who made the 45acp version of the p-08?
years ago, i remember seeing one on the cover of g&a. who made those?
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The original ones were made by D W M, the one you saw on the cover of G & A was probably made by John Martz. Although others have made them. There was a gunsmith from Idaho who made a small number, years ago. 0 -
Here are some links to the custom .45 Lugers, plus a few of the wildest custom Lugers you've ever seen. Some of this is in English, most is German.
http://www.touri.de/werle/Luger/luger.html
http://www.touri.de/werle/Luger_2/luger_2.html
http://www.touri.de/werle/Luger_3/luger_3.html
http://www.lugerforum.com/
If you have a spare $1,000,000 here is a .45 cal carbine.....enjoy!
http://www.worldoflugers.com/index.htm
The 1906 U.S.Army Test .45 Caliber Luger
Arguably the most desirable semi-automatic pistiol on the planet. Originally produced for test acceptance by the U. S. Army in 1906, there is some question about how many of this unique variation were actually made.
Charles Kenyon Jr., in his book "Lugers At Random" (page 110) states:
The serial number of the example shown [on page 111] is "2", number "1" having been used in the actual test, while number "2" was for "back up". U. S. Army records of the test program indicate that pistol number "1" was subjected to severe use and abuse in the course of the tests. To date, serial number "1" has not been located and is thought by many collectors to have been discarded after the tests were completed.
Here is a quote from THE LUGER STORY by John Walter, page 118:
Though the progress of the American trials is well documented, controversy still surrounds the .45 Lugers. Work apparently began in the late summer of 1906, when 5000 cartridges were sent to Luger from Frankford Arsenal. The pistols were completed late in February 1907, two of them arriving at Springfield Armory some time prior to 28th March. One gun, believed to have been no. 1, was put through the trials whilst no. 2 was retained for examination. The latter still exists, thought he fate of its companion is unknown.
But where are the others? And, if so, how many? Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken clearly made more than two, as at least one would have been retained in Germany as a safeguard against the loss of the guns despatched to the USA; coincidentally, .45 Luger no. 4 is said to have been found in Germany in 1945 and taken to the USA as a souvenir. Another example, apparently numbered '4', was pictured in LUGER. The late August Weiss credited his predecessor, Heinrich Hoffmann, with a statement that "no more than six" 45 caliber guns had been made.
Harry Jones pictured two surviving guns in the revised edition of LUGER VARIATIONS, commenting that the second survivor was fired 150 times in 1960 without a single stoppage. Unfortunately for Luger and DWM, the ammunition used in 1907 was not as reliable!
It is reported that there is a .45 cal Luger in the Norton Gallery, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Mr. Norton was an early Louisiana oilman, and this Luger was purchased by Mr. Norton from Harry Jones. In some of his writings Harry Jones tells about himself and Mr. Norton taking the pistol out and running a box of ammo through it. The pistol is pictured on page 381 of Scott Meadow's "US MILITARY AUTOMATIC PISTOLS". The pistol has a commercial proof, but also has the GL proof on the toggle.
MARTZ CUSTOM GERMAN LUGERS AND P-38s
John V. Martz
8060 Lakeview Ln., Lincoln, CA 95648; (916) 645-2250, FAX (916) 645-3815 Gunsmithing and customizing original German Lugers and WWII P-38s. Some original parts available for the Luger. Patented MSTR (Martz Safe Toggle Release) can be installed on any non-grip-safety Luger.0 -
thanks for the info. btw...we all know that the luger was originally designed by an american from connecticut....right? bless those yankees! 0
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