P38 Pistol
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You are currently reading a thread in /k/ - Weapons
LGS has a p38 in decent condition for $450. I don't know too much about these guns, but this seems like a great price. Are there any markings or anything else I should look out for to make sure I dont get scammed?
>>28358841
buy it, but only if it is covered in swastikas and stick eagles my lad
you have to ask a few questions first, is it actually a P38 and not a P1 or P4, is it wartime or post war production, is it a capture gun?
Nice thumbnail
>>28358900
Right, it was listed as "walther p38" but I had my doubts. I didn't see the X stamp so I dont think its a capture gun. Is there an easy way of telling if it was war time or post war?
>>28358900
I have the same question, actually. Found one with all matching numbers, a decent barrel, and no import stamp, so I assumed it was a wartime take back.
The serial number is in the 4000's, but I don't remember any other marks on it.
>>28358841
Research.
For starters;
http://p-38.info/#Pistols
http://eartist.nl/p.38.htm
>>28358926
And Romanian PSLs were listed as Dragunovs, but that didn't make it true.
Unscrupulous dealers will say or imply anything to get a sale.
>>28358841
That is a fair price for a p38.
If its a repro...it might be ok if its in good condition.
>>28361004
A repro P38?
>>28361004
thanks for your service... pog
>>28358926
>>28360800
At a quick glance, postwar guns have black plastic grips while wartime guns have ribbed bakelite grips. Of course this is only for starters since grips are easily changed.
Postwar guns will have a Walther banner on the slide while wartime guns will have a factory and date code such as 'cyq 44', 'ac 42' or 'byf 43' to indicate Spreewerk, Walther and Mauser, respectively. If a pistol has a commercial Walther roll mark which includes the address 'Ulm/Do.' is a postwar production. Ulm ab Donau was the location of the rebuilt Walther factory after the war. The original factory in Zella-Mehlis was destroyed.
Postwar P1's are the most commonly encountered 'postwar P38'. These typically have a phosphate finish on the slide and barrel and a black anodized finish on the aluminum grip frame. Most state 'P1' on the slide, but you will find some early postwar marked 'P38'. P1 was the military's name for the P.38 after 1957 but Walther resumed building P.38's by 1947 and the commercial models continued to be marked 'P.38'.
There are some differences made to the design of the safety and slide, but that's getting a bit off topic of simple identification.
Here is a photo of my P1 and P.38.
>>28360917
Thank you for the links. Im surprised the thread is still up 2bh
>>28361153
Looking at that pic, it was definitely a wartime model based on the grips, the slide, and the overall finish. What threw me off is that I dont remember seeing any of the typical nazi proof marks, although I was not really looking that hard.
I did not see if the numbers were matching, however assuming it is a wartime, nonmatching p38 in a little worse condition than the one you have, is $450 a fair price?
>>28361044
Not a repro, but they made post war P38 style pistols with alloy frames called P1's into the 60's I think
I've heard these things have a tendency to develop cracks on the frame. Can anyone confirm?
>>28361233
The Waffenamts aren't obtrusive on these guns. You should find three on the right side of the slide, one of the right side of the barrel (visible with slide retracted), one on the slide lock lever, one on the left side of the frame, one on the left side of the trigger (just below the frame with the hammer decocked) and one on the trigger bar.
$450 is a good price for a wartime gun even if some parts are mismatched. It's hard to find P.1's for that price now.
>>28361284
The postwar aluminum frame guns without reinforcing bolts are the ones at risk of this.
>>28361335
Thank you friend. I guess one of the benefits of living in Fuddville is that people tend to pass things like this up
