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Walther P38 Malfunction
tr fox
Member Posts: 13,856
Finally got around to shooting my Walther P38 post-war alloy frame 9mm today. It wouldn't always fully eject the fired round and would never chamber a fresh round. Tried 3 different mags. 2 factory and 1 aftermarket. Way the gun felt and acted, I believe it wants hotter ammo to force the slide all the way back and then I believe I would have no ejection and chambering problems. The gun was used by the German Police and is used but appears in excellent shape. I am guessing the Germans must have loaded hotter rounds (+P+?) as compared to USA loading. However, I don't want to limit myself to having to shoot hotter rounds and was thinking I could get a new recoil spring or even take a coil or two out of the existing spring.
Any ideas?
Any ideas?
Comments
I did have occasional issues with the Erma "Luger" in .380 and ended up buying some European ammo. That fixed the problem.
Try to load just a spent casing and slowing retracting the slide. That may help identify if the problem is the extractor or the spring.
Good luck. And have a Happy New Year.
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I use Winchester 9mm for my Lugers and my P-38 (WWII, not post-war) and have not had any problems.
I did have occasional issues with the Erma "Luger" in .380 and ended up buying some European ammo. That fixed the problem.
Try to load just a spent casing and slowing retracting the slide. That may help identify if the problem is the extractor or the spring.
Good luck. And have a Happy New Year.
Thanks and right back at'ya!
Had the exact same problem........ITS THE AMMO...period...Good stuff and it will function fine...mm8nambu
Thanks. Your's was the reply I needed so that I could relax and not worry about having a messed up gun.
I've had two - one was OK with anything.[8D]
i've used sellier & bellot in my p1 without any problems...if your p1 doesn't have the frame strengthening hex pin i wouldn't use the hotter ammo
Huuummm. As near as I can tell there is no "frame strengthening hex pin". Where would I look for that pin? Maybe I missed seeing it.
Oh, well, looks like weaker recoil springs is going to be the only way to solve this problem.
Trouble was, if you thumbed down on the de-cocker (safety) it would fire when the hammer fell. This gave me an idea.
I loaded a full magazine, locked the slide back with the safety in the down position, and then thumbed down the slide catch.
I didn't know a pistol could fire eight rounds so fast!
Saw that once, too[8D]
First let me state I own two P1's and a few P38's. They are a fascinating and very historical pistol and now that they are available at such bargan basement prices you would be foolish not to have at least one in your collection.
Having said all this nice stuff now pay close attention:
The weakest point in the P38/P1 series of pistols is the stamped sheet metal top cover. You must constantly check this top cover for looseness. Failure to do so will result in your one day having your top cover depart along with all the interanl parts located underneath it.
The top cover is held on only by friction and the design was changed in the P1 series of pistols as compared to the P38. The P38 had front legs that helped to keep the cover on although both pistols hold it on only by spring tension. The later Model p1 did not have the front legs so it makes it even more likely you may have your top cover blow off if hot ammo is used in it. Try to shoot ammo with less than 1,100 fps velocity because failure to do so will eventually start to weaken and spring the top cover and when this happens it flies right off of the gun.
Also, if too hot a loads are used you may also lose th extractor. The extrator design was not changed until very late in the guns evolution and the extrator can walk out under its detent. Cutting a deeper shoulder in it will often cure this problem or simply replacing it with the latest extractor with its shaper shoulder is another way to cure this problem. The best cure is never to shoot too hot a loads out of this weapon.
Very late model P38's also had a hex bolt run through the frame to help prevent cracking of the aluminum frame from the battering it takes from the locking block. If you have a P1 it probably does not have the hex bolt in the frame so this is another reason not to use hot loads in it.
These weapons will last a long time if you fire the ammo in them that they were designed to shoot. Shooting other types of hot ammo in them will decrease their service life and accuracy considerably.
I had to replace the top cover and the extractor but now that I know what I am doing I have shot a lot of the right ammo out of it with no problems and I love to take it out and have a ball shooting this very historical weapon.[8D]