mawkie
C&R Whisperer
-I've steered clear from Lugers in the past as they can be a minefield of sorts. But I've always wanted one and when Poulin Auction released their huge March firearm auction catalog with approx. 75 Swiss Lugers I decided to educate myself on the subject so I could bid with confidence.
-First trip was to Jan Still's forum over on GB to find out what reference works were best. They recommended Fred Datig's The Swiss Variations as a starter work and Vittorio Bobba's Parabellum A technical History of Swiss Lugers. Found Datig's book on Evil Pay for $20 and got real lucky finding Bobba's here in the US for just under $100 (most folk have to import a copy from Bobba's native Italy, paying upwards of $150 for a copy).
-Forearmed with some knowledge I decided, after looking at market prices, to go with a Model 1906/29 as it fit my Ramen noodle budget better. Luger folk seem to put a premium on the original red canevasit grips as their a bit harder to find intact (easy to break, they were frequently replaced with the newer black or brown bakelite examples).
-There were approx. 8 nice examples of 1906/29s w. red canevasit grips in the auction yesterday, I went with one built in 1939 that still had the original finish w. minor wear to high points. A good, solid example.
-My thought process was that with 75 Swiss Lugers alone (they had a pile of German Lugers as well) prices would be depressed a bit, hovering around low pre-sale estimates. And I was correct. Got mine for $1250. With the buyers premium that comes to $1500. Exactly where I wanted to be as nice examples are currently fetching around $1750-2000 in today's market. The only down side to this example is that it doesn't have the canvevasit mag bottom. Will have to keep an eye out for one.
-Have a bid in on a nice, proper 1906/29 holster up on GB. Hopefully I'll have a complete rig soon!
-Auction catalog photos for now. More to come later when it arrives.
-First trip was to Jan Still's forum over on GB to find out what reference works were best. They recommended Fred Datig's The Swiss Variations as a starter work and Vittorio Bobba's Parabellum A technical History of Swiss Lugers. Found Datig's book on Evil Pay for $20 and got real lucky finding Bobba's here in the US for just under $100 (most folk have to import a copy from Bobba's native Italy, paying upwards of $150 for a copy).
-Forearmed with some knowledge I decided, after looking at market prices, to go with a Model 1906/29 as it fit my Ramen noodle budget better. Luger folk seem to put a premium on the original red canevasit grips as their a bit harder to find intact (easy to break, they were frequently replaced with the newer black or brown bakelite examples).
-There were approx. 8 nice examples of 1906/29s w. red canevasit grips in the auction yesterday, I went with one built in 1939 that still had the original finish w. minor wear to high points. A good, solid example.
-My thought process was that with 75 Swiss Lugers alone (they had a pile of German Lugers as well) prices would be depressed a bit, hovering around low pre-sale estimates. And I was correct. Got mine for $1250. With the buyers premium that comes to $1500. Exactly where I wanted to be as nice examples are currently fetching around $1750-2000 in today's market. The only down side to this example is that it doesn't have the canvevasit mag bottom. Will have to keep an eye out for one.
-Have a bid in on a nice, proper 1906/29 holster up on GB. Hopefully I'll have a complete rig soon!
-Auction catalog photos for now. More to come later when it arrives.