Chinese Marked C96 Mauser Broomhandle Bolo 7.63x25mm Pistol, C&R

SOLD FOR: $1,075.01

LSB#: LSB260624RL009

Make: Mauserwerke Oberndorf a/N, Germany

Model: Model C-96 Bolo

Serial Number: 492859

Year of Manufacture: 1921 – 1923 / C&R

Caliber: 7.63x25mm

Action Type: Single Action Short Recoil Semi-Auto Pistol with Internal Magazine

Markings: The side of the barrel extension is marked with the serial number, “492859” and, “WAFFENFABRIK MAUSER OBERNDORF A/N”. Not all serialized parts are matched to the receiver. The right side of the frame is marked, “WAFFENFABRIC MAUSER OBERNDORF A.NECKAR” (Oberndorf on the Neckar). The bottom left of the frame has a Chinese character with, “1971”

Barrel Length: 3 7/8″

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a barleycorn blade integral to a rectangular base fixed to the barrel. The rear sight is a V-notch rear sliding elevator with markings from “50-1000” that is pinned to the receiver.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are two-piece ribbed wood panels. There are heavy pressure dents and scratches throughout along with several chips and a repair. The grip screw is a replacement. The ribs are heavily worn and the panels sit loose on the frame. Overall, the grips are in about Poor condition.

Type of Finish: Blued

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is gray and the rifling is heavily worn. There is very heavy erosion in the bore along with moderate pitting. In this writer’s opinion the bore rates at a 3/10.

Overall Condition: This pistol retains about 20% of its metal finish. There is heavy thinning, wear, heavy pitting marks, and spots of patina throughout. The grip screw is tooled, the pins are moderately tooled. The markings are worn and blurry. Overall, this pistol is in about Poor condition.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We did not fire this pistol. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: 4x Stripper clips, clip pouch, and leather holster.

Our Assessment: The C96 was patented in 1895 by the Feederle brothers, Fidel, Friedrich, and Josef, working inside Mauser’s Oberndorf factory; company head Paul Mauser is said to have had little enthusiasm for the design, but it carried his name into production in October 1896 and into full manufacture in 1897. It was a genuinely radical pistol: a short-recoil, locked-breech semi-automatic with its box magazine ahead of the trigger guard, loaded from 10-round stripper clips, at a time when revolvers still ruled military holsters. Mauser built more than 1,100,000 C96 pistols between 1896 and 1937, not counting the unlicensed copies made in Spain and China, and the type served on battlefields from South Africa to the trenches of the Great War.

The “Bolo” is the compact postwar commercial form of the C96, the name being short for Bolshevik. With a 99mm (3.9-inch) barrel that slipped inside the 100mm limit the Treaty of Versailles imposed on German pistols, a shortened grip, and the standard 10-shot 7.63x25mm magazine, these guns went into quantity production in the early 1920s and full mass production from 1921 through 1930, ultimately accounting for nearly a third of all C96 production. The new Soviet state bought them in large numbers, as did Poles, Lithuanians, German Freikorps men, and White Russian emigres. Serial 492859 sits at the very start of the documented postwar Bolo range of roughly 444,000 to 794,000 and predates the Mauser banner trademark that began appearing on the left side of the frame around serial 500,000, which is consistent with the circa 1921-1923 manufacture date. China was the C96’s greatest market, the pistol was known there as the “box cannon,” and genuine Mauser-made examples with Chinese-character service or ownership markings are documented. The Chinese character and “1971” on this frame fit the pattern of the long secondary service life these pistols led in China, where warlord arsenals also copied the design outright, most famously Yan Xishan’s Taiyuan Arsenal, which built the enlarged .45 ACP Shansei Type 17 from 1928 (about 8,000 to 8,500 made), while the Hanyang Arsenal turned out some 13,000 straight 7.63mm copies beginning in 1923.

This pistol remains in Poor condition, retaining approximately 20% of its original blued finish. The metal shows heavy thinning, extensive wear, substantial pitting, and scattered patina throughout. The grip screw is a replacement and shows tooling, while the pins are moderately tooled and the markings are worn and blurry. The ribbed wood grips exhibit heavy pressure dents, scratches, several chips, a repair, extensive wear to the ribs, and loose fitment on the frame, rating in Poor condition. The bore is gray with heavily worn rifling and exhibits very heavy erosion with moderate pitting, rating 3/10 in this writer’s opinion. The serialized components are not all matching. Mechanically, the action functions correctly. For collectors of Mauser automatic pistols, this is a historically interesting early postwar Bolo whose appeal lies in its authenticity, early serial placement, and evident service history rather than condition. The compact barrel, pre-banner frame configuration, original Mauser markings, and later Chinese service or ownership marking give it strong period character, while the included leather holster, stripper clips, and clip pouch add to the presentation. Please see our photos for a better understanding of the condition and good luck with your bids!