We finish up tonight with the barrel and locking block, both of which are East German made. Like just about everything else, the parts are almost devoid of markings. On the bottom of the barrel, we find a Crown/N mark and the number "853":
This is accepted by collectors as a date, August...
In this post, we're going to look at the frame. We'll start with general left and right side views and then zoom in on a few details.
Right side:
Left side:
Generally speaking, the frame is nearly devoid of markings. If I detail stripped the thing I might find a couple but, unless I had...
Thank you for the information. If you don't mind, I'd like a copy of that list of 30 numbers. If you do mind, I perfectly understand. I've been very curious about these pistols for decades now but never researched numbers because I didn't actually have one.
This one has a new made lock. I'll be posting pictures. Are you saying YOU have 30 or that there are about 30 known?
Yes, the magazine you have posted is, without a doubt, East German made. Thank you for those pictures. My first thought for the magazine was ENM too as they have the lozenge...
This last post of the night will finish up the slide. Tomorrow, we'll move on to the frame.
This is the firing pin:
An East German manufactured example is super easy to spot as it has an extra crossmember as indicated by the toothpick:
"0" inspection mark and what looks to be a harness...
Thank you. I'm happy to contribute guys. For me, there's no point in collecting this stuff unless I use it to attempt trying to further people's knowledge.
I believe that the reason the seller thought this pistol was a reworked Spreewerk was the grinding marks on the slide. Yes, superficially, they do remind you of that but closer examination reveals otherwise. Where Spreewerk marks are curved and slant in one direction, the grind marks on every...
Next are the grips. The majority of East German reworks use recycled WWII grips but they did make new ones and, if you know what you are looking at, they are very easy to spot.
To my knowledge, all East German made grips are dark bakelite, many times with some slight red/orange blotches seen...
Okiedokie, time to get going on this. Now, can I tell you with 100% certainty that every single part you're going to see on this pistol is 1950's East German production? No, I cannot. While I 100% believe that the Easties DID make every single part of a P38, that doesn't mean that is the case...
The company advertised this little guy as a WWII vintage Spreewerk pistol that had been reworked by the East Germans for issue to their police. I like Eastie stuff so I took a look. Withing seconds, I realized that the company didn't understand what they had. Yes, is was issued to DDR police...
I bought my M249S new.....................................................................................$8,000
Several extra barrels because they varied over time...................................$1000
NOS surplus ELCAN optic...