We get questions from time to time here from folks who buy a WWII-vintage P.38, or who are thinking of buying one, and want to use it primarily as a shooter rather than as a collector piece. As often as not, the advice is to have a qualified gunsmith check out the pistol thoroughly and then shoot it with 115-grain ammo.
But it's also wise to keep in mind that if something happens and the pistol blows up for one reason or another -- from overloaded ammo to inferior materials as the war dragged on -- then you are out the investment, at a minimum. This doesn't happen a lot, so far as we know, but it's been know to happen. For example, note this word of caution from our friends on the P.38 Forum:
P 38 & PP-PPK Collector Forum
If you blow up a P1, you can easily buy a new slide for less than $50 bucks, and it won't matter a whit; a shooter is a shooter, after all. Replacing a cracked slide or other parts on a vintage, matched WWII pistol, however, is a whole other issue.
Make your own judgments, of course, but at least be aware of the potential of what can happen to a collector pistol should something go awry.
But it's also wise to keep in mind that if something happens and the pistol blows up for one reason or another -- from overloaded ammo to inferior materials as the war dragged on -- then you are out the investment, at a minimum. This doesn't happen a lot, so far as we know, but it's been know to happen. For example, note this word of caution from our friends on the P.38 Forum:
P 38 & PP-PPK Collector Forum
If you blow up a P1, you can easily buy a new slide for less than $50 bucks, and it won't matter a whit; a shooter is a shooter, after all. Replacing a cracked slide or other parts on a vintage, matched WWII pistol, however, is a whole other issue.
Make your own judgments, of course, but at least be aware of the potential of what can happen to a collector pistol should something go awry.