Absolut
Senior Member
I felt very lucky when already in 2020 one of the very rare interwar production Steyr M.1912 pistol came into my possession. That one was posted in this thread here: https://www.k98kforum.com/threads/interwar-steyr-m-1912-german-08-reworked.41923/
Just recently I've had even more luck for glancing a listing for a "Steyr M1912 convered to 9 mm Para". The pictures suggested it really is a German conversion and not just a replaced barrel, the price was good enough to anyway take the risk, so I said I'd buy it. Turns out I was even more lucky for not having to drive 3 hours to him to pick it up, but learnt that the following day he anyway had to go where he was within 50min of reach on the road, so we met there and I took it over.
Attached are some pictures of what I had received. It is a truly remarkable pistol for not only without doubt (compared to my first one which got the post WWII overhaul treatment from Austrian Police) having all original finish, but also the absence of post WWII markings. And much more important was that this pistol lacks the Eagle L police stamp, what indicates it is one of the few that actually got military issued.
Highly interesting is also the holster it came with. Made of brown leather and being a perfect shape match to the pistol. I have not seen one like it, only the "Kampfwagenbesatzung-Holster" (roughly translated as Austrian tank crew, from 1934-1938 period) have exactly the same holster, except for their holster having different loops on the back for an unique carry on the back, are black and have a strengthening sewn on the lid. Those that I know from the period which are Police are also similar, but have additionally a compartment for a spare clip with ammo inside. So somewhat a mixture of these two. Did anyone ever see this kind of holster before?
Just recently I've had even more luck for glancing a listing for a "Steyr M1912 convered to 9 mm Para". The pictures suggested it really is a German conversion and not just a replaced barrel, the price was good enough to anyway take the risk, so I said I'd buy it. Turns out I was even more lucky for not having to drive 3 hours to him to pick it up, but learnt that the following day he anyway had to go where he was within 50min of reach on the road, so we met there and I took it over.
Attached are some pictures of what I had received. It is a truly remarkable pistol for not only without doubt (compared to my first one which got the post WWII overhaul treatment from Austrian Police) having all original finish, but also the absence of post WWII markings. And much more important was that this pistol lacks the Eagle L police stamp, what indicates it is one of the few that actually got military issued.
Highly interesting is also the holster it came with. Made of brown leather and being a perfect shape match to the pistol. I have not seen one like it, only the "Kampfwagenbesatzung-Holster" (roughly translated as Austrian tank crew, from 1934-1938 period) have exactly the same holster, except for their holster having different loops on the back for an unique carry on the back, are black and have a strengthening sewn on the lid. Those that I know from the period which are Police are also similar, but have additionally a compartment for a spare clip with ammo inside. So somewhat a mixture of these two. Did anyone ever see this kind of holster before?
