Spreewerk P38 - cyq 4109 g

[Jawoj_71]

I am making this post on behalf of my father. He purchased this Spreewerk P38 about a week ago but is now having concerns about it. I'd assume from the serial and suffix it's from late 1943. He is starting to think that it is not legitimate and is made of a number of mismatched parts thrown together, buffed, and re-stamped. He also says he thinks it is re-bored and says the extractor does not work properly, likely leading to jams and the pistol breaking. I think that the notion is silly, the pistol looks just fine to me, but what do I know. The grips may be repro, but I'm not experienced enough to tell. I am primarily wondering what may be the cause of the extractor malfunctioning and if that is a common issue in these p38s. The magazines he has are not original, but aftermarket production. Attached are the pictures he sent to me.

 

[NathanLM]

I don’t see any obvious problems. The barrel and locking block should be serial number matching and I don’t see that pictured.

 

[mauser202]

Agreed, the grips look to be correct too, with the pics were better and more of them.

 

[swjXE]

I agree, more clear close-ups would help answer the questions. Many people don't realize cyq's weren't manufactured with much appreciation for aesthetic appearance. That's what collectors love about them, so much variation.

 

[Gringo]

Agreed again...the pics are not good enough to really tell much. The grips may be correct, but good photos out in the sunlight will help immensely. The reddish grips will have traces of sawdust in them (some more than others) and this has never been able to be replicated by reproduction grips. The finish on the slide is difficult to make out as well.

If the serial numbers are matching on the outside (slide, barrel, frame) break it in half (plenty of youtube videos on how to do this and very easy) and then flip the barrel/slide assembly over and you will see the top of the locking block (example pictured below). It should have the last three digits of the serial number and the letter block stamped on it.

Very well may be all legit, but there is just no way to tell with those pictures.

 

[mrfarb]

Your extraction issues could be the aftermarket magazines. But as everyone else stated I see no tomfoolery.

 

[MAUSER88]

Looks 100% legit to me too.

 

[Gringo]

A couple of other thoughts...for a 'g' block Spreewerk, it would have a wartime magazine marked E/88 on the spine only. These are out there, and you should be able to find one hunting the boards, GB or eBay.

Also, I would not shoot it. If you crack the slide (an occasional occurrence on these), you now have a $200 paperweight. Some people insist on shooting their collectibles, and that's all good and well, but realize that when you break them, all collector value goes out the window.

 

[Jawoj_71]

Here are some more photos. I didn't expect the post to get so much attention suddenly! After visiting him and looking at it personally, I do agree with the consensus, it appears to be legit, but it does have issues. The first thing I noticed is when taking it down, upon removing the slide the locking block did not stay locked and the barrel went flying across the room, not getting damaged at least. For some reason, the locking block does not stay down and locked and keeps popping back upwards. Another thing I noticed is that the ejector just kinda flops around freely, I don't know if it should or not, but even when assembled you can shake the gun and hear it rattle. The hammer release also kinda flops around, if I remember correctly. I'll keep an eye out for originals magazines, they'd make the pistol more complete than the aftermarket stuff. I can ask for even more pics, including of the grips.

 

[Tiger 2 Tank]

The ejector should move freely and flop around and make a rattle noise when shaking the pistol. It’s only held in by a pin and it’s free to float around. Locking block sounds okay too.

Is there a locking block pin that can stick out or retract? Weird the barrel would fly out. The hammer release shouldn’t just flop around.

 

[Jawoj_71]

There is a locking block pin, however, whenever I press the locking block down in place, it comes right back up on its own, maybe there is cosmoline or some other goo that is preventing it from staying locked, but even when I try to put the pistol back together, the locking block doesn't stay in place and the barrel does not easily go back into the frame with the slide.
Good to know the ejector is functioning as intended, I'm not quite sure if it was the hammer release, I'd need to take it apart again.

 

[Frysk]

Also, I would not shoot it. If you crack the slide (an occasional occurrence on these), you now have a $200 paperweight. Some people insist on shooting their collectibles, and that's all good and well, but realize that when you break them, all collector value goes out the window.

View attachment 289089

Ammo to hot?

 

[Tiger 2 Tank]

Ammo to hot?

Some of these suffer from having been assembled by vengeful slave labor workers. A favorite practice was to either over heat or under heat treat the components. G/K.43 assembly lines had the same problems. They also liked to partially drill the gas hole from the barrel, leaving the hole not drilled all the way through and assembling the rifle. Once the rifle made it to testing, it wouldn’t cycle. The whole group of rifles had to be taken back. And, as the Germans began loosing ground, they lost their ability to obtain certain metals needed to make these guns. Who knows, you may have a gun made with recycled wrecked train track steel or something similar. There’s no way to know until you fire one and the slide cracks or other components come apart. Spreewerk had a lot of slave labor workers. The age of these doesn’t help either.