Help! a dangerous P-38

[sellers34]

My mismatched late war cyq has a couple of problems. I fired it for the first time and was very impressed with its handling and accuracy. The problem lies in the fact that the hammer at times does not cock back int the firing position so you have to pull it back. The main problem was that it fired a three, yes THREE round burst! This hangun has been discussed in a previous thread. SO what am I to do? What could be the problem? I will still swear by my 1911 government model-nothing better

another thing the spent brass was all over the place one ended up stuck between my face and glasses!

[mikecbowlz]

Spreewerke (cyq) P-38's are notorious for this sort of thing. It means a badly made or badly-worn (or both) sear and trigger assembly- the hammer doesn't catch on the sear every time, which equals a 'full-auto' arm. Spreewerke was under orders to slap together as many pistols as possible in the shortest time possible, and "quality" was not exactly Job #1. I've seen cyq P.38's shed slides, go full auto, stovepipe rounds repeatedly, even crack slides or chambers- they're NOT the world's safest weapons. The balance and accuracy are far better than the 1911A1, and the kick's much less brutal, but if you want DEPENDABILITY, you're right- take the 1911A1.

[sellers34]

Thanks for the help, true it is great for accuracy and balance a pleasure to shoot, but I think a bit unsafe for the time being. Too bad though this is my first P-38, I've always wanted one.......

[Willi Z.]

What kind of 9mm load are you using? I can't speak to the sear/ trigger issue, but sometimes with a weaker load (the WWII German rounds were hotter than most 9mms today) the slide may not recoil back far enough for the hammer to engage the sear.

I have only fired "ac" P-38s, so again can't speak to any "cyq" specific issues. Have owned a few though.

[sellers34]

I've thought about the same thing. I was using Winchester 115 grain target/range loads. I have used these in my .45 and on occasion the slide will not kick back enough to cycle the next round.
Last night I field stripped the P-38 and noticed that a wire spring on the upper right side of the frame was hanging loose, so I put some tension on the spring and reattached it. After doing this I noticed that the trigger position had changed. Before doing this the trigger was always just about on the trigger guard, now it is in the correct position. I have not refired it but I hope this helped. Do you recommend a different load or brand of ammo, as I know ammo is not all created the equal......

[phild]

I will second Willi's points and I would not be surprised if the problem with the detached spring is all that was wrong with your pistol..and perhaps the ammo.

I am not the biggest fan of p.38's, but it really has nothing to do with quality issues. I've been firing them for over 30 years and I carried one in the service about 25 years ago. They are like most other weapons that are now aging to a half a century + in age and that is the springs can become weak and possible past abuse can start to show up as failures.

[Willi Z.]

Funny you mention that spring. My father has a P38 (he carried one as a Luft pilot and still has a thing for them) that he got from the US veteran. I remember going with him to pick it up when I was 11 or 12. The veteran said the P38 had been sabotaged. He once cocked it and shot himself in the knee!!! He no longer wanted it. Had the capture papers as well. When my dad took it home he disassembled and found that spring was out of place. It has worked fine ever since.

So, I would now try the same ammo to be safe, even though a target/ range load is way too weak. Would try a standard ball round and then maybe some kind of surplus round.

[sellers34]

Thank you gents for all the feedback I will try to find some time tomorrow and try it out again. I will keep you all posted.

[Derek O.]

That is correct. The sear springs can become compacted and thus the sear pin not lock the bolt correctly. Had this problem On my dads M1A1 carbine, it would do semi, bursts and full auto spray at random.

[MAS36]

byf 43

I had a BYF 43 P38 [Mauser mfg.] that went full auto the first time I tried to test fire it! with one pull of the trigger all 8 rds fired in less than 2 seconds! I promptly returned it to the gunshop and they sent it away to the gunsmith for repairs, they said the problem was caused by a weak safety spring and weak sear spring tension, they fixed the problem free, since it was still under 90 day warrenty.

after firing over 3,000 rds the slide finally "cracked"

if it's a nice collector's piece it's probably better not to fire it at all

[Daniel Murphy]

they fixed the problem free, since it was still under 90 day warrenty.

Let's see. Gun dated 1943 with a 90 day warranty. So this was, what, '43-'44?
Dan Murphy

[MAS36]

Let's see. Gun dated 1943 with a 90 day warranty. So this was, what, '43-'44?
Dan Murphy

back in 1943 it was used by the Nazi's, but then it was captured by the Russians and imported to the USA in 1993

[Fazan]

I had a similar problem with Browning gp35. It was fixed when the spring (the flat long one) was replaced. The gun smith told me that it is not necessary to change it, and that it would work fine if I only bend it in opposite direction (and he was right i tried that with the old spring) but I had it replaced anyway. Fired properly ever since. I did panic a bit when it happened for the first time, and was dissapointed but now it's ok. I have used all kinds of 9mm rounds and did not see much of a difference except with some checkoslovakian bullets. The recoil was much stronger with that ammo and with the rounds that were ment for H&K mp5 wich is understandable.

Sorry for bad english...