Walther P38 for Home Defense? … Concealed Carry?
Walther P38 for Home Defense? … Concealed Carry?
I’ve received a number of questions about using old guns for home defense or concealed carry. One of them is the Walther P38. Can you use this gun for home defense or concealed carry? I answer that question in this video.
Previous video on the P38: https://youtu.be/Jp_6pPqPS8g
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Hard to beat a Gen 3 Glock 19 with night sights!! And a 33 round backup mag…jus sayin!
There are two WWII-era examples at my local gun store right now so that’s why I’m here.
I have a Beretta 92FS and Taurus PT-92, both basically are upgraded P38s
I think the important point here is that we must acknowledge that *CARRYING* is as much a fashion statement as a God given right, so there should be no shame in carrying something that you actually enjoy and think looks good. We can’t all carry Desert Eagles with red dots.
Can you install a pin in a non reinforced P1? Just having a weak frame bothers my subconscious. I’d love to recreate a frame out of reinforced polymer or just steel.
Managed to get ahold of a spreewerk p38 made in early 43 they aren’t common in my area of rural PA if push came to shove I’d use it to defend my loved ones but I wouldn’t want to put it at risk of being taken during investigation cause it gets abused so I’ll just keep something else at a state of ready for the defense of myself and loved ones.
Beautiful
I’d strongly suggest NOT using a WW2 collectable P38 for home defense. Depending on the jurisdiction you reside in, the weapon may be ordered destroyed even if you are acquitted, or it may return all marked up with an electric pencil with case numbers, jurisdiction, etc.
I’d feel safer using +P ammo in the steel frame WW2 P38s than newer aluminum frame guns.
Where can I get a good concealed carry holster for a p38?
Good video Joel. These were good guns. If anyone has or had one they know. Just because a pistol is not new does not mean it is not lethal or useful.
Have an ac42 waffen stamped matching number i would not hesitate to trust for defense. P38 is a fine gun. I dont use it. Its pretty much a safe queen. Have other guns for edc and home defense but I would trust my p38 for anything that called for a 9mm
Absolutely NO Walther banner logos on any WW2 produced P-38. Only code numbers.
Mr. Gun Guy not only do these make me think of WWII, but Man from U.N.C.L.E. had agents with a P38 and in fact I think a toy gun was even made as well. Saw one with original box and wished I had bought it, but missed out. Thanks sir!
great video. my p01 shoot s low. i have to cover the target with my front sight to be more accurate. its kinda weird lol
I can tell you that my P-38 born in Dec. ’62 does not like lead bullets. It can also be finicky with certain HP’s, so using those for SD can be if iffy if you haven’t fired a few hundred of your chosen HP’s through it. I would recommend sticking to ball ammo.
In addition, do not use the hammer drop to drop the hammer unless you cushion the hammer fall with a well-placed thumb. The full force hammer drop can damage things inside, which users can research on their own.
There were so many P38s left over after WWII that they became the most common sidearm for the militaries and police all throughout Eastern Europe.
the p-38 was the one gun I wanted as a teen rowing up. Years later I got a Walther p4 and loved it.
Great video. I am in the hunt for a wartime p38 to go along with with my 1942 JP Sauer und Sohn K98k rifle that has a Zf41 scope on it.
P1 after war aluminium so no +P or +P+, regular low power ammo, also older P38 steel guns last longer without hot SMG pressure loadings
Watch the Legacy Collectibles videos with Tom Whitman. Super informative about P38, PP, PPK and the P08 Luger (and many others)…
Please, lower (equalize) your intro music volume down to your narrative level.
Can I use reg. Pressure hollow points in this gun?
What a funny question. You sir gave them straight answer..YES and it is very accurate
Is Geco 115gr fmj good to shoot?
I have a P1 made in ’72. There’s more of a ridge on the end of the slide than P38s. You didn’t mention the raised pin Chambered Round indicator, above the hammer. At a gun show, I saw a slightly rusty WWII German P38 mag. [Possibly I paid $10 for it because it was not pretty.] It was not branded Walther, but a very small 3-letter code was stamped on it. I decoded them to a factory in the Sudetenland [Occupied Czechoslovakia]. The vintage mag runs like butter in the West German pistol.
Smoothest trigger and best hand fit of any handgun I have. And that’s alot.
Кольт 1911 и Вальтер p 38 и Русская Гюрза. Самые лучшие пистолеты в мире.
If it goes BANG everytime and something comes out in front, it’ll work
I have a Walther P5. Basically a P38 (P1) with a shorter barrel, enclosed slide and a frame-mounted decocker. It shoots… splendidly. Fills the same niche as a Sig P225 or a P239, but, I feel the Walther is a more intuitive shooter. Mine is a wonderful shooter.
They are wonderful shooting pistols. My sibling has a fine example of the P38 ,it was the second pistol I shot, the first was a 1911.
I remember this gun from the 1960s series the man from uncle.
Great video. I would add that most of my P-38s don’t need to be locked open to strip. Safety-check the gun, then just push back on the barrel with your palm and flip the lever down and off comes the slide. Ditto to reassemble. The P-38’s external hammer lets you know when the gun is cocked, and the little pin above the hammer lets you see/feel whether or not the chamber is loaded. My modern striker fired Walther CCP does not tell you it’s condition the way a P-38 does. The slide-mounted safety on the P-38 gives your left index finger an "ear" to grab whilst racking the slide. As my hands weaken with age this is a huge help. Magazines are available everywhere at very reasonable prices, and as they only hold 8 rounds, they are legal in states that restrict magazine capacity. The "heel" mag release helps you retain your magazines and allow for quick reloads with a bit of practice. These are great guns with many spare parts available. Try one! –Old Guy
My dad carried an old Nazzee P-38 for decades! It was his only pistol he had for many years until he got a Colt Gold Cup 45. I learned too shoot pistols with a P-38 which would explain why I was so good with the Beretta when I went into the military mostly because of lots of shooting with that P-38.
P38 is perfectly reliable for home defence but I would not use it. I don’t want my antique 70s West German police issue to be held as evidence at the police station forever. Use your easily replaceable Glock
I’ve got one from the war. Thing runs great.
I keep one for home defense and I shoot IDPA with it.
One remark – you do NOT have to pull the trigger when disassembling; if you click the manual safety on before releasing, the slide will fly right off the frame
P38s dated in the late years of the war were known for the for a lot of safety issues due to the fact that production was done using slave labor, who quite often tried to sabotage as many as they could get away with.
Mine isn’t reliable with hollow points
As to reliability. I was told by a friend who had researched the history of the P-38 that reports of arms used on the "Russian Front" indicated that P-38’s were one of the last guns to fail as result of the horrible conditions encountered by German troops. Whenever everything else froze up or stopped working due to lack of maintenance the P-38’s soldiered on.
As per another channel; if there’s a hitch in the git-a-long in one of these old timers & nothing seems to work right, it might need a new spring kit (2). Guess that would pertain to any semi-pistol.
A WW2 era Waffenamt marked P38 in decent shape is worth quite a sum nowadays, and gets even more valuable and rare with each passing day.
Favorite gun
A WWII AC44 Walther P38 was one of my very first handguns and I still have it, along with two pre-P1 Post War P38’s.
For many years, a P38 was my primary home defense Pistol and could still serve today, if needed.
While I now own and shoot many more modern Pistols, I still often enjoy shooting a P38.
Food for thought! Here Americans are fighting for their 2nd Amendment Rights! The left and Biden just gave the Taliban all the he weapons and Ammo they needed at the cost of American taxes and cost of American lives! "GO FIGURE!"
Next dumb question- is the MG 42 an effective LMG?
I had a P4 which looked almost identical except that the decocker was a decocker only no safety. The one I had was a former German polezi weapon. Absolutely loved it.
Not a great pistol. DA trigger pull is too heavy, the hammer block safety can fail and cause a discharge when you decock the pistol, while the top cover can come off along with the rear sight, extractor and firing pin. Only the late P4 variant is worth getting as it was redesigned and has a lighter frame, but few were made.
Fabulous! Great video with lots to learn. Never use +P 9mm Luger ammo in any P-38. So many P-38 pistols were destroyed using 9mm submachine designed by the capturing GI’s. A WW2 veteran, who fought in the Hurtgen Forest battle told me he saw quite a few P-38 become worthless by the use of captured MP40 ammo. Today’s +P 9mm parabellum "luger" is just as bad if not worse! Use standard velocity only.
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