Tell me about... broom-handle Mauser (Long)

[honkeoki]

About 15 years ago, my dad passed me a broom-handle Mauser pistol. I thought I'd lost it through the years and intervening moves, but just last night, while packing yet again, I found the pistol buried deep in a box.

I know next to nothing about the pistol -- I've done some online research and read what was available. Now I'm coming to the wise ones here for more info and advice.

Here are the specs:

- 7.63 caliber
- Serial number: 71391 (manufactured in 1905?)
- New-type safety
- 3.5-inch barrel
- The right-hand side of the frame reads:
WAFFENFABRIK MAUSER
OBERNDORF A. NECKAR
- There's a strange mark on the slide, top and left side: looks like a crown over a double circle (()) over the letter U
- Importer mark on underside of barrel: "CAI ST ALB VT"

Now, condition:
- Original finish all over, very worn, one small spot of rust but no pitting
- There's a piece broken off the right rear of the slide - I can see the stump where the piece was
- I swabbed out the barrel and peekend down with a flashlight. Couldn't see any rifling, so perhaps the barrel is shot out?
- The grips are original but VERY heavily worn, like the pistol was carried a lot.
- Missing the lanyard ring at the bottom.
- Missing adjustable sights on the top of the slide - or maybe never had them?
- I'll post pics soon

My questions:
- Can you recommend a gunsmith to put this pistol back in working order? What should I expect to pay? Should I even try?
- Is this pistol worth anything?
- Will I be able to shoot it once it's in working order, or should I consider it a hanger?
- If the barrel's shot out, will getting a replacement bbl destroy any value?
- I'm a shooter rather than a collector. Considering that, would I be better off selling this piece and spending the money on something else?

I'm really in the dark about all this -- that's why there are so many questions. If you can direct me to any old posts or websites on the subject I'd be grateful.

My sincerest thanks for your help.

 

[mete]

A fascinating gun ,the first reliable semiauto. In that condition I don't think it has much collectors value .So you could use it as a wall hanger or get it back to good working order [new barrel]I can't help you with gunsmith or cost of repair but it would be a fun gun to shoot.

 

[4v50 Gary]

The barrel can be relined instead of replaced. The locking piece should be xrayed and also magnafluxed to see if flaws can be detected. If it fails during firing, it's an eyeful of locking bolt - which member Mike Irwin cautioned me about - OUCH.

 

[Onmilo]

Century Arms International sold a mess of these guns between 1990 and 1995.
The majority were imported from China and condition went from like new to junker condition.
Most of the guns were genuine mauser manufacture but quite a few of these guns were domestic Chinese production and the quality of these domestic guns ran from near perfect replicas of the Mauser to very poor copies of dubious metallurgy.
Have a gunsmith well skilled in C96 pistols evaluate the gun to see exactly whay you may have.

Your pistol falls into the junker-for parts only condition.

Century sold these for $80.00 to $100.00 and the might bring about $200.00 from somebody who might need some of the servicable parts.

In the condition as you describe it, I would wholly recommend you do not attempt to fire the gun.

 

[honkeoki]

Oh, no!

And here I thought I'd uncovered some kind of ancient military heirloom... Oh well.

Can anyone recommend a gunsmith who specializes/ is good at evaluating broomhandles?

Thanks!

 

[Jim K]

I won't be quite that pessimistic, but you really do need to have someone take a look at that gun who knows what he is looking at. Many modern gunsmiths, unfortunately, have no experience with, or knowledge of, those guns.

If you can post a picture of the broken area, we might be able to help.

I would also recommend a check (x-ray or mangnaflux) not only of the locking block but of the bolt also. Those bolts are cut and drilled to the point where they are very thin in the middle and they can break at that point, leaving the rear of the bolt to come back in the shooter's face. (No rumor mill on this; I have seen it happen. Fortunately, the shooter was wearing good glasses that cracked rather than shattering, but the wire rim cut his forehead.)

Repro grips can be obtained; some other parts are available. The barrel itself really can't be replaced; it is made in one piece with the receiver (top part of the gun). The 7.63mm barrel can be rebored and re-rifled to 9mm Luger, but I don't know of anyone right now doing that work.

Jim

 

[honkeoki]

The mark I couldn't make out on the frame turns out to be an Oberndorf proof mark (whatever that means).

Turns out there's a gun shop here in FL that specializes in c96 maintenance and repair. I'll give them a call tomorrow. Wish me luck...

And thanks for all the help, gentlemen.