P. mod. 37

[KH195]

Pulled this one out out for cleaning today, always thought these were really neat little pistols and in my opinion a WWII "sleeper" for the price. I had never heard of these before I got into C&R, its a Hungarian Femaru P. model 37 made for Nazi Germany during WWII. There were two contracts, one in '41 and another in '43 with many of the pistols thought to have gone to the Luftwaffe. The jhv was the German code for the FEG plant. Picked this one up earlier this summer, it's a '43 with WaA173 acceptance mark. Anyone else have one of these?

 

[Combloc]

I have a 1941. I've never had any interest in shooting it because the trigger pull is so heavy.....definitely not made for precision shooting! To be honest, I don't know why I haven't sold it since I have no plans to shoot it. It has what appears to be some interesting blood staining on it but appears to have been used very little otherwise. How is the trigger on yours?

 

[MilsurpDan]

Looks great, I've always had an interest in Hungarian weapons. I've been looking for Femaru M.37 for a while but haven't been able to find a nice example in a reasonable price range

 

[yellowsled]

Very nice, always wanted one

 

[somd_mustangs]

It's on my short list. Seen several with matched mag and a few with two matched mags but all over 1k. They aren't sleeping anymore Seems like even average condition ones are selling for $500-600 now, well up from a year ago (unless you have Mawkie-like hunting skills). The pre-Nazi .380's are cheaper though.

 

[6cylrider98]

got one awhile back, is a .380, not Nazi marked. Nice pistol!

 

[dre271]

My jhv 43

Love it, nonmatching mags...

 

[KH195]

Very nice 43! My mag is non-matching as well, disappointing but I got mine at a really good price so I can't complain too much. PM me the mag number you need if you like, maybe we'll get lucky.

 

[mawkie]

Nice examples! Almost pulled the trigger on one of these last year but needed the funds for the purchase of my T14 rig which had priority. As Somd_mustangs already noted, it's so much easier to find the pre-war examples so these are a treat to see.

 

[WatTyler]

I have the M.37 that my Dad brought back from Italy after the war. It's a fun shooter, reasonably accurate, and fires with a distinct CLANK because of its pretty loose tolerances. I always liked the Crown of St. Stephen proof mark that Hungary used. Don't know how it found its way to Trieste - Hungarians and Italians fought together outside Stalingrad, but not many of them made it out. Maybe some FEGs wound up in Yugoslavia. Partisan or Chetnik? Who knows? Such is history.

 

[dre271]

I have the M.37 that my Dad brought back from Italy after the war. It's a fun shooter, reasonably accurate, and fires with a distinct CLANK because of its pretty loose tolerances. I always liked the Crown of St. Stephen proof mark that Hungary used. Don't know how it found its way to Trieste - Hungarians and Italians fought together outside Stalingrad, but not many of them made it out. Maybe some FEGs wound up in Yugoslavia. Partisan or Chetnik? Who knows? Such is history.

Picture, we love pictures!

I also have a holster for the P37 with two magazine compartments, but there are no markings inside. Does anyone know if the holsters were stamped?

 

[KH195]

Picture, we love pictures!

I also have a holster for the P37 with two magazine compartments, but there are no markings inside. Does anyone know if the holsters were stamped?

I've seen two styles for the P37 that were issued by the Germans but there may be more, an earlier canvas style and a later leather drop-type. Seem to recall both only having one mag compartment though. Believe both were marked on the inside flap "Nur fur Pistole 37M Kal 7,65mm" or something like that and the leather one was German maker code marked "cdc". Would be interested to see pics of yours.

 

[dre271]

Wow, just think if I had matching mags! $2,450...

http://www.legacy-collectibles.com/nazi-femaru-jhv-41-rig-two-matching-magazines.html

I wonder who has this one on hold...

 

[Combloc]

Some folks have more money than sense.

 

[somd_mustangs]

Wow, just think if I had matching mags! $2,450...

http://www.legacy-collectibles.com/nazi-femaru-jhv-41-rig-two-matching-magazines.html

I wonder who has this one on hold...

Some folks have more money than sense.

Not me, but I saw it when first posted and considered it. It probably sold for less as Tom will leave a little room to haggle. This is a pretty hard-to-find rig, with the canvas holster and two matched mags from the 1st Luftwaffe contract. 2-matched-mag M37's in 95+% are selling $1800-$2200 right now. The holster is $350-$450 but very hard to find. It's a good investment piece for sure. The other jhv41-marked gun with 1 matched mag was the same price but (a) better condition (98%) and (b) quite rare early variant and an advanced collector snatched it up lickety-split.

If you're looking for a fun shooter-grade pistol, Legacy typically isn't the place to go but it's a great place to see some fine investment-grade pistols and get an idea of what to look for, esp PP's and PPK's.

 

[Sunir]

Femaru on my list as well, looks like a unique and relevant example. There are several C&R out there which I would love to have, trick is getting the good ones as they come about, many times looking for one thing and all of a sudden run accross something else becomes available for a very good deal.