Anyone familiar with Erma Werke handguns?

[Erik88]

One of my favorite podcasts is featuring the I-70 serial killer that has never been caught. The police believe the killer used a very unique and rare .22lr weapon of which only 6,000 were imported from Germany. I know we have some history buffs here and people knowledgeable about German guns. I don't think I've ever laid eyes on one of these. Specifically they are looking for a Erma Werke ET22. It's a bizarre looking gun and seems like an odd choice for a murder weapon. 

There are hoping someone may know a person that owned one of these in the early 90's. 

 

 

 

 

[gregintenn]

They produced some 22lr versions of Lugers. The gun posted above is a variation of that. I have never seen one in person in that configuration however.

You'd think that one would have been produced with a shoulder stock.

Edited November 12, 2020 by gregintenn

[DaveTN]

Never heard of it either, but there’s two for sale on gun broker right now; ones mint.

[Erik88]

2 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

They produced some 22lr versions of Lugers. The gun posted above is a variation of that. I have never seen one in person in that configuration however.

You'd think that one would have been produced with a shoulder stock.

It's definitely an odd gun. Their assumption is that he either stole this one or it was given to him from a family member since it's so rare. Apparently they were prone to jam and malfunction so they think he used the corundum to polish the cartridges to make them easier to feed. 

It seems like the type of gun you would find at a gun show. There are always a few booths that have rare guns. I wouldn't be surprised if some collector sold it to him. 

[1gewehr]

They did not sell well as they were an odd duck of a firearm.  I had one of the normal pistols back in the early '80's.  I got lots of practice with malfunction drills!  If you ever get one, they work best with standard velocity .22s. 

If it had a shoulder stock, it would have been a Short-Barrelled Rifle, with the necessary NFA forms and $200 transfer tax.  That would have guaranteed that they sold a lot fewer than 6000!

[gregintenn]

1 hour ago, 1gewehr said:

They did not sell well as they were an odd duck of a firearm.  I had one of the normal pistols back in the early '80's.  I got lots of practice with malfunction drills!  If you ever get one, they work best with standard velocity .22s. 

If it had a shoulder stock, it would have been a Short-Barrelled Rifle, with the necessary NFA forms and $200 transfer tax.  That would have guaranteed that they sold a lot fewer than 6000!

I almost bought one once. Then I read about all the reliability problems, so I left it alone. They were a great idea. It just doesn't sound like the execution went well.

[TripleGGG]

I shot one years ago. If a serial killer used one he had to have a lot of patience waiting for a round to fire. Probably the worst gun I've ever tried to shoot. More misfires than fires. 

[MacGyver]

It's hard to imagine .22LR having enough power to reliably work a Luger action.

I bet that was something to shoot.

[Wdodd]

I have had 2 of the standard configurations......both were very, very (yep, I mean VERY) prone to feeding and ejecting problems.  Definitely not the type reliability desired.

Now, having said that,  they are really a good-looking pistol.

[GlockSpock]

On 11/12/2020 at 9:50 AM, Erik88 said:

One of my favorite podcasts is featuring the I-70 serial killer that has never been caught. The police believe the killer used a very unique and rare .22lr weapon of which only 6,000 were imported from Germany. I know we have some history buffs here and people knowledgeable about German guns. I don't think I've ever laid eyes on one of these. Specifically they are looking for a Erma Werke ET22. It's a bizarre looking gun and seems like an odd choice for a murder weapon. 

There are hoping someone may know a person that owned one of these in the early 90's. 

 

 

 

 

So what you are really saying...you are hoping that your 1/6000th of a chance at finding the killer eventually pays off as you find more of these people. 
 

[gregintenn]

On 11/12/2020 at 12:57 PM, MacGyver said:

It's hard to imagine .22LR having enough power to reliably work a Luger action.

I bet that was something to shoot.

From the reports I’ve seen, they didn’t.

[GhstFace38]

I listen to the same podcast, and listened to this same episode yesterday. Small world. 

[Dirtshooter]

I got one back in the late 60's and got rid of it in the 70's. It was a neat looking pistol, but reliable wasn't it strong point. The one I had may have had a 4" barrel, that one in the pic must be 14" long.

[Moped]

On 11/12/2020 at 1:57 PM, MacGyver said:

It's hard to imagine .22LR having enough power to reliably work a Luger action.

I bet that was something to shoot.

My Stoeger Luger .22 works fine, as long as I'm running high velocity rounds through it.  It hates standard velocity.  .22 chambers oin older European firearms tended to be ever so slightly smaller, so I read.

[Erik88]

On 11/14/2020 at 8:56 AM, GhstFace38 said:

I listen to the same podcast, and listened to this same episode yesterday. Small world. 

They do a good job covering cases. The Captain is an idiot but that makes it more entertaining. 

[Jeb48]

My Stoeger Luger .22 shoots CCI standard velocity, but some of the cheap bulk ammo it doesn't like and of course it shoots most any boxed high velocity just fine.

Must be some other problems with the German Erma Werke besides being a .22.

[Moped]

21 hours ago, Jeb48 said:

My Stoeger Luger .22 shoots CCI standard velocity, but some of the cheap bulk ammo it doesn't like and of course it shoots most any boxed high velocity just fine.

Must be some other problems with the German Erma Werke besides being a .22.

It did not like White Box, at all.

[stumpy]

The shop where I work recently took in an ET-22 and will eventually set it out for sale. My challenge is to get it back working again - sear and firing pin are angry at each other and not engaging.  Parts are the same for the ET-22 and EP-22,  Hope I can find what I need as soon as I get around to this one (too many other tasks on the board also waiting for attention).