Mauser Broomhandle

[MacBean]

I picked up a Mauser Broomhandle and need help to figure out exactly what it is. I have done some research and am still a little puzzled. So here goes........
It has matching serial numbers....447636. Tangent rear sight with graduations to 1000 meters. "NS" new safety. 3.9 " barrel. " Waffenfabrik Mauser Oberndorf A Neckar" on the right side. "Waffenfabrik mauser oberndorf / N " on top of the barrel. Under the barrel looks like a 4 over a B Y. At the end of the barrel "763 Germany" and import mark " CAI ST ALB VI ". " U" with a crown over it on end of the bolt. 22 grove walnut grips with Red 9. This is a 9mm. "U" with a crown over it under the ser. # by the barrel. The only other mark I see is a circle with three lines in it above the right grip. Can anyone help me? It would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[MacBean]

Does anyone have any info on this broomhandle ?? Thanks.

 

[N003k]

Quick googled turned up this:

Postwar Bolo

This was the first major variant out of the Mauser factory after the war. Production started in the early 1920s, perhaps 1922.

Due to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, German pistols were limited to 100 mm barrels or shorter, and calibers under 9mm. Mauser satisfied these restrictions by reviving an older variant, popularly known as the Bolo. Although often called the "small-frame" Mauser, most of the frame is identical to that of the full-size guns. The grip is notably smaller, but all the internal parts are identical to those of the larger pistols. The original Bolo may have been an attempt to make the gun slightly less bulky overall, a notion supported by the fact that nearly all of the very early six-shot guns were Bolos - that is, they had the smaller Bolo grips and the short (100 mm, or 3.9 inch) Bolo barrels. See more on this subject here. However, the postwar Bolos all have 10 shot magazines.

The Postwar Bolo is identical to the Wartime Commercial, with these exceptions -
3.9" barrel with the front sight on a barrel band
No proof stamp on locking block
Small grip
22 groove walnut grip panels
Barrel serial number and proof stamps change places - serial number is now on side of chamber, proof stamp is on diagonal flat above it
Lanyard ring swivels from side to side, rather than fore & aft

The Bolo dominated postwar production throughout the 1920s. It retained the WAFFENFABRIK MAUSER markings, even though the factory name changed to MAUSER-WERKE A.G. in the early 1920s. System Mauser gives an observed serial range of 444476 to 793350 for Postwar Bolos. My own database lists Postwar Bolos from 440864 to 674447.

Around serial 500,000, a Mauser banner mark was added to the left side of the Bolo frame.

Got it from: http://askmisterscience.com/1896mauserbackup/index.html

As for the Red 9 grips it also makes note under the original ones that "During the last twenty years or so, significant numbers of guns with shot-out bores have been bored out to 9 mm and are now wearing reproduction Red 9 grips. This by itself is not a problem, but it causes confusion with genuine 1916 Contract guns."

Hope that helps!

 

[9 fingers]

I suggest you try the Mauser forum, link attached.
9 fingers
http://www.mauserguns.com/forum/index.php?board=2.0

 

[MacBean]

Thanks for the help. I will check out the links.

 

[HisSoldier]

I've always wanted one of those, sort of like an MG TC, things sticking out all over like they weren't sure how a handgun should look.

One thing that scares me about them is an apparent propensity for worn out rifling, evidently the rifling was shallow from the factory perhaps? Or maybe it was the corrosive ammo of the old days? Plus of course the barrels can't be easily swapped out.

Alas the days when I could save up for and buy such a delightful anachronism are long gone for me, one in the condition I'd want would cost over $1500.

 

[Willie Sutton]

Century Arms import, likely from China.


Willie

.

 

[wlewisiii]

Had a post-war Bolo in 7.63 a couple of years ago. Interesting firearm, neat design in many ways as the only screw in it was to hold the stocks on.

I had it refurbished, barrel relined and refinished and it still could not hit the broad side of a barn from inside the barn. Further reading indicated that it probably never would without an attached stock which I couldn't afford.

I sold it for what I had into it and put the funds into a camera lens and a S&W 625 in .45 Colt that I have enjoyed much more than the Mauser.

IF you want a beautiful and pleasant to shoot Mauser pistol, search for a HSc instead. Those are exquisite.

 

[Jim K]

The import marking is Century Arms Inc., St. Albans, Vermont. When the gun was imported, it was 7.63 caliber and was altered to 9mm later. It is not a "genuine" Red 9. The crown/U is the original German proof mark. The circle with lines may be a Chinese mark.

Most of the guns that came in from China (only a few were made there - most were made in Germany) had really bad bores, which is why they were rebored and re-rifled to 9mm. I don't know the Chinese word for "tomorrow" but apparently that is when they cleaned their guns; with corrosive primed ammo, the result is as expected.

A few had the barrels actually replaced, with the original barrel cut to a stub and the new barrel inserted and soldered in place.

Jim

 

[MacBean]

WOW !

Thanks again.