[walther2000]

I have a 9mm Luger with no stock lug. it has a hold open added and a military cypher next to the spot where the added hold open pin is visible from outside. It is in the 563XX range.can this be an 08 without the stock lug? or an 06? is it a military gun in this range? it has no proofs on the right side of the slide. I first assumed it was a commercial that would up in the military system and had the hold open added by the military, but am sure more learned minds can chime in. Thanks - Robert

 

[Dwight Gruber]

Your pistol is a an early p08 manufactured for the commercial market. The added holdopen with inspection stamp identifies this as an officer private purchase pistol which was voluntarily sent to be modified. There should be an inspector stamp on the front sight as well. Is there a P or PRV stamp in the the bottom rear inside of the magazine well?

Would you please report your complete serial number?

--Dwight

 

[Doubs]

Dwight has pretty well nailed it IMO. An officer's private purchase Luger without the hold open could be sent to the Erfurt Royal Rifle Factory and modified for a cost of "about 3 marks". The modification included the hold open and replacing the front sight to zero the pistol at 50 meters.

 

[walther2000]

Thanks for the info! Hats off to the you fellas! Yes, there is a proof - small and unclear - on the front of the front site. Do no see anything yet inside the Mag well. Will take the grips off later. Gun looks like it was arsenal refurbished too. The blue seems arsenal or factory rather than done in the US after the war, but the hump on the side plate is rounded off a bit. Bore is strong, crisp and sharp. I always am concerned/suspicious when I see a rough, worn out bore on a high condition gun.

 

[Dwight Gruber]

Generalized "arsenal refinishing" is a fantasy. Some specific foreign military contract pistols are recognized to have undergone refinishing during maintenance and repair; yours is not among them. DWM itself never took in pistols for refinishing. Over the last century many gunsmiths, most of them anonymous, have proved to be capable of factory-like refinishing of Lugers. Occasionally their work is extraordinary, and their identities are known. As you have noted, there are always "tells."

It is not unknown to find a Luger in otherwise pristine condition, with a sewer pipe bore. Over a hundred-years-plus all it takes is a couple of shooting sessions of ammunition with corrosive primers, without immediately cleaning the bore, to wreck it.

Please report your pistol's complete serial number.

--Dwight