Which would you choose and why?



P-38 with 9 rounds of FMJ










P08 Luger with 9 rounds of FMJ (you can put one in your pocket if you choose
, Lugers have light triggers and their safties suck)

The Luger's got something cool about it. Still, from the pictures alone (I've never shot either) I'd take the P38. Better grip angle, better trigger shape and a trigger guard I could get my finger into.

My vote would be for the Luger....feels better in my hand. Plus while I also like the P-38, D/A autos don't light my fire.

Luger shoots better to me. P-38 is a superior mechanical design.

 

P-38

Which AND why?

While the P'08 has a classic charm to it, it's a very finicky gun. The P-38 is simply a better design. Thus, I choose the P-38.

-Mark

if i was choosing a war trophy to bring home it'd be the luger, if it was something id have to use the p38.

I was coming back to edit after I re read the title.

The P-38 is like any other modern DA/SA. It is functionally identical to the Beretta 92 series of pistols. It has the same manual of arms and ease of maintenance as other common pistols. It is also more reliable and durable. I can still get all the parts I need to maintain it as well.




 
 

As a prize?



The luger.



Something to use?



The P-38's step-grandkid the Beretta 92/m9...

Sort of.  



Heel mag release and dual rods and springs.

The heel catch is a very common feature of other European pistols. The dual recoil spring assembly's have little to do with maintenance as they are contained in the frame rails. They would only have to be removed for replacement.




 
 

I named my P-38 Christine.  

As of now I can only afford one of the two, so I own a BYF42 Luger.

Keep in mind I also own modern Glocks, a Sig, etc.

If it was gonna be the only pistol I owned for all purposes, to include carry, I'd go with the P-38.

Reason? Modern DA/SA action, better safety/decocker and a modern design.

P-38 for a shooter; P-08 for the home museum.

Lugers are way cool, but everything has to be just so for them to function reliably.
I would choose the P-38

For coolness and historical reasons,the Luger.To actually use, P.38/P1/92F or many other things.While a surprisingly nice shooting pistol,the Luger is far more fragile and less reliable.

 Not enough Luger pics yet,here's my 92 year old example:

 

Both good guns. I own a couple P08 Lugers, and one lonely P38.

Surprised nobody belly-achin' about the P38 heel mounted mag release!

I've had to tinker on my first Luger....it was a 'Jam-O-matic' when I got it. The second one works great, and they both work fine now after I re-sprung the first one.

The P38 has worked fine from the git go. But I think it was made in the last days of WWII, and went into Russian captivity with hardly any use.

I would choose the P38 myself. Not so picky about the ammo power. Lugers need ammo of a certain power level....not really 'hot ammo', but feeble ammo won't work at all. The P38 seems less sensitive to weaker ammo.

As an example of the P08 having ammo issues...A few months back I bought a box of my Lugers favorite ammo Winchester white box 115gr stuff. My Mauser made Luger fell on it's face with the stuff....an older box of the same shit worked fine...the ammo had been 'Obamaized'...was weak I guess. I bought a few boxs of the same stuff a month back, and it works in this Luger too. The old DWM Luger would eat either bunch of ammo, but not lock back with thwe weak stuff...it wears a new Wolff mainspring.

The late war P38 seems to like anything 9mm(don't shoot +P in these relics).  

The US military has flirted with both pea-shooters in the past, and couldn't quite bring themselves to adopt either one, although the Beretta M9 has ancestory in the Walther P38.

I had a P38 for 20 years , most of the time in the safe. Sold it because I didn't like 9mm. It was a cool pistol, threw the fired cases to the left, I guess that was normal? Never had the balls to totally disasemble it with the springs and all.
 The girlfriends all loved to shoot it at the range.


ETA: Mine was the PDP4 Model with a four inch barrel

Yes, note the extractor on the left side.



 

Beleive me I know about the heel catch.  



I always clean the rods and springs.  They get dirty and should be cleaned.  

You say to choose one and say why.  What you did not include what what we are choosing it for.  

I will answer assuming you mean choose the cooler one.

Luger.  Hands down.  Infants come out of the womb knowing what a Luger is.  Only only people and gunnuts know what a P38 is.

It can be fickle but that hinge slide design is so unique.  And it looks so cool.