This Interarms import has a four-inch barrel and sports fine workmanship and finish. And it functioned flawlessly.
In the November 1971 issue of Shooting Times, Dick Eades gave a thorough appraisal of the new Mauser version of the time-honored Luger caliber, and he found the Mauser Parabellum to be a quality handgun, indeed.
I have now received a test Parabellum from the importer, in a caliber I consider more desirable - the 9mm Parabellum. My gun is fitted with a four-inch barrel, and shows the same fine workmanship and finish as was demonstrated on the .30 Luger tested earlier.
Machine work on this pistol is of very high quality. Finish is a rich nitrate blue-black. Stocks are of good walnut, and well fitted to the grip frame, with coarse but even checkering. They have a rather square shape, as opposed to the gently rounded originals on pre-war P08 guns, and aren't quite as comfortable to me.
The new Mauser carries a grip safety in the style of earlier commercial Lugers. While this feature might make the pistol more acceptable for importation under the Gun Control Act of 1968, it is of dubious value and makes the new Parabellum a bit clumsier to handle than Lugers without it.
The test 9mm is superbly accurate, shooting one-inch groups fired two handed from 45 feet. The fixed sights are perfectly regulated, and the S&W/Fiocchi, Super Vel, and Remington ammunition fired was all well centered in the black when a dead center hold was employed.
The trigger pull was rather heavy, about seven pounds, but crisp. Functioning was flawless, with no malfunctions occurring during the run of more than 250 rounds of assorted ammunition, much of it softnosed and hollow pointed. This is unusual reliability for a Parabellum.
The Mauser comes packed with two magazines, a stripping tool, and a cleaning brush. The stripping tool is quite useful in retracting the follower button of the magazines during loading, since their springs are extremely strong. These stiff springs, while a bit of a nuisance when loading, no doubt contribute a great deal to the positive feeding of cartridges in this fine Mauser.
The price of $265 for this new pistol may seem steep, but I defy anyone to find a brand new prewar Luger for that, and would advise them never to fire it if they did. It would be too valuable as a collector's gun. You get what you pay for, and the Mauser Parabellum is as fine a pistol as any Luger ever made.
It is available from Interarms, Ltd., 10 Prince Ste., Alexandria, Va. 22313.