(Pistols & Revolvers) POST WAR/German P-38......Good/Bad?

[vicg1]

All arrived new, unissued, no hand pick fee paid.

A couple of strange things with these pistols... first, my dates ranged from 1976 thru 1992. OK, so nothing strange about that.

The grips all looked used. The frames looked new as did the upper/slide portion. The uppers were parkerized and machined in a quality beneath what I come to expect as normal Walther standards.

The front sight mount (a portion of the bbl blank milled to accept a dovetail) was different on 3 of the guns... different contours at the muzzle end. Almost as if the lathe operator felt like being creative with some of them. Won't impair function at all but again, not your usual Walther quality.

Going to the range tonight. If they work, I'd say they were a bargain.

[vicg1]

fired 3 of the Walthers last night, all functioned perfectly, groups were tight but about 2" to the left at 25'... on each gun... will play with the sights over the weekend.

[dave]

Be careful, the rear sight DOES NOT MOVE.
It's in a slot, and held in place by the top slide cover.
This is one weakness of the Walther P-38/P1.

All adjustments are made to the FRONT sight.

[vicg1]

ba ha!
Too bad my friend who also bought one didn't know this... he already broke the rear sight retaining pin!

[Flechette]

Good timing on this thread.

I just bought my girlfriend a P38 at a show a few days ago.

Its wartime produced, and has some tool chatter on it from being made in a hurry.

Paid $250 for it.
Its her first pistol.
So far, I've taught her to strip, clean, lube, and reassemble it.
When she gets it back together and drops the slide, she gets giddy like a kid; very cute to watch.

Probably going to the range this evening.
I'll give a report ASAP.

[Flechette]

P.S.

Where's a good place to get mags for a P38?
Repro is fine.

[Flechette]

Went to the range indeed.
Everything went off without a hitch.

Showed her how to do the safety checks:
No slam-fire
Cocked and applied safety - hammer drops - No Fire
Attempt to fire with safety on - No go
Load two rounds - No F/A

Good little pistol, functions well, shoots straight, trigger... not too bad, recoil was comfortable, needs a feed ramp polish.

It's hard to find a 9mm or better that fits her hand, the P38 is at the upper limit of what she is comfortable with.

All in all, range report is excellent; happy with purchase.

[Invader Zim]

She loves p38/p1s, Flechette don't let this one go she's a keeper.
ZIMout

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Those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it, those who learn the wrong lessons are just doomed

[dunkel]

What kind mag release does it have? My GF has a Makarov, but the European style mag release is a little hard for her to manipulate with her small fingers and hands. Was thinking of getting another pistol for her and saw these P38's, but not if it doesn't have an American style relase.

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"When governments fear the people there is liberty. When the people fear the government there is tyranny."
--Thomas Jefferson

"The purpose of government is to rein in the rights of the people." -- William Jefferson Clinton

"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to
shoot back with your own gun."
The Dalai Lama

"Life is tough.
Life is tougher if you're stupid."
John Wayne

[Tikka]

P-38's have the European type release but the mags fall clear easily.No clawing with both hands needed.

[vicg1]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Tikka:
P-38's have the European type release but the mags fall clear easily.No clawing with both hands needed.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

and the realse button is fairly large compared to some other designs...

[Cornbread2]

I saw one of Centerfire's guns yesterday. It looks unissued except for one of the plastic grips.

[dunkel]

Thanks, Tikka and vicg, I'll take a look at one then. The little button on that Mak is just too stiff or something, and she just can't get it easily. This, of course, causes two problems, 1. she can't feel confident in a self-defence situation (which is one reason I got it for her in the first place) and 2. she just gets frustrated, which makes her want to cut trips to the range short. Both of which, I imagine, are common problems when you're intoducing a non-shooting female into the wonderful world of guns, lol.

Anyway, thanks for the info.

------------------
"When governments fear the people there is liberty. When the people fear the government there is tyranny."
--Thomas Jefferson

"The purpose of government is to rein in the rights of the people." -- William Jefferson Clinton

"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to
shoot back with your own gun."
The Dalai Lama

"Life is tough.
Life is tougher if you're stupid."
John Wayne

[Mannlicher]

unless you just want one, the P-38 is not a particularly desirable pistol. Limited magazine capacity, that stupid mag release on the butt, crummy sights, and a really, REALLY crappy double action trigger. I would not take one to a worm wrassel.

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Mannlicher-Schoenauer
1908 8x56MM

M1911.org

Nemo me impune lacesset

[buttrap]

I just picked up one for 285 bucks at a show wiht a spare mag and holster. Looks new excepth for the grips but a bit of fine sandpaper,buffing and a checkering file cured that. It has pretty nice white dot combat sites that are much better than on my Colt 1911 and military Hi-Power. The trigger pull is a lot better than most DA guns too,not quite up to a CZ-75 but pretty close. Now if I could just find a site that has info on marking so I can tell if its a police or military gun. On the plus they do not have importers marking on them too.