1916 DWM Artillery Luger

[rmcc]

Bought some parts guns from an estate. This was in a cigar box with barrel on outside. Had never worked on a Luger much less re-assembled one from a box full of parts. This was the end result. She is kind of rough, has some pitting but seems to function. Mainspring broke243956243957 so I ordered a new one from Numrich. Hope I am in as good of shape at 103.

[merlin101]

You assembled all the parts upside down!
What a great find, rough or not.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Why doesn't things like this ever happen to me.........? Nice find!

[Hardcast416taylor]

How would you go about registering this pistol now?Robert

[Moleman-]

How would you go about registering this pistol now?Robert

OP is in Iowa with no registration. I like Michigan, but wish it didn't have pistol registration.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

My first thought is why would you want to register it? There is at least one danger in doing so. You may find the gun to have been stolen, have it confiscated, and be charged with possession of stolen property. That's a really bad feature of buying firearms at yard sale, garage sale, across the back fence, etc.

Some States, mine now being one of them, require all sales to be processed through a FFL Dealer. I do see it as a restriction on our liberties, but at the same time see some protection there.

A case in point: A good friend of mine purchased several handguns from a fellow member of a gun club in Southern California about 20 years ago.
He didn't really want the guns, but did want to help out his buddy. The buddy had purchased the guns here and there via private sales, so their history really wasn't known to him. Among them were a very nice 6 inch stainless Ruger Security Six .357. My friend did like this particular revolver, and usually took it along when we went shooting. During the intervening years he moved to Oregon and one day was stopped for expired license plate tabs by an Oregon city police officer. Naturally the officer wanted to see the registration card, and there was the revolver in the glove box. Then, again understandably, the officer wanted to examine the revolver, especially since my friend didn't have a CCW permit. The officer ran the serial number and discovered that the gun had been reported stolen in California about 10 years earlier. My friend was arrested for possession of stolen property and lodged in the local grey bar hotel. He remained there for right around 30 days until the matter was sorted out and he was found to be an innocent purchaser, but nonetheless in violation of the CCW laws.

During the time that I knew this fellow he decided that he didn't want a S&W Mod. 629 and sold it to me. After I learned of his incarceration I started sweating. My son-in-law is a deputy sheriff, so I had him run the serial number and it came up clean. Whew! Big relief, as I knew I'd have to surrender the gun if the number was hot. The 629 was part of my friend's gun club purchase, so not all of the guns were stolen. This should illustrate that, in States where it is still permissible, a stolen gun can travel from hand to hand via private sales/purchases for years until it finally surfaces again -- if it ever does.

Bringing this home to Lugers in particular, when I was in law enforcement I took advantage of the office's teletype machine one long rainy evening and ran every gun that I owned at the time. Three Luger pistols came up as being possibly stolen. I was able to refute that information based upon the facts that I keep the sales paperwork on all guns that I buy, and in each case the pistol was reported stolen at a date one to several years after I had purchased them. The problem with Lugers is the serial number system. Almost all Lugers have a 4 digit number followed by a letter, such as (example only -- if you have this number I'm truly sorry and it's a coincidence!) 4985 b. The letter usually appears underneath the numbers, and few non-collectors realize that it is really part of the serial number. In short, the Germans made these guns in serial number batches of 9999 with a letter designating that batch, and then started over with 01 and the next letter in the alphabet. I've actually got a 04 number with the letter f, a seeming rarity, but since the Germans went through the entire alphabet several times there are another perhaps 70 Lugers out there with a serial number of 04, and perhaps 3 or more with 04 f. Most Luger owners who have their pistols stolen only report the numbers and not the letter, so there are numerous Lugers that will turn up hot when a check is run, and the only way to sort it all out is by the letter or by a bill of sale dated prior to the theft report.

None of these examples I've cited would occur today in Oregon, because all sales must be through dealers and whether or not the gun is "hot" is established at that time. Again, I dislike all infringements on our rights, but there are always pluses and minuses to most laws. And, of course, there is the ethical question of, "If it was your gun that had been stolen, wouldn't you like to have it returned?"

[Hardcast416taylor]

After my Brother died and I inherited quite a pile of firearms he had, we had a small general store that also had a sporting goods section. I took the luger that he had brought home from his WW 2 time in Europe and had registered here when he got home. The local county PD registration desk ran the serials from it and told me that that serial had been on a stolen pistol! Now this gal wasn`t the sharpest knife in the drawer about pistols by either make or caliber. Since I couldn`t locate the registration card from when my Brother had done so, I later found it as a book marker, I tried to plead my case of how I came by it. I said about the only person that could claim it stolen was either Adolph Hilter or the German officer my Brother took it off of. Luckily a PD Sgt. vouched for me and the process proceeded. I guess that goes to show you that there are duplicate serial numbered handguns out there. I asked that gal what handgun was on the stolen report with that serial and if it was indeed a luger, she wouldn`t tell me.Robert

[Jtarm]

Living in the free state of Texas, I’m unfamiliar with gun registration laws, but that gun qualifies as curio & relic, so would it be exempt?

The antique definition really needs to be updated. It’s been at least 50 years since it was set at 1898.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Jtarm -- I wish you'd expound a little on what you're asking.......exempt from what? Not exempt from being seized if listed as stolen. Also, I don't know about the O.P.'s State, but in many States any cartridge-firing handgun must be registered upon resale.

As for updating the definition of what is an antique, I kind of doubt that it will ever be done, as 1898 was kind of set as the cutoff date when cartridge repeating firearms became common production. It's really nice that they did it that way instead of making a blanket prohibition against all cartridge-firing firearms, because a few can still be found and purchased that pre-date the 1898 cutoff. An example would be the Krag rifle, first introduced in 1894 with a big production run in 1896. Lots of 1873 Peacemakers were made before 1898, as were various foreign firearms. Every time that I'm able to acquire a firearm for my collection that is sold and purchased as an antique and receive it through the US Mail I get kind of a little thrill and feeling that I just circumvented something evil. If they updated the cutoff date by 50 years it would bring us to 1948 and cover all of the WW II weapons. I'd like that...but in this day and age of the lefties wanting to control guns it's very unlikely.

[TCLouis]

Yet another reaon to live only in a FREE state!

[rmcc]

No registration here...yet! The idiots in power are trying to pass an ordinance here to ban bump stocks.....nobody has told them that has all ready been done on the Federal level. I fear where this country is heading if demlibtards get in power again!!

[EMC45]

Yet another reaon to live only in a FREE state!


What I keep thinking the whole time reading this thread!!!

[RED BEAR]

Jtarm -- I wish you'd expound a little on what you're asking.......exempt from what? Not exempt from being seized if listed as stolen. Also, I don't know about the O.P.'s State, but in many States any cartridge-firing handgun must be registered upon resale.

As for updating the definition of what is an antique, I kind of doubt that it will ever be done, as 1898 was kind of set as the cutoff date when cartridge repeating firearms became common production. It's really nice that they did it that way instead of making a blanket prohibition against all cartridge-firing firearms, because a few can still be found and purchased that pre-date the 1898 cutoff. An example would be the Krag rifle, first introduced in 1894 with a big production run in 1896. Lots of 1873 Peacemakers were made before 1898, as were various foreign firearms. Every time that I'm able to acquire a firearm for my collection that is sold and purchased as an antique and receive it through the US Mail I get kind of a little thrill and feeling that I just circumvented something evil. If they updated the cutoff date by 50 years it would bring us to 1948 and cover all of the WW II weapons. I'd like that...but in this day and age of the lefties wanting to control guns it's very unlikely.
You must be from ny. Never registered a gun in my life. Of any kind. Own nothing that needs registering with the fed. Not sure if my state will stay that way . Seems like crazy dems are taking over. Court said Republicans couldn't gerrymander districts so they let the democrats do it. But wife and i are both retired very little family above ground so can always move.

[RED BEAR]

Oh i am sorry got off on something else . Thats one nice gun. I just love older guns.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Gee Red Bear, lighten up, will yah? NY? No way. Just as bad, though -- born in California and moved to Oregon 30+ years ago. Now Oregon is trying hard to be like California. But at least I had 30 years of freedom.

Well, the sad news is that you can consider any guns that you bought new to be registered, no matter what State you live in. That Form 4473 that you filled out at the time of purchase remains with the dealer for a minimum of 20 years, and when he goes out of business it's sent in to the ATF Out of Business Records Section. All dealer sales are called into either the FBI or State Law Enforcement for a background check. We thought here that the background check and serial number check was destroyed at the end of the business day, but not so. They've been keeping a permanent record all along since the inception of the program. Your State -- I don't know, but wouldn't bet that they're not. As for private sales, where they're still legal, you're probably o.k. on the registration, but as stated earlier, you don't know if the firearm isn't stolen and won't bring you some trouble down the road.

Yes, perhaps the thread is drifting.......

[Conditor22]

"Hope I am in as good of shape at 103."

I think you're doing great for being that old, I don't think my eyesight or joints will last that long.

[rmcc]

LMAO....joints gone, eyesight going!!