1908 DWM Bulgarian contract Luger census
Since purchasing one of these pistols (#993C) late in 2013, I have been tracking how many remain in factory or substantially close to factory form as well as those "sanitized" by removing Bulgarian markings prior to import.
Conventional wisdom is that there was an initial order of 10,000 guns, numbered 01-5000 and 01-5000C, but that almost all of them were used hard over the decades (in both Balkan wars just prior to WWI, and then again in WWI and WWII). No legitimate "C" suffix gun numbered higher than 1339C has been found, casting some doubt on the number in the original contract. Many were undoubtedly lost or rendered unserviceable in battle. In addition, many were in such bad shape after WWII that they were broken up and used for parts in the 1960s. It's pretty common to find a "shooter" Luger with one or more recognizable Bulgarian contract parts (frame, receiver, extractor, etc.).
An original DWM 1908 Bulgarian contract P.08 Luger has five features not found on any of the dozens of other Luger variations -
1) A lanyard loop at the bottom of the grip frame
2) The DWM logo stamped over the chamber rather than on the toggle
3) The simplified Bulgarian coat of arms on top of the front toggle
4) A lion acceptance proof on the right side of the receiver
5) The Bulgarian word ПЪЛЕНЪ for "Loaded" on the extractor and ОГЪНЪ for "Fire" at the lower safety position in Cyrillic characters. The 1900 and 1906 Bulgarian contract guns have ОГЪНЪ at the upper safety position and the 1906 has ПЪЛЕНЪ on the extractor.
Internet search engines, firearms forums and books have yielded to date the list below of a total of 135 pistols that appear to be completely or largely intact (including Bulgarian markings), with only about 64 that appear to be all/almost all original parts and finish (not including magazines). Only three guns (all C suffixed) appear to be paired with their correctly marked, matching magazine. An additional 62 sanitized guns, frames, magazines or other bits and pieces have been cataloged below in a separate list. That isn't many guns (~ 3.5%) when compared to the ~6,500 shipped. I'm sure there are more to be found.
Edit 12/21/18 - the list has become too big to maintain in the HTML editor, so I have converted it to a .pdf file which is attached to this post. I also added 8 new guns - 5 to the main list and 3 to the pieces/parts list below the main list.
To Be Added to the .pdf file since last edit -
#7085 - invalid serial - not sure what to do with this one - 1908 DWM Bulgarian contract Luger census - 120 guns and...
Since purchasing one of these pistols (#993C) late in 2013, I have been tracking how many remain in factory or substantially close to factory form as well as those "sanitized" by removing Bulgarian markings prior to import.
Conventional wisdom is that there was an initial order of 10,000 guns, numbered 01-5000 and 01-5000C, but that almost all of them were used hard over the decades (in both Balkan wars just prior to WWI, and then again in WWI and WWII). No legitimate "C" suffix gun numbered higher than 1339C has been found, casting some doubt on the number in the original contract. Many were undoubtedly lost or rendered unserviceable in battle. In addition, many were in such bad shape after WWII that they were broken up and used for parts in the 1960s. It's pretty common to find a "shooter" Luger with one or more recognizable Bulgarian contract parts (frame, receiver, extractor, etc.).
An original DWM 1908 Bulgarian contract P.08 Luger has five features not found on any of the dozens of other Luger variations -
1) A lanyard loop at the bottom of the grip frame
2) The DWM logo stamped over the chamber rather than on the toggle
3) The simplified Bulgarian coat of arms on top of the front toggle
4) A lion acceptance proof on the right side of the receiver
5) The Bulgarian word ПЪЛЕНЪ for "Loaded" on the extractor and ОГЪНЪ for "Fire" at the lower safety position in Cyrillic characters. The 1900 and 1906 Bulgarian contract guns have ОГЪНЪ at the upper safety position and the 1906 has ПЪЛЕНЪ on the extractor.
Internet search engines, firearms forums and books have yielded to date the list below of a total of 135 pistols that appear to be completely or largely intact (including Bulgarian markings), with only about 64 that appear to be all/almost all original parts and finish (not including magazines). Only three guns (all C suffixed) appear to be paired with their correctly marked, matching magazine. An additional 62 sanitized guns, frames, magazines or other bits and pieces have been cataloged below in a separate list. That isn't many guns (~ 3.5%) when compared to the ~6,500 shipped. I'm sure there are more to be found.
Edit 12/21/18 - the list has become too big to maintain in the HTML editor, so I have converted it to a .pdf file which is attached to this post. I also added 8 new guns - 5 to the main list and 3 to the pieces/parts list below the main list.
To Be Added to the .pdf file since last edit -
#7085 - invalid serial - not sure what to do with this one - 1908 DWM Bulgarian contract Luger census - 120 guns and...