P38 ac45

Finally found a P38 I could afford today.

It's an ac45 b block with all three proofs and an fnh barrel. Numbers match. Parts supposed to be in the white are in the white. It does have black soft plastic grips that I do not believe are correct for this. Phosphated non marked magazine. It's wartime but not by much. March of 1945 from what I can gather. Finish is decent but has some hard dings in the metal, notably near the hammer well and the trigger guard. Bore is excellent, this one hasn't seen many rounds.

Paid $550 for it and considering the fnh barrel, I think that was a very good price these days.

The grips may be durofol, if so then inside you'll see their diamond logo. Durofol were a black plastic-like material in use by that time and so could be correct for this very late war make. With three proofs, it was likely one of the last ones assembled at the plant before the 11th AD and 90th ID showed up and closed it.

No markings on the inside of the grips but they do seem to match descriptions of Mauser grips. Double circles on left and center thing on right. Not positive though. I know very little about these.

Took some photos and noticed markings on the magazine. Appears to be a late war Walther magazine P38v over a U, no serial which should be correct. Not sure how I missed that during visual inspection. Easy to see. Did not find anything anywhere on the grips but did notice additional proofs on one of the internal parts that has the serial number on it. Eagle and swastika on one side and proof mark on the other. The dents on the back almost look like someone tried to make it not function by preventing the hammer from falling. Not deep enough to do that but I can't think of any other reason to do it. Like I said, I know very little about these. I don't think I could hurt myself price wise for a shooter in any case. The grips are the obvious big question mark although further research today indicates that a lot of late war Walthers have Mauser grips. I see an 8 on the front sight, left side. Serial numbers on frame above trigger, the slide, the barrel on the front just below the barrel and that part that is in the white inside. I didn't take it any further apart. There is what looks to be a F just under the lanyard loop under the grips. That's all the markings I noticed besides the proofs. From some research, probably March production, quite possibly one of the last few thousand to have been produced and accepted before the factory was captured.

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They are Otto Single Type I grips. They are acceptable for this model.

Found another eagle over swastika on the rear of the barrel.

Great looking pistol, have you fired it

No, I just got it on Sunday. It will go to the range my next trip which hopefully will be soon. I watched Hickock on You Tube shooting at steel plates at 80 yards with one of these. That guy is amazing sometimes.

You have a very nice pistol. If you dig through this section you will find my post of my BYF 44 P38 which I found in beautiful nearly unused condition. Here is a link for complete disassembly which could be helpful How to disassemble P1 / P38 - WaltherForums . Here is another link as to the valuation and collectability of each model P38 http://p38forum.com/technical/P38Chart.pdf . Here is another link that will give you a good idea when it was made by serial number http://www.p38forum.com/P38ProductionDates.pdf . If your going to shoot it use ONLY STANDARD VELOSITY 9mm ammo with a bullet weight of 124gr which is what it was designed to use (Parabellum Round). 115 gr rounds might jam sometimes as they are shorter in overall length and 147gr rounds will beat up a 73 year old wartime production pistol more than it needs. Be aware that the slides have a tendency to crack at the bridge in front of the chamber and the locking blocks can crack too which will destroy any collectability the pistol has. For these reasons correct ammo is essential and try to avoid rapid fire which is hard to do with a P38! Enjoy and good luck with it. - Bill

Now I'm having second thoughts of shooting it. I never intended for it to be a safe queen but never intended to fire it a lot either. Maybe a magazine or two every once in a while. What type of risk of breakage is there? I don't think this one has been fired much but who knows. Lot of opinions both for and against out there. Rather have some solid data if I'm going to take the risk.

What about finding a cheap upper assembly and using that to shoot? Some guys talk about that also.

The only way you can guarantee the condition of the parts in question is to have them magnafluxed and xray'ed both of which will cost more than you want to spend. I had considered setting up a P1 top end on my pistol and even went as far as buying a slide but nearly everything is different between a P1 and a WWII era pistol. You can't just transfer over the majority of the slides working parts. It ends up that setting up a newer top end will cost 3/4's of the price of buying a complete P1 so why not buy another one to shoot? Because I can't afford it that's why! As far as the "risk" of breakage is concerned that's something that only the above tests can determine.

With proper care and light easy limited use you should be fine for occasional shooting. I use mine every 6 months and put between 40-50 rounds through it during a 4-5 hour session shooting slow and deliberately not rapid firing it. Double action sux with a long heavy trigger pull but in single action mode it's my most accurate 9mm and a ball to shoot. Excellent ergonomics with a very natural point and shoot configuration plus light recoil and good sights for it's day make it a joy to use. How much and how you use it are your choice but it can be used. The die-hards swear you'll burn for eternity in the lower region of the earth if you ever fire it even once but I'm more a shooter that a collector and use everything I own. - Bill

yep, used to have one on my FAC, before stupid gun laws here

I am a very infrequent shooter. Chances are I will shoot about two magazines through it and be happy. I have a beretta I can shoot all day if I want.

I wanted a holster for it but didn't want to put a ton of money into one. Figured I'd try to locate a reasonably priced original before getting a repro and I believe I succeeded at that. These are being sold by IMA and a couple of other surplus sites although I got it off ebay for a lot less than IMA's price. Consensus from the various P38 boards is that they are indeed orginal WWII production and were captured in the warehouse by the Soviets. As my P38 is one of the last to be accepted into service, this late war holster seems appropriate. I do understand it is a police holster which is a slight drawback but not a huge concern for my purposes.

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