Dad bought our first handgun today
Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 10:58 pm
yesterday I was haunting the local Gander Mtn when I noticed that they had a Walther P1 (P38) in the used gun case. Price was $279 and included 2 mags, the original holster and a cleaning kit. I mentioned it to dad when I got home, and to make a long story short, this morning we bought our first handgun(It is very much "His" 
) So, I thought I would bore you with a detailed look at this gun and some of its history. The P1 is an aluminum-framed version of the famous Walther P38 of the german army in WWII. 13 years after production of the P38 was discontinued at the end of the war, the west german army decided that they wanted to reissue the P38 as the standard military sidearm. This new issue was known as the P1, essential the same gun as the P38 except for an aluminum frame and slight differences in the hammer arrangement. These were produced and used from 1958-1996. Dad's new gun is marked 4/76.
Comments
-this is a SERIOUSLY ugly gun. however, looks cool because it practically oozes "I mean business"
-Aluminum frame makes it very light, especially considering how bulky it looks.
-very easy to field strip, takes 30 sec(or less) to fully strip.
-8+1 rounds of 9MM ought to be enough, especially with the extra mag.
-when the slide is back the barrel assembly slides back about 1/4" horizontally (does NOT tilt). looks strange with 2 sets of slide rails.
-mag release is European-style, located on butt of gun.
-Safety is slide-mounted.
*Notes*
-Is a Safety in that the trigger is disengaged while in "S", however, hammer CANNOT be cocked while safety is engaged, and engaging safety decocks the gun!!! Wierd...
-when safety is engaged, it projects past the bottom of the slide. Not a big deal, unless the slide is back, if the slide release is toggled while safety is on, however, get ready for serious "Safety Bite"!! Sounds oxymoronic, but it really does hurt when it gets ya. last pic illustrates safety
***Pics as soon as I can get Photobucket to behave itself!!***
) So, I thought I would bore you with a detailed look at this gun and some of its history. The P1 is an aluminum-framed version of the famous Walther P38 of the german army in WWII. 13 years after production of the P38 was discontinued at the end of the war, the west german army decided that they wanted to reissue the P38 as the standard military sidearm. This new issue was known as the P1, essential the same gun as the P38 except for an aluminum frame and slight differences in the hammer arrangement. These were produced and used from 1958-1996. Dad's new gun is marked 4/76. Comments
-this is a SERIOUSLY ugly gun. however, looks cool because it practically oozes "I mean business"
-Aluminum frame makes it very light, especially considering how bulky it looks.
-very easy to field strip, takes 30 sec(or less) to fully strip.
-8+1 rounds of 9MM ought to be enough, especially with the extra mag.
-when the slide is back the barrel assembly slides back about 1/4" horizontally (does NOT tilt). looks strange with 2 sets of slide rails.
-mag release is European-style, located on butt of gun.
-Safety is slide-mounted.
*Notes*
-Is a Safety in that the trigger is disengaged while in "S", however, hammer CANNOT be cocked while safety is engaged, and engaging safety decocks the gun!!! Wierd...
-when safety is engaged, it projects past the bottom of the slide. Not a big deal, unless the slide is back, if the slide release is toggled while safety is on, however, get ready for serious "Safety Bite"!! Sounds oxymoronic, but it really does hurt when it gets ya. last pic illustrates safety
***Pics as soon as I can get Photobucket to behave itself!!***
