The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The North Corral > Curios and Relics

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old March 30, 2009, 04:29 PM   #1
kwells6
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 24, 2008
Location: Central Arkansas
Posts: 437
Pre-WWII Femaru 380???

I'm investigating buying one of these in not so great shape for $225

all it needs is some TLC and a slide catch. its got aftermarket pearl grips and its got the nice patina on it. otherwise, fully functional. I've fired it and its NICE! comes with ORIGINAL MAGAZINE!!!

good deal or a crock?
__________________
"Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it."
kwells6 is offline  
Old March 31, 2009, 01:36 AM   #2
greywalker
Member
 
Join Date: June 27, 2008
Location: the midwest
Posts: 82
I inherited one of those little m-37's myself, and shot it a bit before the price of .380 got to me- the weapon is nicely robust, and always felt good in my hand, BUT I will warn you of one point- Aftermarket Mags are HORRIBLE- I tried three different ones and NONE worked, all had to be "finagled with" to even fit- the factory mags are a dream, but last time I checked they were at least $60 bucks each IF you can find em..... but as far as it being a nice little weapon, I got no complaints.... might try to talk em down to 200 if its not in great shape though....
greywalker is offline  
Old March 31, 2009, 07:21 AM   #3
Tom2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 23, 2004
Location: Ohio
Posts: 5,676
Patinated, eh? Might be worth the money but finding a part like the slide release may be well....an expensive venture. Tell me about finding old gun parts. I just bought a postwar French .32 pistol. Looked great. Finish good, bore not pitted, I get it home, it will not extract rounds. Tip of the extractor is chipped off clean. Now do you think I am gonna find another extractor? Probably will have to be made from scratch. At least I got the original as a pattern. Unless I set down and make one from a piece of steel with a file, I would have to pay a machinist to make it. How much does that add to the bargain cost? See, even I can get screwed making impulse buys on old guns. At least if I had bought a PPk or something like that, I could probably find an extractor easily. There were tons of these guns made, they are not as old as your Femaru and were made quite late postwar. BUt do you think I can find any parts online or even an exploded view? Buying things like that can burn you unless you know that you can get it fixed, assuming you know the problem before purchase.
__________________
Your gun is like your nose, it is just wrong for someone else to pick it for you!
Tom2 is offline  
Old March 31, 2009, 09:10 AM   #4
pesta2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 1, 2006
Location: Fairmont, WV
Posts: 1,682
This is my Dad’s he bought it because it is Hungarian and he is Hungarian. I shot it I think once, they are nice guns and are getting rare. I think I did have some issues with the magazines feeding not right. Seemed the last round did not chamber right. I could be wrong, it has been a long time since I fired it.

__________________
http://www.stevekonya.com
pesta2 is offline  
Old March 31, 2009, 09:48 AM   #5
GJRoberts
Junior Member
 
Join Date: September 6, 2008
Posts: 2
Femaru 37

I have seen these go routinely in the $300-325 price range in very good condition. Believe me, if you need any parts or a magazine, you would be much better waiting for another to come along.

I have one, and it is a real good shooter, and very well made.
GJRoberts is offline  
Old March 31, 2009, 10:03 AM   #6
kwells6
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 24, 2008
Location: Central Arkansas
Posts: 437
Well, I've found the slide catch and it was $12. other than that, it might need grips and a good cleaning.
__________________
"Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it."
kwells6 is offline  
Old March 31, 2009, 10:06 AM   #7
Dingoboyx
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 7, 2009
Location: South East Queensland, Australia
Posts: 1,513
Would be a nice collector piece, bonus you can shoot it. I wouldnt be hosing thousands of rounds thru it tho, if something big breaks, I dare say it would be hard to find spares for it ($$ too) Would be nice if you have the $ to spare

Muzza
__________________
Muzza
If you cant blind them with brilliance, Baffle them with BS
Be alert...... there is a shortage of LERTs
Dingoboyx is offline  
Old March 31, 2009, 12:23 PM   #8
James K
Member In Memoriam
 
Join Date: March 17, 1999
Posts: 24,383
I wouldn't worry about shooting one of those M37's, they are pretty rugged pistols. IMHO, the ones made for the Germans in .32 ACP (7.65mm) are a tad more reliable than the Hungarian ones in 9mm Short (.380 ACP). Calibers, by the way, can be changed with only a barrel change; everything else works with both calibers.

Jim
James K is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:16 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.04091 seconds with 10 queries