Mauser Broomhandle..value & age?

[Masterbuck54]

Ok I picked up some things not related to S&W this week.

Not sure why I did...maybe it was the right thing to do

So on this Mauser how does one get an approximate age and value on one of these?

Is there a serial base that would tell?

Came with three boxes of ammo.

I plan on shooting it once I get to my sons place hopefully sooner than later.

As I find time I'll post of some of the other weapons that were purchased.

Thanks in advance for any and all info.

Masterbuck54

 

[Rudi]

These are a collecting field unto themselves. Do some research and ask around. That looks to be in nice shape.

 

[tndrfttom]

It looks like a "Prewar Commercial". I know of no serial number list that will tell you when it was made. Also, be careful not to shoot Tokarev ammo in it. Tokarev cartridges are considered pretty hot for use in old C-96 pistols.

 

[2152hq]

Oldguns.net has a pretty good look up page for the C96.
It'll narrow it down sometimes to a few yrs +/-.

Mauser Pistol C-96 (Broomhandle) Manufacture Dates


Lots of small details separate different models that otherwise look alike.
They can be confusing. Like any collectible, condition and originality is key.
Many 1000's were imported from China to the USA in the late 80's and early 90's. All sorts of Models and configurations. Most saw hard use with little care. But there were some good examples in the bunch too.
Being post 1986 imports, they were 'Import Marked' at the time.

Matching parts ser#'s is a big value determination factor much as it is with a Luger and other foreign handguns and rifles.

That ammo pictured is probably Tokarev or PPSh type ammo. It's in 8rd stripper clips. The C96 takes a 10rd stripper clip.
I would stay away from any mil/surplus ammo in the C96 also. It fits,,it goes bang,,but I've seen 2 nice C96's ruined with the stuff.

Make sure the TD latch is down & fully engaged into the frame cut.
It looks like it sitting a bit high in the pic but it might just be that,,the picture.

 

[Gene L]

Here's the best info I've seen about Brooms

1896 Mauser - quick identification

 

[moralem]

That Mauser banner on the side first appeared in 1903 according to some of the information out there.....a serial number helps as well but mostly the features help to age the gun.

 

[schutzen-jager]

FYI

ammo pictured in 8 rd. clips is not safe for use in your Mauser - i have seen several valuable broomhandles destroyed using it - S+B
+ Fiocchi still make correct ammo -

 

[Masterbuck54]

Thanks for the info...looks like I have a lot of reading to do.

Using the serial check feature on the one site dates it between 1911-1915.

I need to get some proper ammo as suggested.

What gun would the ammo that I have fit?

Masterbuck54

 

[.38SuperMan]

I had a very nice 9mm 20 years ago. It was in very clean shape and had the wooden stock/holster. I shot it a couple of time but sold it with a collection of Military arms.

In the 60’s my uncle has a Spanish made, I think it was, full auto model. I remember him firing it once. I’d love to own that now.

 

[Gene L]

I've got a shoulder stock for mine, a repro from China pre-Covid. Needed a bit of work on the connector. I had one prior to buying it, but lost it and recently found it...now I have two. I also bought a leather holster, also from Communist China, very good quality with a little saddle soap.

I would strongly advise to check the barrel for rifling. Mine had no rifling, all shot out. A lot of them came from China, where they were used a lot. I had mine relined, which cost $300, IIRC.

 

[2152hq]

Those 'repro' detachable shoulder stocks for the C96, Luger, High Power and some others are no longer acceptable as a substitute accessory to install on those pistols and make them into a shoulder stocked handgun and have them exempt from NFA regulations.

In the past,(80's or 90's perhaps?) it seems that the BATF did rule that a repro was acceptable if the stock was made to the dimensions and specs of the original stocks.
If that was so,,,,No more.

In the latest updated (2018) 'BATF C&R listing for Section III — Firearms removed from the provisions of the National Firearms
Act and classified as curios or relics....' now lists those pistols as exempt from NFA when accompanied by an Original Stock. ,,The Mauser C96 included along with the Artillery Luger, Naval Luger, Inglis H/P, and others.

The last update of the old C&R publication list (2007) had that provision also, that only Original shoulder stocks were considered when removing the weapon from NFA regs.


The ammo the OP has pictured was probably mfg'd in China or one of the old Eastern Bloc nations for use in the Tokarev pistol or one of the many SMG's that fire the round.
Check the headstamp and do a search. There are several websites that ID ammo that way. They can usually tell the Country, Factory and date of mfg.
There was a certain lot of Bulgarian (?) mfg ammo in that cal that was imported some yrs ago about the time those CZ52 pistols were imported in the same caliber.
The CZ52 is quite a heavy duty pistol and some of the Bulgarian (?) ammo was credited with destroying some of them.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Very cool. Make sure it's not a Chinese reproduction. They made a lot of those 100 years ago.

 

[DWalt]

Yours clearly has the "old safety" which puts it at pre-November 1915. SN should be below 280000. There is a long-running controversy about whether the Russian Tokarev ammo is safe to use in Mauser Broomhandles. Apparently from some arsenals and countries, it is. Others may not be.

 

[TheHobbyist]

Nice gun. What I find so compelling is that while the C96 seems ancient now, back in the 1890s+ this was absolutely cutting edge technology that only governments and the wealthy could afford.

 

[Gene L]

I've shot Russian ammo in mine w/out a problem but I don't recommend it. I got my first one from a Mr. Kang in ATL who imported them from China and had them relined. Most of the ones you see come from China, where they were very popular. He had a wall full of Chinese copies but he wouldn't sell them. I believe he felt them unsafe. Pretty easy to spot a Chinese gun as they were made in shops using files and railroad rails and a lot of them have "tells." One I remember had "Wauser" banner, the Chinese had apparently tried to copy "Mauser" but didn't have the use of letters we use.

 

[Walter Rego]

I have a 1930 Commercial C-96 and have only fired the new production PPU 7.63 Mauser ammo in it. It's good ammo. I won't risk it with any ammo of unknown origin or specifications.

 

[Kurusu]

It looks like a "Prewar Commercial". I know of no serial number list that will tell you when it was made. Also, be careful not to shoot Tokarev ammo in it. Tokarev cartridges are considered pretty hot for use in old C-96 pistols.

It appears to have a "new safety" hammer but the safety lever with the hole in the knob is from the previous safety.

Edit. If the hammer number matches the rest of the gun. It would be a "wartime commercial".

 

[Kurusu]

Yours clearly has the "old safety" which puts it at pre-November 1915. SN should be below 280000. There is a long-running controversy about whether the Russian Tokarev ammo is safe to use in Mauser Broomhandles. Apparently from some arsenals and countries, it is. Others may not be.

Not so clearly old safety. The hammer has the N s of the new safety. But the lever does not match.

It all depends on which one is the "right" part. The hammer or the safety lever.

 

[tndrfttom]

Not so clearly old safety. The hammer has the N s of the new safety. But the lever does not match.

It all depends on which one is the "right" part. The hammer or the safety lever.

If the hammer has the intertwined NS marking I agree it falls in the later 'Wartime Commercial' style but I couldn't see the NS on the photo of the hammer. With the hole in the safety lever and the NS perhaps its a 'transitional' model - that is if something hasn't been replaced or modified.

I once had a pretty knowledgeable Broomhandle collector tell me 'there are no rules when it came to collecting early Mausers'.

 

[Kurusu]

I could see it in this picture.

Edit. And yes. C96s are a tricky subject.