I shot one befor real good trusty gun I can't see why it wasn't that much in WWII well to my knowage anyways...great gun sight recoil problem maby its because i was like 15 when I shot it and wow it was cool but anyways tell me what you think of this awsome gun even though the luger got more of the spotlight for the Nazis

Considering a pistol is a personal defence sidearm, a Mauser C96 is simply too big, heavy and cumbersome to carry around all day. A Walther PPK is half the weight and makes just as much noise.

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Hi.
I agree with Za Rodinu, The C96 Mauser is much too big/long to carry around, it did not have a comfortable holster as such, but had a bloody great wooden holster that would act as a stock that slid onto the handle, you would open the top of the holster, slide the weapon out then close the holster and as I say slide it onto the stock, besides being a cumbersome weapon, they would also fire on full automatic, but with have a small magazine, this was very impractible, also to strip the weapon you had to pull up on a tab that was located under the rear of the receiver, if you happened to catch the tab the caboosh would fall apart as the barrel and the working parts slid forward off the receiver not backwards, there were a couple of version of the Bolar Mauser as it was called, the Chinese did a very good copy, and this had a number 9 inscribed into the wooden pistol grip, also they did the C38 version that was made for the civilian market, this was known as the Commercial 38. in all it was not a bad weapon but it never really took off, Winston Churchill carried one when he was in the forces as a youngster in the Middle East, a good size pistol/automatic was the Walther PK, (Pistolen Kriminal) it was a tad bit bigger than the PPK (Polizei Pistolen Kriminal) so you felt as though you had something in your hand, the PPK was smaller, but effective and could hurt if it hit you in they eye, If you want to look into an interesting weapon, have a look at the Webley Fosberry, it was the first self cocking automatic revolver, made for the British Navy, and If anybody has used one of these I would be very interested to hear from.
Regards
tankie

oh OK cool thanks for expaling why it wasn't used yes it is heavyer and yes a a smaller gun would be better well thanks!

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yesh

Did you know they used mock-ups of the C-96 as the basis for the Star Wars "blasters"? If you look real close it is obvious.

Here is an excellent site on this handgun, its development, and such:

http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg90-e.htm

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Happy Trails,
Clint.

They might have made alot more of them in ww2 except they were not chambered in 9mm parabellum, which was pretty much the standard pistol and subgun round of the germans in WW2 as i'm sure you are aware.
Also as other posters state, it was too heavy and prone to jamming, and top fed by stripper clips rather than a detachable magazine.
Everyone has seen the war pictures of the Mauser broomhandle equipped with the wooden shoulder stock/holster in a dubious attempt to turn it into some kind of submachine gun, these pistols could be and were modified to fire full auto on occasion. In the submachine role they were almost certainly worse than useless - like most pistols they were usually issued to officers, more as a badge of rank and a means of self defense and not really as a battle weapon.

The luger was introduced in the closing years of WW1. It was finely made and used an ingenious and complicated toggle mechanism for semi auto fire. Like the "broomhandle" it was really too well-made for a battlefield. At a firing range with clean gun and ammo it is a great gun - points naturally, fits most people's hand well and all around good design. In a grimy Russian trench, North African sand or the snow of the Ardennes, it too was prone to jamming and was superseded by the P-38 pistol (although the luger was manufactureed throughout the war).

Also some Germans were even issued the Browning High power during the war - the Belgians had tooled up to make it before the war and the Germans simply kept the factory going for their own forces. One of the few WW2 weapons to be used by both sides (that were not captured on the battlefield).

Thats right. I owned one a few years ago with the wooden stock/holster. It wasn't the 9mm Bolo model. It was chambered for the German 7.63mm round not the 9mm.



C96 Broomhandle Mauser with fitted wooden Holster/Stock
© Kortegaard Engineering

The C96 was designed by Fidel, Friedrich and Josef Feederle. At the time, Fidel Feederle was employed as Superintendent of the Mauser Experimental Workshop 1. Originally known as the P-7.63 or 'Feederle Pistol', it was renamed by Paul Mauser as the 'Mauser Military Pistol'.
In the absence of factory records which show when which pistol was made, or even the number of pistols made in any given year, C96 owners usually attempt to determine the year that their own pistol was produced, based soleylon serial number. Such attempts are fraught with peril! In the early years of production, the big Mauser pistol was not especially popular and sales were poor. In order to make it appear that more pistols had been sold than was actually the case, Mauser skipped large blocks of serial numbers. In the later years it appears that some attempt was made to fill in these missing blocks of numbers. To add to the confusion, pistols made under contract were usually, but not always, serial numbered in their own series, often beginning with number "1". All of which means that pistols which appear, based on their serial number, to have been made early in the production run, may actually have been made much later. The converse may also be true 3.
The first successful prototype was dated 15th March 1895 and on 11th December 1895, its German patent was issued 3. During 1896, some 110 pre-production pistols were built. Full scale production started in April 1897 7.
A US patent (#584479) was granted on 15th June 1897 4. Previously, patents had been granted during 1896 in Great Britain (patent #959), Switzerland (patent #11943), Belgium (patent #119462) as well as several other countries, including Brazil (patent #2088) 5. With only a slight interruption after 1918, production of the Broomhandle Mauser continued until the late 1930's.
The C96 was the first efficient and reliable design for a self-loading pistol. An outstanding feature of the design was the absence of pins or screws in its construction. The design is based upon the frame being milled out from a solid forging, rather than a separate pieces. The receiver and barrel are formed from a single forging. This means that unfortunately a lot of present day C96's have 'shot-out' barrels, and as they cannot be changed out, they have to be bored out to the larger 9mm calibre.7 Loading of the C96 is by single round, or through the use of 10-round stripper clips. The C96 was designed to use 7.63mm ammunition, however, due to military requirements, a number were converted to shoot 9mm ammunition, the same as the later available Luger pistol. These are known as the 'Red 9' C96 models.

A 'Red 9' C96 [in 9mm] and two 10-round stripper clips [7.63mm(L) and 9mm (R)]
© Kortegaard Engineering

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

oh really cool! I wnat to bye one right now all I have is a 9mm Glock handgun I really want a C96 were can you buy one? thanks

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yesh

Google is your friend. Try searching for it online or go to you local gunshow or gunshop. You might check out this thread in the Militaria forum. Its about buying a K98 but has alot of info about purchasing a weapon and where to look.

Looking to buy a K98

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

OK cool thanks

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yesh

It was a popular weapon in China, and saw extensive service in both Maoist and Nationalist troops.

Even if I maligned it at the beginning, it certainly is one gun I'd like to own. Right now I can only look at it in a museum

Robert, what made you sell yours?

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While the pistol went out of favor with the Soviets, the cartridge didn't as it was the round used in the PPsH, all models.

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Happy Trails,
Clint.

Bought mine a few years ago at a gun show for abour $200. 7.63X25mm. Had to replace the hand grips due to one side being cracked and had to replace the missing lanyard ring. Other then that it was in very good condition. Bought the wooden stock/holster later. I had to sell it due to being strapped for cash .

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.