A new acquisition! AC44 Walther P-38!

[oldfoneguy]

The followers with the grooves in them are post war only. All wartime followers are flat.
You'll see that when your P1 mags arrive they'll both have the grooved followers.
I hope you didn't pay too much for that mag it sounds like the only wartime part on it is the base.
P38 mag bodies were blued or phosphate finished a sort of dull washed out bluing but never parkerized,
that would be post war also. Bill

[imarangemaster]

I think I paid $45, including shipping. It is phosphate, though, but definitely better shape than the base!

[imarangemaster]

This thing is a peach! I fired a couple magazines of W-W 124 FMJ in the woods today. Natural pointing and hit every pine cone I aimed at. Double action is pretty stout, but accuracy on SA was very manageable. I did have a couple double feeds (FTE's). The extractor spring seemed pretty weak.I have a Wolff spring pack tomorrow, so I plan on replacing recoil and extractor springs. We will see if that takes care of it. So far, however, I REALLY like it! I have one original JVD (?) mag with a serial numbered base plate, and the other 4 mags I have are post war P1 or banner marked P-38.

[oldfoneguy]

The first time I fired mine it was still with the original springs. It worked fairly well but I did have a couple of short feeds with Remington 115gr. All it took was a slight tap on the back of the slide and it snapped into battery. Since the spring set has been installed no issues with 115 or 124gr loads. I agree with the double action trigger pull but seeing as it was the very first auto handgun that had both it can be forgiven I guess. Single action trigger is as good as almost every other handgun I've fired and they do hit where you point them! Bill

[imarangemaster]

Broke down the Walther slide. Extractor spring and its channel were pretty gunky, and the spring seems short and degraded. Also, the extractor itself, has a small chip on the lip. Probably not enough to effect it, but it might. I don't see a Waffenamt mark on it and it has a blued finish, so it may be a replacement. I ordered a Walther OEM extractor, since this will be a shooter. The firing pin spring was also jacked up, so I ordered another Walther OEM spring, as well as sear spring. Shame the Wolf kit doesn't have them in it. Oh, well, for $39, I got Walther OEM extractor, firing pin spring and sear spring.

[oldfoneguy]

Which kit did you buy? I purchased Wolff kit #69491 for $20.95 shipped. It came with every spring the pistol uses except the firing pin and magazine. Wolff doesn't carry a firing pin spring for P38's because there are too many firing pin variations (Flat, Square & Round) and the springs have to be specific to the pins. I didn't bother getting the magazine springs because I don't use the original mags for shooting and the springs in my shooter mags are fine. Bill

eta: You say your pistol will be a shooter. Bear in mind that this is a 73 year old wartime manufactured pistol from a loosing side and some corners were cut during their manufacture for expedience. There are parts that are known to have failures on these pistols, the slides crack at the bridge just forward of the ejection port or completely across at the center of it, the lugs in the slide that the recoil springs compress against shear off, the hammers crack at the pivot point and the locking blocks can crack. Any of this happening to a numbers matching piece now renders it's value to that of a parts gun. Mine is all original and matching and yes I do shoot it although with caution. I don't rapid fire, I never let the slide slam forward on an empty chamber and NEVER use +P ammo in a pistol this old. Use only standard velocity and keep the bullet weight down to 115 or 124grs no higher as the heavier bullets change the recoil dynamics of the barrel which is bad for it's raceway in the frame. They were designed for the 124gr Parabellum round nothing more.

[imarangemaster]

My thoughts exactly. Standard velocity Federal 115s is what I will shoot for the most part. When I say "shooter" I mean the same as my S&W .38 Special Victory Model: Maybe 100-200 rounds a year. Just enough to enjoy shooting it 3-4 times a year, and enjoying the feeling of History when I do. I have a Glock 19 and S&W M&P 9mm Shield for serious shooters.

NO +Ps, no 147s, etc. I was doing a function check with two magazines, but won't shoot it again until the new recoil springs are in it. I do hoot 9BPLE 115 +P+ in my Glock, and Speer Gold Dot 124 +P in my Shield. It would be stupid to shoot them in the P38!

[browningautorifle]

I think you'll always enjoy it, it'll likely go out about every time you go for a while...

[imarangemaster]

OK, got the Wolff springs, a sear spring, firing pin spring, and new OEM Walther P1/P38 extractor. Time for the re-ferb. First, I don't feel bad about replacing the extractor since the one in it is chipped and has no Waffenamt stamp (unmarked). The sear spring was a little buggared up, and has soft tension. The extractor spring was also a little degraded, and noticeably softer than the replacement. When I removed the recoil springs (the correct way), I found someone had installed them incorrectly, and buggared up the rear ends. They were also degraded (shorter and softer) Just for grins, I also replaced the WW2 era firing pin spring with a modern P1 one. Even though the loop that retains the chamber pin is reverse of the WW2 one, it works fine.

All in all, I was VERY pleased when I broke it down ZERO rust inside, and surprisingly very little carbon or dirt. I lubed it up with Ballistol, and I will take it to the range tomorrow and see how it does with Federal standard velocity 115 FMJs. I have a total of 5 mags: One WW2, three P38 banner mags, and an unmarked, post war phosphate on.

[oldfoneguy]

Well by lunchtime tomorrow I should be up to my butt in snow and the roads are officially closed after midnight tonight so you'll be doing something fun that I won't. Be sure your firing pin is retracting correctly with that reversed spring. Test the decocker downrange with a live round to make sure all is safe and working correctly.

A range report would be nice if you get the chance and if you don't save your brass you can send it to me! Bill