Stoeger Luger look alike in 22lr?

[lokiaga]

Any opinions on the Stoeger Luger look alike in 22lr? Yeah, I know, get a real Luger. Well, I did. How about this one?

 

[benenglish]

Opinions? I badly wanted one when I was a kid. I've held them so I know they feel good in the hand. If you can get one that's reliable, it should be fun.

However, as much as I think that all .22 plinkers are worth having if you can get them at a good price I never actually bought one. Given that normal, purely rational gun selection criteria don't apply to this piece, I let the aesthetics convince me not to buy. Why? Because I generally want adjustable sights and that big, tacked-on adjustable sight at the rear just throws off the whole look of this particular pistol.

Yeah, I know, call me shallow.

 

[ROGER4314]

There were actually two Luger look alikes. One had a stamped steel, flat looking toggle mechanism. It resembled the Luger but not closely. The other used die castings (as I remember) and the pistol looked exactly like the P-08. Which one are you referring to?

Is there a new version?

Flash

 

[benenglish]

There was the Stoeger and the Erma. Neither of them looked exactly like the P-08 but the Stoeger was somewhat similar. The Ermas weren't even close. Lokiaga is asking about the Stoeger.

Caveat - I assume there are probably lots of other "looks like a Luger" pistols out there with which I'm not familiar. That pistol was too coveted and too expensive to not have lots of knock-offs. However, the Stoeger and the Erma were the only two that, afaik, got much market penetration.

 

[Moonpie]

I have a couple of the Stoeger 22 Luger pistols.

Not much info out there on them but here is what I've learned.
The guns were made from the very late 1960's until the early 1980's.
There is a steel frame version(uncommon) and an aluminum frame version(most commonly found).
It's easy to spot the frame type in pictures by the safety selector markings. Steel will have a red and green painted indented spots while the aluminum frame will have raised letters saying fire or safe.
A 4 inch(most commonly found) and a 5.5 inch barrel(uncommon) was available.
Grips could be had with checkering(less common) or smooth without checkering(very common).

I'm making an assumption here but I believe there were a very few guns made/imported before 1968 by Navy Arms.
I've seen one Navy Arms marked gun with a 7inch barrel.
The Stoeger guns all had the 4 or 5,5 barrel as far as I can tell.

The guns themselves have a poor reliability reputation but I think it is somewhat unearned.
Just like a "real" Luger, ammo is the key. You need to use good quality high velocity ammo for best performance. El Cheapo bulk 22 is da debil.
I get excellent results with CCI Mini-Mag.
They also have a tendency to be picky about screw tightness on re-assembly.
Accuracy wise they shoot great.
Every one I've shot actually has a fairly decent trigger pull.
Break-down is rather involved but not difficult. Re-assembly is tricky but not complicated. This is where folks can over-tighten the trigger return bar screw and cause problems.
As with any 22 auto, cleanliness is very important.
I enjoy shooting mine. I'd put them up against any new made 22 auto.

Magazines are another issue.
Factory mags are unobtanium impossiblium.
Factory mags will have a white or black plastic follower.
Triple-K makes re-pro mags. They work but MAY require minor fitting to lock in properly. They are pricey at $40 each. They also can be difficult to obtain as they only make them in small batches. You'll need to order direct to get them. These will have a green plastic follower.
Many mag lips have been damaged by slamming them home on a closed bolt. Gently and easily insert and snap in.
Mags become worn/dented/etc and no longer able to lock the toggle open on last shot. A worn spring on the toggle lock can also be a culprit.
This causes the toggle to snap closed on last round and a dry fire to happen.

Dry firing on an empty chamber is to be avoided with these. Doing so will dent the chamber mouth and result in cycling issues.

I just keep an empty case in the chamber as a snap cap.

All windage/elevation is done on the front sight. The rear sight is fixed. Front sight can be drifted for windage. Front post height is fixed.

IMO, the earlier guns are nicer but more difficult to find in decent condition.
The most common guns I've seen are the smooth gripped, aluminum framed, 4 inch versions made in the 1970's.

Prices are all over the map. Usually see them in the $300-500 range. Clean examples usually around $400.

Parts are pretty much obtainium impossiblium.
Numrich occasionally has misc parts. Gun Broker sometimes. Flea-Bay too.

If you decide to get one, understand they can be quirky. You may have to tinker to get it running correctly.

 

[Moonpie]

There were actually two Luger look alikes. One had a stamped steel, flat looking toggle mechanism. It resembled the Luger but not closely. The other used die castings (as I remember) and the pistol looked exactly like the P-08. Which one are you referring to?

Is there a new version?

Flash

ERMA made two versions.
An alloy frame version, which literally wore out in a few hundred shots, and a steel frame version, which is very very rare.
These are pretty good clones of the original.

The Stoeger isn't a very good clone but was cheap and available.
See my write up in the other post.

I am unaware of any currently made Luger clones.