The I LOVE THIS GUN Thread

Probably not worth much more than a new bottle.

compared to a Luger or C-96, the P-38 isn't that complicated. Labor was cheap back then. Making something like the P-38 gave plenty of previously unemployed Germans a job.

I would want one if I had access to plenty of poor quality 9mm ammo ... the p38 probably would eat anything without much trouble, included SMG 9mm rounds.

For us uninitiated types, could you kindly post a view of the slide so it all makes sense?

The Luger was indeed a nightmare. It was also rather fragile. The C-96, I'm not sure about. I've seen a partially disassembled one, and it didn't look as complex as the P-38. The exploded diagram of one certainly looks simpler (36 parts vs. 55 for the P-38):

http://www.cmrfirearms.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=134_136_146&products_id=71

I'd love to do a 3-D model of a Broomhandle Mauser, but finding someone willing to lend me one is the problem.

I don't have a view of just the slide, but I'll create one tonight. For now, here's a partial assembly view, showing the slide:

I think the P08 was the most overengineered gun of all time....

I'm no engineer, but the way the P38 is set up reminds me quite a bit of the Beretta 92/M9 series, suspect the P38 may have been a predecessor of that design, or at least some aspects of it.

The germans loved to be on the cutting edge with everything back then, fuel injection in fighter planes, jets, subs....all of that stuff was cutting edge....I think it is that or 1898 nagant revolvers at the other end of the scale. Every nation did new and cutting edge stuff back then...just not in as many areas as the germans did.

It doesn't look as bad as I'd thought:

http://www.cmrfirearms.com/shop/pro...id=80&osCsid=466a6e152cbc5a5f4157336b5a2febff

The frame is a model of simplicity compared to that of the P-38.

True, but wait till you get to the toggle....plus the tollerances were so tight, it was a nightmare to build. Plus it was horrid to keep working on the battlefiled.

Yep, according to my gunsmith, Beretta copied several key aspects of the P-38. Unfortunately the 92F not only contains the same weak point on the slide, but its designers also eliminated the internal lugs which prevent the slide from recoiling into the shooters face when it breaks.

I wonder if its tolerances could have been loosened up for battlefield use. It would also make it easier to build.

Who is going to build the next incarnation of the modern broomhandle?

I am sure they could, just like they did with the government 1911s compared to the ones they sold the public later.

Sniper et al: where can one find Pre-1940 Mosin Nagant rifles? I recently saw Bud's Gun blow through nearly 2,000 of some vintage but the guess is they were post-1940 models...
Bud's price was $92

AIM Surplus, Big 5 Sporting Goods, Century Arms, etc...

Hand inspect or pay for hand select or buy used.

Most desirable would be pre ww2 ... good luck finding one though.

what is mine? 1945?

yup ... post war all the way.