Any Mauser C96/M1930 holster experts here?

[DWalt]

I picked up a very interesting leather holster at an estate sale today, quite a few high-priced rifles there, but none I had any interest in. But among other odds and ends, I got this holster, as pictured. Unstamped and unmarked, obviously used (but not abused - in somewhat better condition than the picture shows). Soft and fairly thin black leather. Tag on it says "Holster for 1930 Mauser pistol". Can anyone tell me exactly what I have? I'm thinking not German (they marked everything), maybe British? I looked and looked, but found nothing on the internet which was very close, either original or reproduction.

 

[OFT II]

It looks like it might be for a bolo model Mauser. Are there any other markings besides the tag?

 

[DWalt]

No markings or stampings whatsoever are on the holster, inside or outside. It obviously has some age on it, and there is no reason to suspect it is some modern reproduction. I found a picture of a British holster for a Mauser C96 at one of the antique military holster websites which was somewhat similar in general design but not the same. As the tag says it was for a Mauser M1930 (which is a slightly simplified variation of the earlier Mauser C96), that's the only clue I have.

 

[Cyrano]

That's a puzzle. i would have supected Chinese manufacure since they bought so many broomhandles, but this one doesn't look like Chinese work. It looks like it's made for the Bolo Mauser, 4 inch barrel rather than the full sized bromhandle with 5 1/2 inch barrel. If you have a Bolo or can try one in it, I suspect it's a nice fit

Not that many nations used Mausers: Gemany, Imperial Russia and China are about the only ones I know of. Doesn't look like this was made by any of them.

 

[DWalt]

I'll agree it appears to have been made for something with a shorter barrel, but my knowledge about Mauser pistols is very limited, aside from firing one of them once. I do know that there were also Spanish copies, but whether any of them were ever short barreled, I do not know. I'll probably list it on eBay if I can't identify it relatively soon.

 

[Cyrano]

I don't think either Spain or China made many short barreled Mausers. Leather holsters for the Mauser aren't common; most if not all Mausers were sold with the wooden shoulderstock/holster and there was a leather harness with shoulder strap so the shoulderstock/holster, containing the pistol, could be worn. Even Mausers sold for police use in Germany seem to have come with the wooden stock rather than a leather holster.

 

[DWalt]

I notice that even though there were many Bolos made after WWI by cutting back or replacing the original barrels, there were also a small number of 3.9" barrel Mausers made for French police use, also in the early 1920s. A French police holster? Seems improbable, but possible.

M1920 French Police Contract

The French government set up an order for 1,000 pistols with 99 millimetres (3.9 in) barrels for the Gendarmerie Nationale. The pistol had black ebonite grips rather than wooden ones.

By the way, I measured the holster. It's virtually impossible that any barrel longer than 5 inches could have been used in it.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

There is a guy that sells Broomhandle parts and accessories, called "The Broom Closet", he may have info or interest. Ivan

 

[DWalt]

I put a posting about the holster on the Yahoo C/96 forum. Unfortunately, traffic on it is very sparse, with only a few original postings a month, so I don't expect much. It seems to be a very lame forum. But maybe someone who knows will see it. The Broom Closet apparently does not have a website. Seems their business is mainly re-lining barrels of high-mileage C/96 pistols, with mixed reviews.

 

[Cyrano]

In my experience, The Broom Closet doesn't have a web site, jsut a phone #. I've had two Mausers relined by them and thought it excellent work; one in 30 and one in 9mm.

 

[DWalt]

Still no meaningful results from the Yahoo Mauser C/96 site. I also posted on the Jan Still Luger Forum (where there is also some Mauser C/96 activity), and only a few comments with nothing helpful has materialized there either. I am beginning to wonder if there are any experts on the topic of C/96 holsters?

 

[jimmyj]

I suspect BRITISH as the flap and flap strap is very similar to a Webley Mk VI Officer's holster

 

[DWalt]

I suspect BRITISH as the flap and flap strap is very similar to a Webley Mk VI Officer's holster

I thought so also, as I have seen pictures of British holsters of similar design. But without markings, I don't know if that could be substantiated. SEE: http://cmrfirearms.com/shop/product...id=48&osCsid=e55556588762a988cade5dc6a4821aee

There are many Mauser C/96 holsters listed on eBay (mainly replicas), but none of them are very similar to mine. I was hoping to find something there to identify this one, but not so far. eBay is often a good source for identifying strange items.

 

[DWalt]

Just to settle the matter, I made up a simple wood mock-up of a C/96 by scaling dimensions from a good photograph. That holster will accept the full-length 5.5" barrel. Or anything less. Still little of value regarding ID from any of the other and more closely-related forums.