Walther LP53

[coburn]

How much should I pay for one of these in its original box?. Does anyone have one for sale?

[pennineway.fswo]

A number of my shooting friends and I have bought LP53's recently
We have all been very impressed with their accuracy on our 20 yard range
On the chrono they vary - mine is 400 ft/sec, but a friends very old model is 445 ft/sec with 7 gr. R10's which is a lot more than 'the books' tell us
There were 4 main variations of the pistol and the very early ones are worth a little more (less crinkle/duck bill/may be even adjustment on trigger)
Without a box £130 to £160 in VGC
Boxed in very good condition with manual,cocking aid and spare sights - expect to pay about £200 ( the cardboard box and bits adds about £60)
I suppose if you found a very early one (less or no crinkle finish) boxed and mint then you would have to pay another £40 -£50 or so
The above prices are what you would pay in the UK
If you are prepared to risk Egun. then you can get these pistols for less and they are regularly available on that site.
Top of the range is one in the deluxe padded case complete with barrel weight and I have seen these.
I now know a source for buying the wooden cocking aids if yours comes without (about £12)
Good luck - they are splendid pistols. Problem is, when you have bought one you may want more

John

[Garvin]

Nice looking pistols these. Some pics from egun:

http://www.egun.de/market/uploaded/1271782_45eb2fd83ed82.jpg

http://www.egun.de/market/uploaded/1271301_45eb13839de2a.jpg

http://www.egun.de/market/uploaded/1276127_45f01eb1abdea.jpg

http://www.egun.de/market/uploaded/1285521_45fa73b79f2c2.jpg

[coburn]

Thanks for the info and the pic's. Keep the info coming.

I'd always thought that the 300fps listed by Beemans for this pistol was on the low side. I am after a decent pistol, tried an Original Model 6 and thought it unwieldy.(sorry only my opinion, still a lovely pistol). Toyed with a LP3 but I am always trying different pellets in my guns and the thought of sights only adjustable by screwdriver put me off. Now I know that a LP53 is not in the same league as the two I've already mentioned, but its a damn sight easier for the home gunsmith to work on, so it beats the others on that count alone.

I am looking at a LP53 but I am not going to say where (don't want to loose it). Its a black gripped model in original box, with both barrel weights and cocking aid. I let you all know in due course how I get on.

But If any of you have got one for sale for a decent price I may well be tempted.

[Muskett]

I bought mine at a county auction for not very much and it was mint, but £180 to £260 is the norm and they ought to be in very good condition. Anything rough then a lot less.

They are tricky to shoot well being a full bore trainer, and they are THE Bond gun. European collecters love them especially in Germany and Switzerland which ensures they will hold a premium price. A true classic and every collection should have at least one.

[pennineway.fswo]

They are excellent photos that Garvin has posted.
If you look at the bottom one you can see that the receiver has lost the duck bill/concave rear end and is straight.This is a later model.
Grip colour seems to be mainly black on later ones but I have seen a very early model with black grips. Serial numbers go up to about 126,000 and the production run was from 1953 up to the mid 1970's
Trigger pressures vary quite a bit. I was told they were factory set at about 680 grams but mine is about 500 grams and is as good as some of the lower end match pistols
I used to think the old Webleys were well made but these LP53's are better still
If you look back to the days when the Webley Seniors were made, the LP53 cost about twice as much.Of the LP53's that I have seen very few have been tinkered with.
My local Gunsmith does however own one that his dad bought him as a boy and it has had stronger springs fitted. This has ruined it and it is no longer accurate or nice to shoot.he intends to bring it back to original spec.
There are stories of a short production run in 1952 of an LP52. You may see the LP52 referred to in a number of books. Walther however deny that it was ever made.

[pennineway.fswo]

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