New addition to my WW1 project

[berkmberk1]

This is one of the newest additions to my project. The first ones were my 1916 Erfurt Mauser K98az and the 1916 DWM Luger. I've skipped ahead to 1918 and added this .45 Caliber Hand Ejector Model of 1917 caliber .45 ACP from Smith and Wesson. It was shipped to the Springfield Armory on January 19th, 1918. The finish is in great shape but you can definitely tell its been in and out of a holster and handled, by the wear points at the front edge of the cylinder, the muzzle, front edge of the frame. The bluing is duller and thinner on the front and rear straps (typical wear) and the right frame plate just above the trigger where your finger would rub. The action is tight. The let off is light and crisp. I also found an original holster marked G&K 1917 A.G. Its in excellent shape for its age, except for one thing......verdigris! Every rivet is covered with it. I've been cleaning all afternoon!In fact, I'll have to enlist the help of a holster "doctor" I heard of to open it up and re-sew the leather cap that keeps the flap tab in place.......the verdigris has built up so much in there that it burst the cap!

Here are some pics.

[Junk Yard Dog]

[redspoon]

That is very nice my friend

[Longcolt44]

Nice going.

[berkmberk1]

I hope to try it out tomorrow, along with the Luger.

[entropy]

Nice! The Lugers are very tempermental with ammo.

[etprescottazusa91]

Nice , nice revolver . Holster was an awesome find, last original I saw the asking price was $229.00 one accessory that is hard to find and not inexpensive. Great revolver

[desdem12]

[berkmberk1]

Just got back from the range. I put about 25 rounds thru each pistol. Considering my physical ailment and eyesight, i still managed 60% inside the seven ring or better, offhand at 10 yds. Not great, but then I never shot either one before. Each pistol shot dead on/point of aim at 10 yds. The Luger had three or four feed problems shooting S&B FMJ. I think it might have been my grip. 'I've also decided to get a Luger loading tool..........the magazine is a B***h to load past five!

The 1917 has one heck of a DA trigger pull shooting it with the original grips. Getting a full trigger pull with the tiny amount of grip under the thumb and first two fingers gets progressively more difficult if you don't readjust after each shot. The initial shot/grip are fine, but the recoil shifts it after each shot, rotating the grip farther and farther down into the shooting hand making it difficult for me to get a good pull. I can see now why people added the grip fillers later on. I had a M28 Highway Patrolman .357 years ago......large N frame......and I remember having the same problem until I put some Pachemeyer grips on it. That fixed the problem. I don't plan on that with this one.......going to keep it original. SA is light and crisp, but getting there isn't great. This model has a hammer spur that is short, harrow, and lays low to the frame, making cocking follow up shots sort of sloppy. My M28 had a high, wide hammer spur allowing me to place it at the base of my thumb/web of the hand and rotate the pistol to cock the hammer. That doesn't work with this one. For a quick SA you need to use two hands, and cock with the off hand thumb. its an accurate gun, but I can see where its most utilitarian use would be in close combat/point and shoot situations.....at least after the first shot.