My first experience with the Stoeger .22 Luger pistol began way back there in the mid 1970's as a young teenager.
I had a school buddy whose father owned one. He allowed us to shoot the pistol while plinking out in his cow pasture.
The few times we used it, it gave quite a bit of problems cycling. I do remmeber it was very accurate and had a very good trigger pull. It just wouldn't run.
We preferred to use other .22's that worked reliably so the Stoeger saw little use.
At the time I was ignorant of the quality and power of various .22lr ammo.
I was a poor country kid with no access to even buy ammo so I had to use whatever I could obtain. Which was usually the cheapest cruddiest low power .22 ammo.
Little did we know that just like the original Luger pistol it took the hottest ammo to make it function properly.
As a young adult during the early1980's I remember seeing them for sale in gun shops but I always passed them by because of my earlier experiences.
Zero interest.
Flash forward to 2013.
German Sports Guns(GSG) brings to market a .22lr version of the famed German STG-44 assualt rifle.
Being the historical gun nerd I am I just have to have one. Soon one found its way into the gun safe.
Unfortunetly at the same time I was going through a phase of matching long guns and hand guns in a common caliber and they had to historically match.
So I had an 1873 Winchester rifle and an 1873 Colt SAA.
A Beretta Storm carbine and M92 in 9mm.
Etc.
Now I had a .22lr STG-44. What 22lr pistol would match with it?
Historically there were a few correct pistols. The Walther P-38. The Luger P-08, Walther PPK.
Each of these were/are available in .22lr.
The problem became one of cost vs. use. I intended to shoot them so a minty collectable was not desirable.
Original Walther P-38's and PPK's in 22lr are very very expensive and extremely difficult to obtain. Just forget about parts and spare magazines. And being rare collectables damaging one was unforgivable.
So that left the P-08 Luger.
There were two .22lr Lugers available. The ERMA 22 Luger and the Stoeger 22 Luger.
The ERMA 22 Luger was sold during the mid-1960's. While it is a very close clone of the original P-08 they are made out of a very poor quality metal and are basically junk. They literally wear out a few hundred rounds.
They aren't exactly common anymore and spare parts and magazines are unobtanium.
So, this left me with essentially one choice. The Stoeger .22 Luger. What's Old is New again. Let's party like its 1976.
Finding one wasn't difficult. They're all over GunBroker and other on-line gun sales sites. Guns Shows always one or two laying about.
A clean example was soon obtained and thus began my belated learning course in all things Stoeger 22 Luger.
Initial range day proved to me again why these guns have such a reputation. They're very ammo sensitive. It took a few range trips and ammo selections before I found the right combo.
Hot ammo and round nose bullets.
Cheap bulk ammo and flat tipped or hollow point bullets are De Debil in these. Don't go there.
CCI Mini-Mag 40grn solids are the gold standard. A few other brands of 40grn roundnose work almost as well.
The gun needs to be clean. Like any .22 semi-auto pistol they get gunked up after a couple of hundred round and get sticky.
They also build up lead in the barrel and must be scrubbed out. Accuracy will suffer if not cleaned properly.
I also feel the recoil pulse of the 40grn bullet is greater than the lighter weight bullets. Although small, this added momentum makes a big difference in the performanceof the blowback mechanism of the Stoeger.
Another big issue are the magazines. Like any other semi-auto pistol the mag is usually the issue with a poorly functioning gun. Mag needs to be clean, sliding free, with unbent feed lips.
More than a few mags have damaged feed lips from Good Ol' Bubba slamming them into a gun with a closed bolt.
After working through these I've found the Stoeger 22 Luger to be an accurate fun little piece. The toggle action is just so cool.
After shooting the 22 Luger for a while, the Inner Gun Dork in me arose. Again.
I just had to know exactly when mine was made. Turned out this was more difficult to determine than expected.
Quicky InnerWebZ research showed the guns were made from 1969 to 1985. There really isn't much other than that out there.
It got more interdasting the further in I dug.
Turns out there are two versions of the Stoeger 22 Luger. An aluminum framed version and a steel framed version.
The AL framed gun was produced first. The steel frame came later.
To date I haven't been able to determine when excatly the switch fromAL to steel took place but my best guess is 1978 or 79.
The guns were available with either a 4.5inch barrel or a 5.5inch barrel.
There was also a "Target" version available. This version came with a 5.5inch barrel,checkered grips, and an adjustable rear sight.
Early guns had checkered grips which changed to smooth sided and remained that way until the end of AL frame production. Steel framed guns had checkered grips only.
As far as I know no factory records exist so tracing Born On dates is a guess.
What I did do was start collecting information off of individual guns as I found them. Recording serial numbers vs. features on the gun.
Gathered data has shown a definite change in the frame markings.
Just for simplification I have denoted these frame markings as Early, Mid, and Late on the Aluminum framed guns.The steel framed guns also have different frame markings.
Stoeger marked the frames of their guns with an address.
There are three versions of this address.
Again for simplification I have denoted these as "Small", "Large", and "Small steel".
The "Small" address is:
Made in U.S.A. by
STOEGER ARMS CORPORATION
PATENTS PENDING
This "small" address was only used on "early" aluminum framed guns. This will be on the left side of the frame. The address font is quite small. About an inch wide.
The serial number is located on the left side just above the Transfer bar take-down screw.
The Luger logo is on the right side of the frame.
These are what I refer to as "Early" guns. Early gun serial numbers go to about 19500. I haven't determined exact serial number when change happened to Mid yet.
Early guns had checkered grips.
I figure Early guns to be the first year or two of production.
After serial number approx.19500 the frame marking changed the address into the "Large" address:
Manufactured in the U.S.A. by
STOEGER ARMS CORPORATION
S. HACKENSACK, NEW JERSEY
PATENTS PENDING
Address font is larger. About 2inches wide.
Address is still on left side of frame with serial above the take-down screw. The Luger logo remained on the right side of the frame.
I refer to this as the "Mid" version. Mid gun serial numbers go up to about 48000.
Mid version guns changed to smooth grips. I suspect this was done to save on cost.
After serial number approx. 48000 the Large address was changed to the right side of the frame along with the serial number.
The Luger logo was moved to the left side where it remained until end of production.
I refer to this as a "Late" version.
The highest serial number aluminum framed gun I have seen is in the 104900 range.
When the steel frame guns appeared the early guns had the same "large" address.
This was later changed to the "small steel" address.
The small steel address is:
STOEGER
S. HACKENSACK, NEW JERSEY
I haven't gathered much info on the steel guns. They seem to be collectable if prices are used as a judge.
I had a school buddy whose father owned one. He allowed us to shoot the pistol while plinking out in his cow pasture.
The few times we used it, it gave quite a bit of problems cycling. I do remmeber it was very accurate and had a very good trigger pull. It just wouldn't run.
We preferred to use other .22's that worked reliably so the Stoeger saw little use.
At the time I was ignorant of the quality and power of various .22lr ammo.
I was a poor country kid with no access to even buy ammo so I had to use whatever I could obtain. Which was usually the cheapest cruddiest low power .22 ammo.
Little did we know that just like the original Luger pistol it took the hottest ammo to make it function properly.
As a young adult during the early1980's I remember seeing them for sale in gun shops but I always passed them by because of my earlier experiences.
Zero interest.
Flash forward to 2013.
German Sports Guns(GSG) brings to market a .22lr version of the famed German STG-44 assualt rifle.
Being the historical gun nerd I am I just have to have one. Soon one found its way into the gun safe.
Unfortunetly at the same time I was going through a phase of matching long guns and hand guns in a common caliber and they had to historically match.
So I had an 1873 Winchester rifle and an 1873 Colt SAA.
A Beretta Storm carbine and M92 in 9mm.
Etc.
Now I had a .22lr STG-44. What 22lr pistol would match with it?
Historically there were a few correct pistols. The Walther P-38. The Luger P-08, Walther PPK.
Each of these were/are available in .22lr.
The problem became one of cost vs. use. I intended to shoot them so a minty collectable was not desirable.
Original Walther P-38's and PPK's in 22lr are very very expensive and extremely difficult to obtain. Just forget about parts and spare magazines. And being rare collectables damaging one was unforgivable.
So that left the P-08 Luger.
There were two .22lr Lugers available. The ERMA 22 Luger and the Stoeger 22 Luger.
The ERMA 22 Luger was sold during the mid-1960's. While it is a very close clone of the original P-08 they are made out of a very poor quality metal and are basically junk. They literally wear out a few hundred rounds.
They aren't exactly common anymore and spare parts and magazines are unobtanium.
So, this left me with essentially one choice. The Stoeger .22 Luger. What's Old is New again. Let's party like its 1976.
Finding one wasn't difficult. They're all over GunBroker and other on-line gun sales sites. Guns Shows always one or two laying about.
A clean example was soon obtained and thus began my belated learning course in all things Stoeger 22 Luger.
Initial range day proved to me again why these guns have such a reputation. They're very ammo sensitive. It took a few range trips and ammo selections before I found the right combo.
Hot ammo and round nose bullets.
Cheap bulk ammo and flat tipped or hollow point bullets are De Debil in these. Don't go there.
CCI Mini-Mag 40grn solids are the gold standard. A few other brands of 40grn roundnose work almost as well.
The gun needs to be clean. Like any .22 semi-auto pistol they get gunked up after a couple of hundred round and get sticky.
They also build up lead in the barrel and must be scrubbed out. Accuracy will suffer if not cleaned properly.
I also feel the recoil pulse of the 40grn bullet is greater than the lighter weight bullets. Although small, this added momentum makes a big difference in the performanceof the blowback mechanism of the Stoeger.
Another big issue are the magazines. Like any other semi-auto pistol the mag is usually the issue with a poorly functioning gun. Mag needs to be clean, sliding free, with unbent feed lips.
More than a few mags have damaged feed lips from Good Ol' Bubba slamming them into a gun with a closed bolt.
After working through these I've found the Stoeger 22 Luger to be an accurate fun little piece. The toggle action is just so cool.
After shooting the 22 Luger for a while, the Inner Gun Dork in me arose. Again.
I just had to know exactly when mine was made. Turned out this was more difficult to determine than expected.
Quicky InnerWebZ research showed the guns were made from 1969 to 1985. There really isn't much other than that out there.
It got more interdasting the further in I dug.
Turns out there are two versions of the Stoeger 22 Luger. An aluminum framed version and a steel framed version.
The AL framed gun was produced first. The steel frame came later.
To date I haven't been able to determine when excatly the switch fromAL to steel took place but my best guess is 1978 or 79.
The guns were available with either a 4.5inch barrel or a 5.5inch barrel.
There was also a "Target" version available. This version came with a 5.5inch barrel,checkered grips, and an adjustable rear sight.
Early guns had checkered grips which changed to smooth sided and remained that way until the end of AL frame production. Steel framed guns had checkered grips only.
As far as I know no factory records exist so tracing Born On dates is a guess.
What I did do was start collecting information off of individual guns as I found them. Recording serial numbers vs. features on the gun.
Gathered data has shown a definite change in the frame markings.
Just for simplification I have denoted these frame markings as Early, Mid, and Late on the Aluminum framed guns.The steel framed guns also have different frame markings.
Stoeger marked the frames of their guns with an address.
There are three versions of this address.
Again for simplification I have denoted these as "Small", "Large", and "Small steel".
The "Small" address is:
Made in U.S.A. by
STOEGER ARMS CORPORATION
PATENTS PENDING
This "small" address was only used on "early" aluminum framed guns. This will be on the left side of the frame. The address font is quite small. About an inch wide.
The serial number is located on the left side just above the Transfer bar take-down screw.
The Luger logo is on the right side of the frame.
These are what I refer to as "Early" guns. Early gun serial numbers go to about 19500. I haven't determined exact serial number when change happened to Mid yet.
Early guns had checkered grips.
I figure Early guns to be the first year or two of production.
After serial number approx.19500 the frame marking changed the address into the "Large" address:
Manufactured in the U.S.A. by
STOEGER ARMS CORPORATION
S. HACKENSACK, NEW JERSEY
PATENTS PENDING
Address font is larger. About 2inches wide.
Address is still on left side of frame with serial above the take-down screw. The Luger logo remained on the right side of the frame.
I refer to this as the "Mid" version. Mid gun serial numbers go up to about 48000.
Mid version guns changed to smooth grips. I suspect this was done to save on cost.
After serial number approx. 48000 the Large address was changed to the right side of the frame along with the serial number.
The Luger logo was moved to the left side where it remained until end of production.
I refer to this as a "Late" version.
The highest serial number aluminum framed gun I have seen is in the 104900 range.
When the steel frame guns appeared the early guns had the same "large" address.
This was later changed to the "small steel" address.
The small steel address is:
STOEGER
S. HACKENSACK, NEW JERSEY
I haven't gathered much info on the steel guns. They seem to be collectable if prices are used as a judge.
