Golden Hound
Member
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2008
- Messages
- 778
Hi, I am a new member here and I have joined specifically to inquire about a firearm which has been puzzling us for a while. Myself and other gun fans have been debating it for some time and are all puzzled. The gun in question appears on the cover of an album by a local indie rock band, Everthus The Deadbeats. It is being held by a small child. It almost looks like some kind of very heavily modified version of a scoped Mauser C-96 pistol with a long barrel, stock and flash-suppressor. At least, the pistol grip visible near the bottom looks as if it is "ribbed" in the manner of the "broom handle" pistol. What is the deal with that stock and barrel?
Here is the picture.
I'm fairly certain that at least the rear portion of it is derived from a Mauser C96. See this image I created for the sake of comparison - the proportions and angles of the Mauser pistol seem to fit with the gun in the image. But the rest of it is what confuses me. I've seen Mauser C96 pistols with buttstocks and extended magazines and various other modifications, but never one with such a huge barrel and what appears to be some kind of rail running along the top of it, and a wood grip beneath.
Is this some strange prototype weapon made by Mauser? Is it a one-off custom piece cobbled together from parts of other guns? Is it, as some have suggested, a toy? I contacted the member of the band who designed the album cover and he said he took the photomontage from a 1960s-era issue of Playboy magazine. This makes me doubt the "toy" theory because I don't think they produced toy guns back in the 60s which were as complicated and detailed as that piece in the picture. Others have theorized that it was a stage prop made up of random parts and not a functional weapon. Another poster suggested that it was a prototype of an AAI "flechette rifle" which never went into production (I doubt this.) What's the real story here? Any ideas?
I appreciate any and all responses. Thanks very much in advance.
Here is the picture.
I'm fairly certain that at least the rear portion of it is derived from a Mauser C96. See this image I created for the sake of comparison - the proportions and angles of the Mauser pistol seem to fit with the gun in the image. But the rest of it is what confuses me. I've seen Mauser C96 pistols with buttstocks and extended magazines and various other modifications, but never one with such a huge barrel and what appears to be some kind of rail running along the top of it, and a wood grip beneath.
Is this some strange prototype weapon made by Mauser? Is it a one-off custom piece cobbled together from parts of other guns? Is it, as some have suggested, a toy? I contacted the member of the band who designed the album cover and he said he took the photomontage from a 1960s-era issue of Playboy magazine. This makes me doubt the "toy" theory because I don't think they produced toy guns back in the 60s which were as complicated and detailed as that piece in the picture. Others have theorized that it was a stage prop made up of random parts and not a functional weapon. Another poster suggested that it was a prototype of an AAI "flechette rifle" which never went into production (I doubt this.) What's the real story here? Any ideas?
I appreciate any and all responses. Thanks very much in advance.
