Is the Pistole Parabellum (Luger) simply misunderstood?

[American1776]

I own a brand new condition Mauser Parabellum Luger. It is 9mm, 4 inch barrel, and it is a Mauser reissue distributed by Interarms circa 1972. It's a BEAUTIFUL PISTOL. By most accounts, it is pretty much the same gun made (im)famous in the trenches of WW1 and on the European Theater in WWII.

I've read as much as I could on this handgun. A cursory review of interweb lore would yield the following conclusion: 'The Luger is an antiquated design that is an expensive, overly complicated, hand-fitted JAM-0-MATIC chambered in an inferior euro-pellet caliber. It will fail-to-feed if you look at it funny, or if you drop it in the mud, or if it gets a piece of lint near the toggle action'. So goes the story.

However, I've done even more reading on this gun. And I've ALSO read that the Luger Pistol actually had some qualities that propelled it ABOVE the vaunted revolver and 1911. For example: In the trenches of WWI, mud was a big factor. The S&W triple lock revolvers were said to malfunction if mud got into the 'guts' of the lockwork. The 1911 was said to malfunction if the gun was fired with an obstructed barrel (mud), and the barrel slightly bulged. The Luger supposedly shined over these two bastions of reliability. A bulged barrel will still fire on a Luger, since there is no slide to obstruct the barrel. The mud problem with the revolvers was apparently not a problem with the Luger, since the tolerances were so tight that mud could not get into the internals.

The expert wisdom on Luger seems to be this: The magazine springs need to be SUPER STRONG. The toggle action is very fast, so the magazine spring needs to 'keep up' with the quick action in order to load the next round. As long as the magazine spring is super strong, and you use 9mm ammo that is of the 115-124 gr. persuasion, a stock Luger pistol will be VERY reliable pistol that will work in a variety of conditions.

My own Mauser Parabellum so far has gone through over 100 rounds of Fiocchi and Federal 115-124 gr. 9mm ball ammo. It has been 100 percent reliable. I've used the stock Mauser issue magazines, which contain springs so strong, that I cannot load even the first round by hand. I need to use the Luger Magazine tool to load the magazine. The springs are that strong.


So, my thesis: The Luger is misunderstood. It is a very reliable pistol platform, as long as one does not deviate from the original specs. Sounds familiar (1911?). The only limiting factor with these guns is cost of manufacture. The gun requires a ton of hand fitting and it is labor intensive. The sideplate alone is a machinist's nightmare (quoted from Jan Stevenson).

I'm tempted to carry my Mauser Parabellum when the mood strikes. It fits well in a glock 30 hoslter. Of course, it'll be condition 3, since the striker could still move if the gun is dropped.

Thoughts?

[R L Suehr]

I own a brand new condition Mauser Parabellum Luger. It is 9mm, 4 inch barrel, and it is a Mauser reissue distributed by Interarms circa 1972. It's a BEAUTIFUL PISTOL. By most accounts, it is pretty much the same gun made (im)famous in the trenches of WW1 and on the European Theater in WWII.

I've read as much as I could on this handgun. A cursory review of interweb lore would yield the following conclusion: 'The Luger is an antiquated design that is an expensive, overly complicated, hand-fitted JAM-0-MATIC chambered in an inferior euro-pellet caliber. It will fail-to-feed if you look at it funny, or if you drop it in the mud, or if it gets a piece of lint near the toggle action'. So goes the story.

However, I've done even more reading on this gun. And I've ALSO read that the Luger Pistol actually had some qualities that propelled it ABOVE the vaunted revolver and 1911. For example: In the trenches of WWI, mud was a big factor. The S&W triple lock revolvers were said to malfunction if mud got into the 'guts' of the lockwork. The 1911 was said to malfunction if the gun was fired with an obstructed barrel (mud), and the barrel slightly bulged. The Luger supposedly shined over these two bastions of reliability. A bulged barrel will still fire on a Luger, since there is no slide to obstruct the barrel. The mud problem with the revolvers was apparently not a problem with the Luger, since the tolerances were so tight that mud could not get into the internals.

The expert wisdom on Luger seems to be this: The magazine springs need to be SUPER STRONG. The toggle action is very fast, so the magazine spring needs to 'keep up' with the quick action in order to load the next round. As long as the magazine spring is super strong, and you use 9mm ammo that is of the 115-124 gr. persuasion, a stock Luger pistol will be VERY reliable pistol that will work in a variety of conditions.

My own Mauser Parabellum so far has gone through over 100 rounds of Fiocchi and Federal 115-124 gr. 9mm ball ammo. It has been 100 percent reliable. I've used the stock Mauser issue magazines, which contain springs so strong, that I cannot load even the first round by hand. I need to use the Luger Magazine tool to load the magazine. The springs are that strong.


So, my thesis: The Luger is misunderstood. It is a very reliable pistol platform, as long as one does not deviate from the original specs. Sounds familiar (1911?). The only limiting factor with these guns is cost of manufacture. The gun requires a ton of hand fitting and it is labor intensive. The sideplate alone is a machinist's nightmare (quoted from Jan Stevenson).

I'm tempted to carry my Mauser Parabellum when the mood strikes. It fits well in a glock 30 hoslter. Of course, it'll be condition 3, since the striker could still move if the gun is dropped.

Thoughts?

It seems like a cool gun. I've only shot a luger once and it was definitely a good experience. Now, are you asking would I carry one? Personally no. I have no bias on carrying older designed guns or older guns in general as long as they prove reliable ( both guns I carried today were manufactured in the 70's). I wouldn't carry it because of the condition three requirement. I know that argument is old and is a personal choice type thing. My problem with it in this case is the design doesn't lend itself well to quickly chambering a round with the toggle system. If you're going to carry on an empty chamber then you need to be able to chamber that round quickly if needed. The toggle bolt system just doesn't seem to lend itself to that my limited experience. The other problem I would have is ammo. 115, 124gr ball ammo isn't a good choice for a defense round in 9mm. I know this is another debate, but realistically there is a greater chance for over penetration and less expansion, two very bad things when it comes to self defense. If it fed a decent defense round that would be better, but I still would come back to my first point. I really don't want to get into these debates for the umpteenth time on here, so I'm just gonna say that these are my opinions. I know you're a big boy and can make your own decisions. I could see it as a bbq gun with a backup as kinda of more my primary for the right occasion, but I wouldn't carry it as my only sd option personally.

[Cyclops]

As I recall, the P-08 Luger suffered from two problems in combat. First, it was a complicated design that led to malfunctions. Second, it was very susceptible to getting dirt into its mechanisms that led to jamming. Again, if I recall correctly, the original P-08 holster was open, but was replaced with holster with a cover flap to help keep the gun clean under combat conditions. However, it was so good that the US Army had two made in 45 caliber to test. The 1908 Luger lost to the M1911. Still it is a beautiful gun that works fine if you take care of it.

[cdi]

I have repaired several over the years. I'm not that impressed with them.
I owned a couple as well. I re barreled a 4"WWI Erfurt with a 6"navy barrel. It looked cool but the sights sucked. It was uncomfortable to shoot and was reliable with only the hottest military ammo. Oh, and it broke parts frequently (probably due to the hot ammo).

[Gunsnwater]

You really need someone to say its ok to carry this Luger. Ok it's ok. But don't even say it fits in a glock holster. About as well as the slipper holster. Spend the bucks to have a real holster made for it. Noboy needs it to drop out of the holster and shoot somebody. They will fire if the sear is pressed even with the frame removed. You would be better served with a beater parts gun for carry duty. That said, it's your blue and wood, you paid for it, you get to wear it off. And don't forget the million dollar chip. That will happen, no way to prevent it. It is a nice gun, enjoy it.

[Pilot321]

I have a 1941 Mauser Luger that came here through Russia in the 90's, so I have owned and shot it for over 20 years. It was re-arsenelled by the Russians then sold after the wall came down so it has been re-blued (dipped) and then stored. It has all the Nazi markings, and an original mag. It has been 100% reliable with ANY ammo, including my reloads, and hollow points. Yes the sights are small, but it is very accurate, and a pleasure to shoot. I would not hesitate to use it for self defense.

[markshere2]

Uncle Ted kicked open a small shack in WWII and threw down on 2 german officers with his M1 Carbine. Captured both of them.
He brought back the Luger he confiscated from one of them.
He gifted it to his brother (my Dad) in the 70s.

It's a 1923 originally, re-arsenaled so its a mixmaster of numbers.
Grips fractured way back in the day, and Dad carved cherry wood grips for it that fit my hands very well.

The leather GI 1911 holster (with a flap) fits it pretty well, but I planned to get a repro clamshell holster from ebay for it.

Shoots 100% reliable with cast boolits or RN hardball.

Too bad it was lost in the tragic boat fire with the rest of my guns.

[cdi]

Groovy, baby.
Oddball used to carry one of those Gerry pistols in a 1911 flap holster.

Think about how that gun will look when presented as exhibit "A". Ever see the movie Shindler's list?
I can just hear the opening remarks from the Crown....