This Mauser C96 Broomhandle is chambered in 7.63×25 Mauser, carries serial 3718xx, and was made between 1915 and 1921. Every number on the pistol matches, the grip panels included. It is in excellent mechanical condition: the bolt cycles cleanly and the lockwork and trigger are tight. The pistol wears its original finish, and the original straw colour is still visible on the small parts. Across the surface there is scattered old grease and oil that has hardened with age, together with scattered frosting where the polish has dulled. The bore is semi bright with strong rifling, shows small areas of pitting, and gauges .305 inches.
The C96 was designed in 1895 by the Feederle brothers, Fidel, Friedrich and Josef, working at Mauser alongside Paul Mauser, and Mauser produced it from 1896 to 1937, building roughly a million of them. It is a short recoil pistol with an integral box magazine ahead of the trigger, loaded from the top with a ten round stripper clip, and its wooden shoulder stock doubles as the holster and carrying case, giving the pistol the stability of a short barrelled rifle; in China it was known as the box cannon for that reason, while the grip shape earned it the broomhandle nickname everywhere else. The 7.63×25 Mauser cartridge it was built around was the highest velocity commercially manufactured pistol cartridge in the world until the .357 Magnum arrived in 1935. During the First World War the Imperial German Army ordered 150,000 C96 pistols chambered in 9mm Parabellum to offset slow production of the P.08, of which roughly 137,000 were delivered; those are the pistols collectors know as the Red 9.
Specifications
Manufacturer: Waffenfabrik Mauser
Country of origin: Germany
Model: C96 (Broomhandle)
Action: Short recoil semi-automatic
Caliber: 7.63×25 Mauser
Production: Between 1915 and 1921
Serial: 3718xx
Matching: All numbers matching, grip panels included
Mechanical condition: Excellent, bolt cycles cleanly and the lockwork and trigger are tight
Bore: Semi bright with strong rifling, small pitting present, gauges .305 inches
Finish: Original, with the original straw colour still visible on the small parts
Surface: Scattered hardened old grease and oil, scattered frosting
Magazine: Integral ten round, stripper clip fed
