A new acquisition! AC44 Walther P-38!

[imarangemaster]

OMG! I absolutely LOVE shooting this treasure! After redoing the springs and cleaning, I did 100 rounds of Federal 115 FMJ (brass case and aluminum case) ammo without a single hiccup or malfunction. At 10 yards it was basically dead on point of aim. Single action, though it had some creep, was great, with a crisp break. Double was heavy, but manageable. If a person was in combat, they wouldn't even notice.

I did the hammer drop test to see if it would discharge, but it worked fine. Of the 6 mags I had all worked perfectly, except one would not activate the slide stop. I have the Wolff mag spring from the service pack to replace it. I have a Glock 19 9mm, which is a serious combat arm. I also have an S&W M&P Shield 9mm, which I shoot even better than the Glock. The P38, however, is very different to shoot. It is graceful and refined. It almost feels elegant in the hand compared to the Glock or Shield.

If I were a combat soldier in WW2, I would not hesitate to carry/use a Walther P38 as a combat arm. I can see why it remained so popular as a military and police handgun after the war, and into the not so distant past. It is certainly better than the S&W 439 9mm I carried in the 1980s and early 1990s as a Police duty weapon. I will probably pick up a box or two of Hornady Critical Defense STANDARD velocity rounds, just to keep a couple mags loaded for it in the safe, just because that is what I do with all my autos.

I LIKE IT!!!! The picture is 50 shots, off hand at 10 yards, fired about 1 shot per second. the two flyers were double action first shots.

[browningautorifle]

OMG! I absolutely LOVE shooting this treasure!

Gee, I'm sorry, I'd have never expected that... I knew you'd like it. It'll likely be a regular to shoots with you for a year of so. Just a box or so every time...

[imarangemaster]

LOL!👍👍👍👍👍

[browningautorifle]

They just shoot so smooth is the thing...

[oldfoneguy]

They do hit where you point 'em that's for sure! It's funny that you would refer to a 70+ year old wartime manufactured pistol as refined compared to your plastic pistols. It has an instinctive grip feel which they carried over from the Luger on purpose. Those 2 "fliers" would still be effective shots and with practice will tighten up.

Yea it was an issue weapon for over 50 years and for good reason. Easy to shoot very accurate and as reliable as a 1911, what more could you ask for.

Before you commit to those hollow point rounds insure that they feed correctly and consistently, the pistol was designed with ball ammo in mind.

There was no question in my mind that you would like it, just about everyone that gets to shoot one does and they always walk away with a smile. Bill

[imarangemaster]

The great thing about Hornady Critical Defense is that it has a polymer plug in the hollow point that not only makes it feed like an FMJ (the shape is the same), but it helps expansion at standard velocities and pressures, not plugging up with heavy clothing or leather jackets, etc. . I have used it in .380, 9mm, .45 ACP, and even in 30 Carbine (GREAT ROUND FOR CARBINES!!!!). I use Critical Defense in my Inland 30 Carbine for my home defense carbine.

[browningautorifle]

I just used a roundnose...about a 147gr and about 3 gr of bullseye... Lead cast for me. Kept the pressures down a bit but very positive cycling.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

Original or after-market S&W 39 mags are pretty much identical and should plug straight in. Might work for "shooter" mags.

[imarangemaster]

Original or after-market S&W 39 mags are pretty much identical and should plug straight in. Might work for "shooter" mags.

I had heard that Smith and Wesson started with a P38 magazine when they designed the P38. Very interesting.

[imarangemaster]

Update: After a thorough post-shooting session cleaning (including a good bore brush scrubbing of the barrel with Ballistol), I checked the bore, and actually found it was bright and shiny, and the rifling was crisp! Originally I thought it had a touch of frost to it, but it must have been dirt and fine surface rust. I fall in love with this little guy more and more!