P38 dilemma

[Sgt Nambu]

Seriously? We don't have nice guns? Well, OK!

 

[Outrider]

Tell me why do you see this as a shooter?
Really?

It's likely from the same batch that AIM Surplus and several other companies sold a short time ago. Follow the link from my original post. Pay attention to the condition of the guns in that batch. There's more to a gun than matching numbers and being old.

I'm not knocking it as a pistol. I don't have anything against it. I have owned shooter quality WWII pistols including P38s and Lugers.

I know how I felt when I got my first Luger. I was excited. I thought it was a rare collectible because it was a WWII German military Luger. And then I started learning about them and the one I bought. Mine looked awesome and mechanically it was in great shape. However, it was a shooter grade example of the pistol. That reality didn't diminish the fun or enjoyment I had with the pistol.

It's neat to own military examples of iconic pistols like the Luger, P38, 1911, etc. It's interesting to shoot them. That said, not every example is a rare collectible. Some are just guns you can take to the range every so often and fire a few mags through without worrying about knocking much (if anything) off the value.

I can sell you a shooter grade WWII 1911 for a collector price if you want so you can feel better about how awesome and rare it is. I'm totally fine with you putting it under glass once you buy it.

You don't need to sporterise a gun to destroy value. You just need to break the weakest part and make in no longer original.

Just sell it. Or keep it and make more money later.

Look, if a numbered part breaks it can be an issue. That said, a substantial portion of the German guns that ended up on the American market have come out of warehouses that were in eastern block nations. The Russians and East Germans were completely fine with force matching guns. I had a slide plate on a Luger that was the right number. It was stamped on and looked great, but it was likely force matched and not original to the pistol. Further, people sell numbered parts online all the time. Unless you know what you're looking for it is hard to know for sure someone has not replaced a broken or lost part on your firearm.

None of this is said to make the owner feel bad about his pistol. Getting an iconic WWII gun is part of what makes shooting fun. It literally is getting an opportunity to connect with a working artifact from an interesting period of time. I absolutely believe the owner should enjoy his pistol. If he wants to shoot it, he should use good quality factory ammo. It simply makes little sense to treat this example like a rare, expensive collectible when it does not seem to be one.

Of course, if he wants to hold onto it and wait for the price to appreciate that can happen. However, some of the difference in price will be because the purchasing power of the dollar may decline over time.

I have no interest in seeing the guy break or destroy his pistol. Any loss or breakage, including modern firearms is something that is emotionally unpleasant for an owner. That said, if one is truly worried and wants to rule out any chance of loss or breakage, then that person needs to put every firearm he owns under glass now.

 

[STUKA]

I collect mil-surp firearms,specifically WW2 era.I used to focus exclusively on German K98s (meaning NO Yugo,Turk,Spanish,et al)
I know the in's and out's of many firearms of the era..I now focus on US military rifles-(Garand,'03,Krag,you know..)

This P38 is NOT pieced together by AIM or any other company.It has NO import marks,every number matches,and it IS a legitimate vet bringback.IN VERY GOOD CONDITION,regardless of what can be gathered from the pictures.Sorry if they are not Playboy quality.

I think that puts it in a completely separate league from the usual mismatched thrown together mess or "russian capture" (which is often a sales pitch by people or entities selling a mismatched bunch of parts)
I only asked here,because I am a casual member of a mainly 3rd reich collectors website,and of course they are going to say "OMG,dont ever shoot it"
These guys can be pretty hardcore weirdos,and are worldwide-some arent even ABLE to own something like this ,let alone actually fire it.

I wanted some real world,local input from people who actually shoot their firearms rather than sit in a room surrounded by fantasy.Maybe I went too far with that assumption?
I dunno.

I dont want to "put it under glass" or "collect Barbie dolls"
I want to SHOOT it,or SELL it.
I asked for opinions,but should have realized that opinions are like belly buttons.
I don't really mean belly buttons.

Not trying to sound like an Ahole,but maybe the condescending tone from a few of you is because you think I might be some GIT ER DUN type,who found something cool and wants to destroy something for the sake of?????
Again,I know what it is,I was just asking for INFORMED members to give INFORMED advice.
Thank you for reading

 

[STUKA]

BTW,several of you made very good points-unfortunately,for both sides of my problem.
I give up!
It's going to sit here until i make a rash decision one way or the other.
Consequences be damned,one way or the other!!!

 

[Medic!]

Seriously? We don't have nice guns? Well, OK!

No. All your guns are Junk!


OK. What I should have said is ''We don't have his nice gun''.

 

[Outrider]

This P38 is NOT pieced together by AIM or any other company.It has NO import marks,every number matches,and it IS a legitimate vet bringback.IN VERY GOOD CONDITION,regardless of what can be gathered from the pictures.Sorry if they are not Playboy quality.

The vet bring back thing sounds like a story and not the gun. There are plenty of WWII surplus firearms in this country that lack an importer mark that were not brought back by G.I.s.

Years ago, I had a Spreewerke P38 that absolutely was a surplus gun. Its numbers matched and there was no importer mark but it was sold by a company that handled surplus firearms to my then local dealer. There was no "story" behind it. It simply was what it was. The dealer had bought several P38 pistols from the company at the same time. He could have told me a great story but he was straight about it. If someone saw the same pistol now he could say what you're saying.

I come at it from the point of view of someone who has owned a few WWII military pistols. I have an interest in these iconic firearms. I have spent time learning about them. If you are a collector, then you know there are many ways in which X can get passed off as Y. Sometimes people are intentionally misled. Other times, it's an honest misunderstanding. It's part of the dynamic when you have a collectible market.

Judging by the package, including the post WWII holster, I am skeptical of the vet bring back story. Perhaps better photos would change my mind but I don't need them. I'm not in the market for your gun.

As I wrote in my previous post, I hope you do like it and do enjoy it. I did not mean for that to come off as condescending. I am not looking to make you feel bad about something you are clearly happy about acquiring.

 

[transittech]

I would sort out if they know something you dont about the collectible value of the gun. If its worth more than others, I would probably buy a second gun, a shooter, and then cogitate about what to do with the first one. If you can make enough money off it, and the second "shooter" is good enough for you, unload the primo for $$$.

My 2 cents, and its probably not worth that.

 

[Brutus57]

An excellent idea,however,I have some "glitter gold" in the garage that I think will look mo pimper.

One of my nephews that served in Iraq got his hands on a gold plated P38 from one of Saddam's palaces. Unfortunately the transport bringing it back to the states sank...
Shoot it.
Brutus out

 

[Certaindeaf]

If I had enough money I'd mud bog and destroy Bentley's twelve times a day .. but I don't.
A lot of people put $100,000 on a throw of the die.. regularly. In the final analysis, the question and answer is whatever makes you happy.

 

[erudne]

I'd sleep with her and if that worked out then I would consider keeping it, other wise and she would go off to the market like all the rest

 

[tommy98466]

Maybe this should be in the curio and relics section,but I thought I'd get more input here-if it is in the wrong place,sorry..

Anyhoo,I bought this 1943 Mauser made P38 the other day.All original,matching numbers,pretty good finish,blah blah.
My problem is,I've been getting guys on another "collector" website pleading with me not to actually fire it.Too nice,too collectable,etc.

Now,I once owned a Post-War P1 which is an alloy frame version of this that is relatively cheap and easy to come by,and I loved it-BUT,I didn't feel that it had a "soul",so I wanted the real thing.
This one definitely has a soul.Perhaps it's soul is a little dark,but it's a soul nonetheless.

I want functional,usable firearms,not wallhangers..

So do I sell this thing to one of the guys trying to buy it and buy another post war P1,or keep it around and occasionally put a box of Winchester 115 grain through it?

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Sell it to the highest bidder and buy something that makes you happy. You are not going to take it with you. Don't listen to the hardcore guys that say "don't shoot it." I bet that if you put a price on it they wouldn't buy it. They just like to talk about it and not own one or anything. Good luck.

 

[STUKA]

Thanks everyone.

 

[Bxc53]

Lurking though all this reminded me of my collection in the '80s when I first got seriously into the hobby/obsession. I had a few shooters that got a lot of use plus several "Too nice / Too rare / Too valuable" to shoot wthout a lot of angst and regret. I figured out, for me, that they really didn't make me happy. So I eventually sold them for good prices and focused on having nice shooters.. Now I can grab anything in the safe, go shooting and have a great time, no regrets... Worked for me, Ymmv...

 

[jbett98]

Last summer, a member here was selling a WWll Remington Rand 1911a1 for $400.00.
Someone previously had tried to rubbed off the slides finish and had also removed the sights.
They had carefully worked around the roll marks, so that was a plus.
I had Velsey (a member here) replace the sights, re park the whole pistol, plus do a trigger job and I am now the proud owner of a very accurate, great looking 1944 era pistol that is fun to shoot and didn't cost me an arm and a leg for a shooter grade firearm.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I bet that since a 9mm factory load Underwood 115+P+ out of a 4" goes 1550, it'd be nuclear out of an artillery '08. oh yea

 

[STUKA]

Last summer, a member here was selling a WWll Remington Rand 1911a1 for $400.00.

.

I remember that one.. I tried and tried to get it but the timing never worked out

 

[Velzey]

Last summer, a member here was selling a WWll Remington Rand 1911a1 for $400.00.
Someone previously had tried to rubbed off the slides finish and had also removed the sights.
They had carefully worked around the roll marks, so that was a plus.
I had Velsey (a member here) replace the sights, re park the whole pistol, plus do a trigger job and I am now the proud owner of a very accurate, great looking 1944 era pistol that is fun to shoot and didn't cost me an arm and a leg for a shooter grade firearm.

Just goes to show you, sometimes they are not to far gone! ...That thing looked like an abomination, part of it polished, wrong parts installed..Just ugly! Now its worth at least $1000...
And now any 1911 enthusiast would be proud to own it..

 

[Mongo1]

In reference to the doubt about the "brought it back from the war": I am 68 years old. From my earliest memory, my father had this P38 in his possession. My Uncle that brought it back wanted nothing to do with guns after the war. When my father passed away in 1982 my brother took possession and has had it ever since. The name of the pilot is written on the inside flap of the holster. When my brother returns from vacation, I will have him send pics and post them here

 

[tionico]

You can put 5000 plus rounds thru that pistol and not hurt it!
Steel frame! I have seen a few of the aluminum frames crack!

Although what I do, on old pistols like this. I remove the original firing pin and extractor and put in a replacement... And plink away, and enjoy it!
If you ever go to sell it or just retire it.. Put the original parts back in!

smartest answer here yet. USE it but put the original breakable bits aside for when its time to sell it for max price. Brilliant. I'd say DO IT.

 

[1BigGuy]

I have a P38, Spreewerke from about 1944. It looks about like yours as far as condition appears. I shoot it now and then. I love the thought of holding that late war history in my hands and looking over the sights at a target. There's a satisfying bang and kick when I pull the trigger. Then I reverently clean it and put it away for the next time.
IMHO, if they aren't good to shoot, they aren't good to own.