1943 Mauser P-38
As previously mentioned on my DWM 1917 page, I haven't been particular interested in collecting P-38's in the past. I have owned several over the years, and kind of found them boring. Having said that, I found this one at Cabela's one day, and while very worn, the numbers were all matching, with nice proof marks, and it was in great mechanical condition, with a shiny bore with good rifling. The price was a steal, so I had no choice but to buy it.
It is in such nice shape, and I got it so cheap (Cheap? From Cabela's? That seems like n oxymoron...) that it presents me a quandary.
Do I keep it as it is - as a "poor" grade collectors item?
Or do I refinish it - as an excellent (though no longer collectable) shooter?
It took a while for me to decide, but I ended up keeping it in it's naked, but pristine condition.
These pictures were taken as soon as I brought it home.
The first thing I did was scrub off the rust you can see in these pictures, and marvel at the condition more and more.
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OK, I'm no longer in a quandary. I have spent a few hours closely examining this pistol, and while that examination didn't magically restore the finish, it did convince me that the pistol wasn't "stripped" of its finish as I initially expected. I believe the current condition, while poor in terms of finish, is original.
Here are some photos that will illustrate my opinion:
Right side with grips removed. Notice how the slide and barrel show wear, but the frame, from this profile shows very little, and almost NONE under those portions usually covered up by the grips or the slide. Atypical for a pistol purposely stripped of its finish, but highly typical of one which has seen extended use.
Left side profile showing the same patterns. Finish wear on exposed surfaces, while completely fine under protected surfaces.
Right side of the frame. Note the hammer, mage release, double action bar, and take down lever, very little wear. Even the trigger only shows wear on the forward face, not uniform, but consistent with use.
Now take a look at the forward edge of the frame. Other than some shadow bluing remaining in deep machine lines, it is almost perfectly "in the white", with the finish entirely gone along these surfaces.
Numbers are consistent all the way through.
Note the contrast here between the exposed upper face of the barrel extension, and the preserved portion below, in front of the locking bar.
Here you can see the preserved finish on the slide's bolt face and chamber sides. These are not normally exposed except when firing.
Original safety paint, and "halo" surrounding serial number stampings.
Another shot showing various stampings on the fore end. Note the lack of wear on the slide release, and take-down lever.
Also note the absence of the "hump" over the trigger.
Eagle/135 markings.
Another close up of the slide...redundantly.
Yawn. This is getting repetitive.
Didn't we see this shot before? Told you P-38's were boring!
Ooooh! Nice eagles!
Take note of the contrast between the excessive wear along the front grip strap compared to that area just behind the trigger.
It's a worn old war horse, but it has succeeded in re-kindling my interest in collecting P-38's.
Funny how my more pristine version didn't do that...this one has character!
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