CYQ P38 for review

[Geoff Ward]

Hello all,I am not really a "Gun Guy" but on occasion I run into them at shows and swap meets.I have an opportunity to do some trading on this piece and wanted to run it by the guys that know their guns! Alas, I do not belong to that club.I would like to see if anyone sees any red flags.I know the code indicates Spreewerke manufacture but beyond that I am rather helpless.Any help or comments would be appreciated as far as I can tell the numbers match but the magazine has a different code how much that effects the value I cant say but I don't want to be stuck with a "Boat Anchor" so to speak .so any assistance would be of great help.
Regards,Geoff

[Geoff Ward]

Some more The holster looks like it was made for a luger???

[Geoff Ward]

Last few Is this the correct hammer for this model??

[TrondK]

Beautiful weapon Sir. It is not an boat anchor

The different code on the magazine is normal i would believe.

[Wagriff]

The hammer is none that I am familiar with-definitely not your standard P38's. The holster too, as you say, is not correct. No P38 should have a tool inside the flap. I would give this one a pass-unless you would just like a nice shooter. Although, it looks like you would need to spend a day stripping it down and soak cleaning and oiling down all of the parts. Some one has not taken good care of this one! (mismatched clips are no problem.) The number places this one as being of late war manufacture-October 1944.

[Martin Bull]

It's an interesting 'end of the Reich' gun with rough finish and machining which is typical of Spreewerke P.38s. The holster looks to be postwar Soviet or East German, and the colour of the gun may indicate RC reworking. Although I'll probably be shot down in flames ( 'I've been shooting mine for 50 years etc' ) I've seen it mentioned a few times that Spreewerke guns aren't good bets for regular shooting due to their relatively poor production tolerances.

[Wagriff]

I've always heard that same story too, Martin, but the CYQ's that I've owned and fired over the years have been just fine too. There was a silly rumour going around, I remember, that the firing pins would crystallize and shatter over time, but I've never once seen this happen.

[Martin Bull]

You're right - I don't think that the metallurgy is in question, it's just that quality-control at that late stage of the war makes them a little 'suspect' over the years ( I'd think the same applies to other arms eg MP44, Kriegsmodell K98, etc ).

For all that, it's still a nice collectable.

[Sarge]

First the holster -
Post war east German. Made for either the P.08 OR the P.38. Looks to be in good condition. These are not rare, But not at all common either.
The pistol -
Typical very late 44 P.38. The cog hammer was a standard late war item for the cyq pistols. The mag is correkt for this vintage.
You don't say what the asking price is, but if reasonable this is a good P.38. The holster can always be sold and a similar late war holster bought.
Sarge

[lithgow]

The cyq pistols were made by slave labour in occupied Czechoslovakia so obviously they weren't doing their best work, particularly at that late stage.