in the manufacture of this pistol so the 19.5 is pretty common. These pistols a terribly ugly and have a bad reputation for shooting their owners. The ammunition, 8mm Nambu, is almost unobtainium.

rsz_japanpistol

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Japanese Nambu Holster

Posted in Holsters with tags , , , , on April 16, 2017 by The Dude

Flag_of_Japan.svgThis holster is manufactured to fit the Nambu Type 14 that I just imported from the States. The holster is made from rubberized canvas. In my experience Japanese leather was just terrible quality and little of it survived use. This material was substituted as it resisted the damp of the S.E.Asia battlefield much better. It’s marked with kanji inside but I have no idea what it says. I’ll be off to the internet to find out. The holster has a small pouch in the front for storing a 15 round carton of 8mm pistol ammunition. The cleaning rod is missing, something else for me to rectify.

The holster has two rows of kanji inside the flap. I am an idiot and have the photo upside down but basically the first row starts with “sho”, short for Showa, the emperors name. Then there is the kanji for the number 10 followed by a 5 or a 9. This would mean 1940 or 1944. 1940 is too early for one of these canvas holsters so it must be 1944. Then below is the mark for the Nagoya Arsenal and finally an acceptance mark.

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Nambu Type-14 Magazines

Posted in Magazines with tags , , , , , on March 1, 2017 by The Dude

Flag_of_Japan.svgI understand, from my friend Andrew, that importing is a slippery slope. If so, I just fell down it. I have a Japanese Nambu Type-14 pistol coming from the States and while I wait I have been gathering the bits and pieces to put together a full kit.

In this case we have two magazines made by the Toriimatsu arsenal. I also found 44 rounds of wartime ammo, no headstamp which I am told is correct.

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1944 Breakaway P38 Holster & Magazine

Posted in Holsters, Magazines with tags , , , , , , , on June 10, 2016 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_NSDAP_(1920–1945).svgThis is the holster that I just sourced for my 1944 Walther P38 pictured below. By 1944 they had pretty much stopped making hard shell holsters (they do exist). Instead they supplied the pistol with a breakaway style holster as here. Folks call them a soft shell holster but that is incorrect.

This example is stamped bla 1944 and has the waffenamt WaA159. BLA is the code for the manufacturer E.G.Leuner GMBH in Bautzen. Interestingly the holster is also personalised to the U.S. Army soldier who captured it (or won it in a card game). Inside the flap is the name Henry J. Lavrich and his ASN 33688587. A quick googling reveals that Henry came from Pennsylvania, enlisted in 1943 and served in the 2nd Armoured Division in Europe. He passed away in 2011. An additional modification on this example is the cutting away of the upper, underneath the flap. This is common in these holsters and I expect it was an act by the user to make the holster easier to draw from.

The holster also contains a e/359 stamped magazine which is the correct magazine for this pistol.

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German Walther P38 Pistol

Posted in Firearms with tags , , , , on May 28, 2016 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_NSDAP_(1920–1945).svgHere is the last Walther P38 semi-automatic pistol I needed for my accumulation. I wanted one made by each of the three manufacturers, Walther, Mauser and Spreewerk. This one is marked AC44 meaning it was manufactured by Walther in 1944. It also is well stamped with the E/WaA359 acceptance stamps for Walther. Now I have to find another 359 marked magazine for it and a holster. By this stage in the war the Jerries had pretty much stopped making the hard shell holsters and this would have come with a breakaway soft holster.

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Mauser Red-9 Shoulder Stock

Posted in Holsters with tags , , , , , , on September 5, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_German_EmpireA little while back I picked up a Red-9 Mauser C96 (see below). I only got it because I liked the quirkiness of the setup for the wooden shoulder stock. So I immediately started looking for a wooden holster to match. Doing my research I discovered a few tell tales that would be useful for someone else looking for the same thing. In this case, the original stocks always had the tensioning screw end up at an angle 20 or 30 degrees off true. The Red-9 stocks had the squared off grain on the thumb release and this is always perpendicular to the edge of the lid. And finally these stocks were supplied without the metal loop at the hinge. If your stock has a loop then it is likely a bolo stock and post-war. It’s important to get the right holster as the wood that was removed from inside the cap was different to conform with the cocking lever setup. In the Red-9 series these were always the small ring style thumb grip.

Mauser C96 in use by Waffen-SS in WW2

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Prussian 1916 Contract Red 9 Mauser C96

Posted in Firearms with tags , , , , , on July 30, 2015 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_German_EmpireHere is my “Red 9” Mauser C96. Mauser manufactured this pistol from 1896 until 1937. In 1916 the Imperial German Army placed an order for 150,000 of these to be chambered in 9mm Parabellum rather than the original 7.63mm. The reason for this was that the Luger production was heavily delayed and this was seen as a stop-gap. The 9 was marked into the handle by local armourers and filled with red paint, hence its name. This was done so that users did not accidentally load it with the original 7.63 ammunition.

This particular example has the shortened 140mm barrel indicating that it was reworked for police use post-war. It doesn’t have the 1920 date however. The leather holster is the as-issued variety. The adjustable sights were removed at the time of the barrel shortening and a fixed sight applied in its place.

 

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Mauser-Werke “Black Widow” P-08 Luger

Posted in Firearms with tags , , , on April 18, 2014 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_NSDAP_(1920–1945).svgHere’s someone’s group that I picked up in Ontario. The pistol is marked BYF for Mauser’s factory in Oberndorf. It was manufactured in 1942. I am liking it because it’s all matching, has the original FXO stamped magazine pair with it as well as the takedown tool in the holster. The holster is correct to the pistol, being marked to GXY and manufactured in 1942. GXY was the code for Gebr. Klinge Lederwaren-Fabrik in Offenbach.

These Lugers, with the black finish, black handgrips and black bakelite magazine bottoms were named “Black Widows” by US sellers in the 1950’s to try to pimp them up a little.

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German Walther PPK Automatic Pistol

Posted in Firearms with tags , , , , , , on January 5, 2014 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_NSDAP_(1920–1945).svgThis is a Walther PPK 7.65mm automatic pistol, manufactured in Germany by Walther in 1943 and issued as a police sidearm. The holster is marked Otto Sindel, Berlin, 1943. The two magazines are original to the pistol with matching serial numbers. The receiver and frame are marked Eagle N which indicates acceptance by the Wehrmacht post 1940 and the left hand side of the frame is marked with the Eagle and a C following, indicating police issue. This pistol was reputedly acquired in Normandy by a Lieutenant Stagg, adjutant of the Oxford Rifles, from the body of a German SS officer he had just shot. Well at least that’s the tale that came with it. However upon researching I discover that the Oxford Rifles didn’t get shipped to Europe until January 1945. This is not to say that Stagg could not have been in France in July 1944, just not as adjutant of the Oxford Rifles. This will provoke some further investigation.

Further snooping reveals a Major Kenneth Stagg, P38758, in the Oxford Rifles in 1945. He was born in 1899 which makes him 45 in 1944.

Remember Kids! Buy the item, not the story!

 

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Imperial German Artillery LP08 Luger

Posted in Firearms with tags , , , on December 23, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_German_EmpireThis Artillery Luger, manufactured by Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) in 1917 comes complete with its holster, wooden stock and a Bing manufactured type-2 snail drum magazine (Trommel magazin 08). The condition of this set is mixed, with the main problem being that the Luger itself is mismatched. The top is stamped 10, while the receiver bottom and frame is stamped 38. This makes it a bit of a shooter rather than a collectors piece although the price was awesome enough to make me ignore this.

germansoldierswithartillerylugerswwi

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P08 Luger Holster & Takedown Tool

Posted in Holsters with tags , , , on May 20, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_German_EmpireThis is a 1914 stamped Luger Holster that came with my Erfert Luger. It has the takedown tool fitted into a small pocket inside the holster flap. The holster is manufactured by D. Heinichen of Dresden.

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Erfurt P08 Luger Pistol

Posted in Firearms with tags , , on April 21, 2013 by The Dude

Flag_of_the_German_EmpireThis is a matching Imperial stamped Erfurt Luger. Manufactured in 1916 it has the Wilhelm crown as well as 1861, the serial number. Note the wooden buttons on the magazine, a characteristic of WW1 Lugers.

 

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