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Hello Again Folks!

I am the owner of Jager S/N 7129 .
It is Imperial acceptance stamped in the same locations as Jan's example, but mine is marked with a Crown over M stamp.
Both stamps are the same size, likely from the same punch.
It is of two pin construction, with maker markings on the left side of the gun. The magazine has a matching serial number to the pistol, and has the takedown "thorn" on it.
The slide ends are attached by means of riveted crosspins.
( If I recall correctly, there was an earlier attachment method used also. )

I was wondering if pistol number 7443 also reported here is marked with my (early?) Crown/M stamping or the (later?) Crown/G markings. If the owner would please post, that info would be most appreciated! Even though it is of all stamped construction, almost every part is factory numbered, and the fit of the gun is quite tight. The only major gripe I see is that the safety lever is quite thin, and is very
much exposed to damage when in the engaged position. (It sticks out about 3/8" beyond the frame when on 'safe'.)

Thanks for letting me put in my two cents worth about this unusual gun, my favorite of the German military oddities.

r. t. Darc

 

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Here are a couple (rather poor) photos from Jager #7129.
I'm afraid that this is the best I can do with the web
cam that I have hooked up to my desktop.

Download Attachment: JagerImpPrf1.jpg
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Here is a closeup of the Crown-M acceptance stamps:
(As you can see the upper one is quite lightly struck.
The lower is deeper, but struck at an angle & incomplete)


Download Attachment: JagerImpPrf2.jpg
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I hope they shed at least a little more light on the subject!

 

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I also came across Serial Number 10629 at a local (PA) show this past weekend. While the condition is nothing to brag about, the unusual markings caught my attention.
(On the subject of finish wear- The blueing applied to these guns doesn't seem all that durable, does it ?)
In any case, after negotiating a healthy price reduction the pistol came along home to join my collection.
Incidentally, this new gun is exactly 3500 numbers above my first Jager described directly above- Funny, Huh ?

Download Attachment: JagerAusPrf1.jpg
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I haven't seen any reports here yet of one marked as this:
Austrian commercial sales proofing on the slide just ahead of the serrations; with NPv, AH eagle, and 1917 stampings.


Download Attachment: JagerAusPrf2.jpg
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Here is a closer look at the proofmark details:


Download Attachment: JagerAusPrf3.jpg
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You may be able to notice that there is a punch mark on each of the four barrel lug-pins. Perhaps this was part of a hardness test during the proofing process in Austria ?

In addition to these commercial markings, there are also a set of property or rack numbers stamped into the frontstrap:


Download Attachment: JagerAusPrf4.jpg
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My thought is that this combination of markings would likely indicate WW1 useage by some local Austrian police forces.
Does anyone have a more informed opinion on the subject ?

While comparing my two Jagers side by side, I noticed some differences between the middle and late production versions.
Most obvious was the change from the earlier set of nine slide serration indentations, to a later set of eight which were slightly wider but also a bit shallower. Also the slide construction was reinforced in the later version. While the earlier gun had only one crosspin holding the front end of the slide to the top piece, this was doubled later. A second pin was also added at the very rear end of the slide assembly.
(Both had only one pin in the center section of the slide.)

Close inspection also revealed minor changes in the shape of the front sight, dismounting "thorn" on the magazine base, and the "finger grip" section of the front strap next to the take-down plunger. Both had the F.H. inspectors initials on the magazine well cutout, though location was a bit different.
The picture I get is that these latter were just a case of hand fitting tolerances. (I doubt that fully interchangeable parts were the norm in this factory!) Clearly though, this line of pistols continued to evolve throughout its production.

 

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Just received today a third Jager pistol for my collection. This one is serial number 8749, rather close to Jan's example. The slide's ends are both fastened with double transverse pins. The pistol has been refinished, but has two matching magazines.



Download Attachment: JagerImpPrf3.jpg
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This particular pistol was also Imperial Army accepted. However the acceptance letter marking differs both from Jan's gun, as well as my previously reported example. To my eye, the stamp looks much like a Gothic version of a lower case " a ". {I believe that this is actually a version of capital letter "L" ... }
It also has a straight underline beneath each letter stamping.



Download Attachment: JagerImpPrf4.jpg
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Both letter stamps appear to be of identical size and style. Here is a closer look at the barrel lug-pin letter stamp:

Download Attachment: JagerImpPrf5.jpg
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Does anyone else find it unusual that three different inspectors were involved in the acceptance of such a small number of weapons?
At 3,000 guns a year(maybe a dozen a day), they were hardly turned out at a blistering pace! Of course, they were a small workshop, & Germany could use every gun available in their wartime situation.

Incidentally, the Jager factory must have gotten away with using the same set of name marking dies for most of the production run.
Comparing all 3 of my guns, I noticed that the "A" in Angem got increasingly incomplete as time went by. When they'd gotten to the mid ten thousand range, the "T" stamp had broken as well.
Strangely the period at the end of Angem is a different size on each of the guns, and must have been stamped separately for some reason... Well, that's all there is to share for this time. I'll be sure to report back if I come up with another example.

 

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This certainly sounds plausible to me. Given the very limited military procurement of these pistols, the Franz Jager factory couldn't have been too high on their list of wartime priorities.
My other thought was that due to the slow pace of production, it probably took a year or so to turn out the military contract guns. By that time, new inspectors would have come, and others gone on to new assignments. I don't suppose a list has ever been found of which inspectors or offices corresponds to each of the individual crown/letter stampmarks?

 

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Thanks, dg13-

I'm relieved to hear that your two Jagers are marked similarly to Jan's originally posted example. This means that I'll (probably, anyway) need only a "G" marked gun yet to complete a set of martial Jagers.
It was starting to look as if each military version that came to light here was different from the rest!

 

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Thanks Ron and CBrown!

I know our sample size is still very small, but the trend is appearing to evolve as follows for the Army accepted Jager pistols:

Earliest issued examples with Crown/M
Middle issue? (only one so far) Crown/L
and the Last issues with the Crown/G

Hopefully a few more serial numbers will be reported in the future to make the picture a bit clearer.

 

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Now that I have better photographic equpment, I thought that I would post some better quality images of my three pistols described above:

The Crown/"M" example-

Download Attachment: JagerImpPrfM.JPG
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Download Attachment: JagerImpPrfM2.JPG
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The Crown/"L" example-

Download Attachment: JagerImpPrfL.JPG
183.13 KB

Download Attachment: JagerImpPrfL3.JPG
15.39 KB

The Austrian Commercial Proofed example-

Download Attachment: JagerAusPrf.JPG
168.52 KB

Download Attachment: JagerAPcloseup.JPG
104.02KB

Rich M.

 

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Here are closer views of all three gun's proofmarks:


Download Attachment: JagerMprfCloseup2.JPG
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Download Attachment: JagerLprfCloseup.JPG
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Download Attachment: JagerAPcloseup2.JPG
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Anyone else have a Jager pistol to share with the group?

 

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Thanks for sharing that, Fritz!

The Jager pictured in Ian Hogg's German Pistol Book, number 5522 always looked to me as being Crown - M Imperial acceptance stamped, as well. Incidentally, that also helps pin down the serial range when the location of the S/N was changed from the right side to the left, as #5522 is marked on the lefthand.

Rich M.

 

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Congratulations TexasVet-

Your new purchase sounds to be in better condition than any of mine above. Please be sure to post some photos once your Jager pistol arrives. #8156 may well be a Crown/L similar to my #8749. Thanks for sharing with us!

Rich

 

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JT-

Is the photo of #6404 detailed enough to be able to
tell whether it is military acceptance marked?

Just Wondered,

Rich M.

 

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Thanks for the info!

rich