GUNS Magazine The German .30 Luger

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The well-cared for pistol has weathered the years better than the ammo!

When it comes to the absolute embodiment of cool, Germany’s Luger has been at the top of the heap since its adoption. It’s been around for 123 years, yet it still manages to somehow look futuristic. The Pistole Parabellum, as far as the German Army was concerned, became the 9mm Pistole 08. As such, it held the unofficial title of “Most Prized Souvenir” throughout two world wars.

It’s not hard to figure why. First there was the beautiful, hand-fitted workmanship married to an artillery-strong toggle-link action. The term “artillery-strong” is only slightly an exaggeration. In a 1969 article in Guns & Ammo by Hans Tanner (“The Fabulous Luger”), it’s described like this:
“The Luger action is of particular ingenuity and tremendous strength. It was borrowed from the concept of Sir Hiram Maxim … The essential principle of the Maxim-Borchardt-Luger action is the toggle lock or ‘knee-joint.’ This is composed of three longitudinal elements in line, jointed so that when in line they resist thrust in compression, but when deliberately forced out of line they permit easy longitudinal movement.”

Of course, all this beauty and workmanship translated to increased production time and money, which was a major factor in the eventual development and adoption of the far less sexy — but undeniably less-expensive to manufacture — Walther P-38 just in time for WWII.

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At 25 yards, the DWM .30 — despite V-notch period sights — delivered a nice 5-shot group.

By The Numbers

Then there was the cartridge factor. Although most shooters today reflexively associate Georg Luger’s classic sidearm with the now world-standard 9×19, things didn’t start out that way. The 9mm Parabellum was a high velocity number by pistol standards, but it was the earlier .30 (or 7.65) iteration setting the commercial market on fire prior to The War to End All Wars. The .30 was potent indeed, although heavier and a couple hundred fps slower than the 7.63 Mauser — but in a sleeker, sexier, more commercially appealing platform. Yes, of course the C96 “Broomhandle” is a marvelous artifact, still futuristic and Buck Rogers-y after all these decades, but the Luger was … well, The Luger.

Our particular .30 specimen was a product of DWM and featured a 4″ barrel. It’s owned by our shooting buddy John Wightman, who may not be the embodiment of an obsessive Luger fanatic but who picked up a lot of neat stuff as a kid and — more importantly — never got rid of any of it. All totaled, DWM made nearly 1 million Lugers, or about 38% of ’em.

Generally speaking, collectors usually rate fit and finish of DWM-manufactured guns between Mauser and Erfurt but, such ratings are — to my awestruck eyes — pretty meaningless. Lugers of any source or vintage have one thing in common: Up to 125 years after the fact, they still seem sleek and timeless, even today. If ever any pistol deserves the term “classic,” it’s this one.

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Commercial but cool: Our DWM Luger and a well-aged box of Winchester .30 Luger ammo.

.30 Caliber Cool

Here’s a pretty concise rundown on the .30 Luger courtesy of the 2006 11th Edition of Cartridges of the World by Frank Barnes (edited by Stan Skinner):

“Introduced in 1900 by Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken, the 7.65mm was designed by Georg Luger for the Luger Automatic pistol. The cartridge is still used chiefly for the Luger pistol although some SIG, Beretta, Browning and Walther P-38 pistols are chambered for this round. It was adopted as standard issue by the Swiss, Brazilian, Bulgarian and Portuguese issue but none of them currently for frontline service.

“General comments: This is another bottlenecked rimless cartridge similar to the .30 Mauser but shorter and not as powerful. It is not noted for great stopping power because of the small-diameter, lightweight full-jacketed bullet. It is used for rabbits and the like, provided the bullets are properly placed. The only manufacturer still offering this cartridge is Winchester. Bullet diameter is 0.308".”

All Lugers are pricey but those in .30 caliber are considerably more so. Back in 1982, Interarms was bringing in a new commercial .30 from Mauser called “The Parabellum” in 4" and 6" trim based on the old Swiss-pattern American Eagle and packed in a velvet-lined presentation case. The $625 MSRP back then sounds like a stupendous bargain today.

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The Luger’s action is “hell for stout,” although the V-notch rear sight can be problematic for older eyes.

Tale Of The Tape

Shooting our .30 specimen was a delight. I’ve been hearing guys complain about the trigger pull on Lugers for most of my adult life, but this one — at a relatively clean 4.5 lbs. — was pretty darn manageable. However, the traditional deep V-notch/tall blade combination takes a bit of getting used to for those accustomed to large Patridge sights.

Our supply of .30 Luger ammo was — as you might guess — somewhat limited. We had some 1940s-era military surplus and some Winchester/Western commercial stuff purchased in the late 1980s. Both featured the usual 93-grain FMJ projectile. The military stuff averaged 1,107 fps with an extreme spread of just under 100 fps. The Winchester stuff was a bit hotter at 1,205 fps with an ES of 80 fps.

Just for grins, we clocked some 124-grain surplus 9mm (1950 vintage Czech stuff) from our Ehrfurt Luger and got 1,066 fps with an ES of 40 fps. Twenty-five-yard accuracy from a sandbag rest with both guns was slightly in favor of the 9mm in terms of group size, although the POI/POA relationship favored the .30.

Factory ammo in .30 Luger in any persuasion is very tough to come by, so if you intend on much range time, you’d best do some serious component scrounging before hitting the reloading bench.

Yes, the 9mm is the “coin of the realm” and has been since the introduction of the P-08. But a “thirtysomething” Luger is still a heck of a lot of fun.

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