[DiehardWWII]

Hello,
Have a 1922 pistol recently acquired from the Yugo contract guns that I bought as a mismatched pistol seeing as though the barrel has a Nazi serial and proof. Once I got it home and did some research I noted there was more than the barrel that was changed. I knew it was a Yugo right off from the crest and assumed Yugo guns were pre-war. Did some research and found they were 1923-1925 production but also realized they were in 9mm kurz back then. Nazi barrels are of course in 7.65 auto (except the rare factory captured guns, but those retain Belgium proofed barrels.) Suddenly it struck me the gun may not feed, perhaps the mag is not compatible. The mag though is a later phosphate looking mag, also in 7.65 auto like the barrel. Next it dawned on me the grips are not bakelite or horn like I see on the Yugo contract, they look like Nazi era wood grips. Last I realize the Yugo's have a lanyard ring, mine clearly missing, I remove the grips to find the long since rusted, cleanly cut ends still present under the grip.

With the many years since WW2 one could easily suggest that someone stripped a parts gun to rechamber in 7.65, used the correct mag, and decided he liked the wood grips better off theoretical Nazi parts gun, maybe the originals were cracked. He also may not have liked the lanyard loop and cut it off knowing he could cover that area with the wooded spares. Maybe he cut is so he could even get the wooden grips on it. Either way there is a mark where the original grips once were located.

Or... Are there any other such examples like this out there? Is this some kind of rework as the Germans did not use a lot of 9mm kurz (CZ-38, astra 300, not too much more comes to mind). Did they change to 7.65, use a proper mag, delete the lanyard and replace the grips to make it more German Spec? I know, long shot, but who knows, there may be more examples out there and it may be know to more intense browning collectors than me.

Not expecting much on this post, there are either examples that support the theory or else I can only consider it some post war fabrication by the West Germans or some Bubba in the states. But it should make a cool shooter regardless and the crest is pretty neat.

Thanks,
Diehard

 

[Yoebuff]

difficult to answer your questions. no one will ever know for sure who did the modifications. but you pretty much laid out all of them. someone replaced the original barrel with a 7.65 cal later one and removed or replaced the original grips with wooden ones by removing the lanyard ring. In my opinion however this type of modification would not have been done by the Germans and would have been done post war because the Germans kept in use the .380 cal guns. they would have replaced the barrel with a correct one.

 

[Anthony Vanderlinden]

It is likely that you have a wartime conversion. It is not that uncommon. German replacement barrels were always 7.65mm.

Anthony

 

[Yoebuff]

Anthony, I did not think when the Germans did a conversion they would have used a previously serialized barrel without force matching? I Thought they used unnumbered barrels or would have forced matched. Naturally, I bow to your expertise LOL

 

[Anthony Vanderlinden]

Sam, you are right about the numbering. "Conversion" may have been a strong word and implied that it was a structured program, a field armorer would have used what was available. I see a lot of these with replacement wartime 7.65mm barrels, not sure how or where these were assembled.
Anthony