[tarawa]

I purchased this supposedly unissued P38 at the West Palm Beach gunshow. It is an AC-43 all matching. The seller had a crate of them.

 

[tarawa]

SWEET!! looks unissued to me real good finish. Hope it shoots as good as it looks.
If I'm noy getting to nosie How much. Thanks

I probably won't shoot it. I will stick it with the rest of myy WWII stuff.
$550.00

 

[cammobunker]

OK, let me help you out here:
First, it's not unissued, it is almost certainly a russian "dip blue" capture. These are almost all truly pieces captured on the eastern front, checked out thouroughly, then reblued over the old blueing in a process known as "hot dipping" which is sort of like a real durable cold blue. Then they were put in storage and kept until being surplused off in the late 90's.
Yours is an "AC" code, which stands for Walther production, and is dated 43. I'll bet all the serials match, most seem to.
$550 is near the top end for a Russian dip P-38, but they are steadily climbing in value. A really, truly unissued AC-43 would set you back.....oh, say a grand or even a little more. Accuracy in the P-38 can vary from "pretty dang decent" to " 6 inch groups at 10 feet". Really, shooting it wont hurt it and it seems a shame not to at least try it out.

 

[Oldgunner]

I can?t say shoot it because I haven?t had the guts to fire my own yet. I know I will but it?s so damn nice I hate to get it dirty. My local FFL dealer knew I always wanted a P-38 and one day last year he called to say that the Widow of a friend of his was selling off her husband?s guns and that there was a P-38 in the group. I asked if the gun looked nice but he hadn?t seen it yet but said the man had nice guns in general. So to make the story shorter I paid $425 for a BYF 43 (Mauser built) in almost perfect shape. I striped the gun at his shop and found that all parts except the mag (After market) had the same number. The gun looked like it had been fired very little if at all, no wear that I could see, it has no import marks and the original grips. I couldn?t get up the courage to fire it so I purchased an unissued P-1 to shoot instead. I?m one of those guys that fell for the Walther back in the mid 60?s when ?The Man From U.N.C.L.E.? was on TV and Napoleon Solo carried the short barreled, bobbed hammer version of the P-38. I?m not worried about the value of the gun if I shoot it, it?s just that I?d hate to break something that can never be replaced. I always think of the history of a gun and that there can never be another made that will replace that history if I break or destroy that gun. I guess that?s the reason it makes me sick to see the bastards hammering FAL?s to pieces in Europe.

 

[tarawa]

First, it's not unissued, it is almost certainly a russian "dip blue" capture.

Thanks for all the info. I was suspicious that this was a "Russian Dip Blue". I heard about them, but I just never came across one yet. I am really happy with it none the less. Oh allright...now I will have to get some 9mm ammo!!!!!!

 

[AClay47]

I think the Russian Blue Dip issue adds some historic mystique to it.

 

[tarawa]

UPDATE; On P-38s

Just an update that the same guy now puts these P-38s on sale at $400.00. Most are late war 44 and 45 dates.

 

[Winn R]

Are there the late war differences with these similar to what you showed me on the Jap rifles?

 

[scheistermeister]

ive been looking for a thread i could use this for.

 

[tarawa]

ive been looking for a thread i could use this for.

That is funny!

 

[tarawa]

Are there the late war differences with these similar to what you showed me on the Jap rifles?

Lots of machine marks, like the Japanese stuff, but still good German design!