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Mauser C96
The Mauser C96 (commonly called the "Broomhandle" or "Broomhandle Mauser" due to its distinctive grip), was a German semi-automatic pistol, developed in 1893-1895, and manufactured from 1896 to circa 1937. The C96 Mauser was one of the first semi-automatic pistols to see widespread use and was copied in Spain and China. In China, C96 and variants have the nickname "box cannon," with various explanations for this being either the weapon's weight (2 pounds heavier than the 9mm or 7.63mm variants), its boxy appearance, and / or its ability to be stowed inside its own stock.
One particular point of interest with the C96 is that the weapon is entirely held together through the fit of the parts: there are no pins and only one screw in the entire gun, the one that holds the grip panels on. One unfortunate aspect of this construction is that the barrel and the rest of the upper are a single forging: many vintage 7.63x25mm Mausers have "shot out" barrels that cannot easily be replaced, and so have been re-bored for 9mm rounds. It should also be noted that with the stock attached, it is more or less necessary to use an irregular hold (thumb of the strong hand not wrapped around the grip) to avoid the hammer slamming into the user's thumb.
Like many early smokeless powder firearms produced before the first World War, in something of a display of wishful thinking most C96 models feature a tangent rear sight that is adjustable for ranges up to 1000 meters. Some of the later models had a sight adjustable to a less extreme but still unrealistic 500 meters. C96 pistols with fixed rear sights are very rare.
The Mauser C96 and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Mauser C96
Throughout the four decades of C96's production, dozens or hundreds of variants were made. Mauser's production of the C96 can be divided into the "Early Production Period" (1896 - 1905), when Mauser have not yet established a single production model for the C96 and made regular improvements on the C96's design, resulting in many different variants, and the "Stable Production Period" (1905 - 1937), when the C96's design was finalized, with further variants deriving from that. The vast majority of the C96s are made in the Stable Production period.
Mauser did not assign specific model names for most C96 variants, and most C96 variant names are instead nicknames developed by collectors.
Notable models from the Early Production period:
- "Cone Hammer": These are the earliest production versions of the C96. They feature a distinctive snail-like cone hammer. The Cone Hammers had what's called the "Early style" safety, a holeless short-travel safety (with a difference between the two positions of only 0.18in) where down is the safe position.
- "Large Ring Hammer": Another early production period with a distinctive large ring hammer. It also had the "Early style" safety.
- "Flatside": Also known as "Slabside" or "C99 Regia Marina", it was a variant of the Large Ring Hammer model with a completely flat frame side that lacks any milling. The first batch of the Flatside was a contract sale of 5000 guns to the Royal Navy of Italy in 1899; it was the first semiautomatic pistol to be ever issued to an Italian armed force (even before the Glisenti 1910). It is chambered in 7.63x25mm.
During the Early Production Period, Mauser also experimented with 20-round fixed magazines; because of the inconvenience of reloading, this variant did not become popular. Mauser also experimented with compact models with short barrels, 6-round magazines, and short grips (called "Pre-War Bolo" or "Officer's Model"); their design was later recycled for the "Post-War Bolo" production model after World War I.
Notable models produced by Mauser during the Stable Production period include:
- "Pre-War Commercial": This is the first stable Mauser C96 design, and the design on which all later C96 models are derived from. It features a full-sized long grip, a fixed ten-round magazine, a 5.5-inch [140mm] barrel, adjustable tangent iron sights calibrated to 1000 meters, 7.63x25mm Mauser (aka .30 Mauser) chambering, the "Small Ring Hammer", and the "Late style, first type" safety. The safety lever was designed for the 1902 American trials, with longer travel and up as the safe position; it can be recognised by having a hole through the knob at the end of the lever.
- "Persian Contract": A variant of the "Pre-War Commercial" model, it was largely identical to the "Pre-War Commercial" aside from some Persian markings.
- "M1912 Export Model": A rare variant designed for the South American market, chambered in 9x25mm Mauser Export.
- "Wartime Commercial": A slightly modified version of the "Pre-War Commercial" that superseded it in production at around 1912; it is identical to "Pre-War Commercial" aside from its "New Safety" (a.k.a. "Late style, second type" safety), which lacks a hole.
- "Red 9" (a.k.a. "1916 Prussian Contract"): A 9x19mm version of the "Wartime Commercial" (with some other adjustments) produced during World War I. It has its own section on this page.
- "Post-War Bolo": This was the first major production variant of the C96 after World War I. It is a short-barreled derivative of the "Wartime Commercial" model with a distinctive short "Bolo" grip. These C96s were produced with the short barrel because the Treaty of Versailles prohibited German pistols from having 100mm or longer barrels and 9mm or larger calibers. Bolos were experimented with during the Early Production Period, but the "Post-War Bolo" sees the Bolos becoming the main production variant of the C96. It has its own section on this page.
- Model 1930 (a.k.a. "M30"): This is a simplified model of the Prewar Commercial that had a 5.2-inch [132mm] (1930) or 5.5-inch [140mm] (later) long barrel, a solid one-piece grip frame and large wooden grips, and a lack of decorative milling on the frame and hammer. The M30 had another new safety, the "Universal Safety", which featured a hole again. They are primarily identified by the "step" in their barrel contour. It superseded the Post-War Bolo as the new standard production variant of the C96.
- A very small number of the M1930 Model C96s were made with M712-styled detachable magazines (though they are not select-fire); these are nicknamed the "M711" by military surplus dealers to distinguish it from M712. It should also be noted that semi-auto-only M712-like C96s could also be genuine M712 Schnellfeuers with their select-fire components removed for import into the American market in the 1980s.
- "Schnellfeuer": A machine pistol version of the M1930. It has its own section on this page.
Specifications
(1896-1937)
Type: Pistol, Pistol-Carbine
Caliber: 7.63x25mm Mauser, 9x19mm, 9x25mm Mauser Export (1912)
Capacity: 10-round fixed box magazine was standard. 6-round fixed box magazine (1896-1899) or 20-round fixed box magazine (1896) were used on experimental models
Fire Modes: Semi-Automatic (most variants)
Film
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time Crisis | unusable | 1995 | ||
| Fallout | "9mm Mauser" | 1997 | ||
| Time Crisis II | unusable | 1997 | ||
| Fallout 2 | 1998 | |||
| Medal of Honor: Underground | Seen in Mission Art | 2000 | ||
| Battlefield: 1918 | 2004 | |||
| Vietcong 2 | "Mauser C96 mod.1912" | 2005 | ||
| Hitman: Blood Money | "WW1 Pistol" | 2006 | ||
| Time Crisis IV | unusable | 2006 | ||
| Medal of Honor: Airborne | Found during "Operation Varsity" level | 2007 | ||
| Cross Fire | "Mauser M1896" | firing three-round bursts | 2007 | |
| Mafia II | 2010 | |||
| Red Dead Redemption | "Mauser Pistol" | Fires in full-auto | 2010 | |
| Time Crisis 5 | unusable | 2014 | ||
| World of Guns: Gun Disassembly | Mauser C96 | Stock | Golden | 2014 |
| Heroes & Generals | "Mauser C96" | 2016 | ||
| Battlefield 1 | "C96" | 2016 | ||
| Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades | "C96 Mauser" | 2016 | ||
| Screaming Steel: 1914-1918 | "C-96 Mauser" | 2018 | ||
| Post Scriptum | Introduced in Plan Jaune update | 2018 | ||
| Hunt: Showdown | "Dolch 96" | Can be fitted with a shoulder stock | 2018 | |
| Red Dead Redemption II | "Mauser Pistol" | 2018 | ||
| Tannenberg | "Mauser C96 Broomhandle" | 2019 | ||
| Enlisted | 2021 |
Television
| Show Title | Actor | Character | Note / Episode | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | various characters | 1964-1968 | ||
| The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | John Van Dreelen | Harold Bufferton | "The Giuoco Piano Affair" (S01E07) | 1964-1968 |
| The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Robert Vaughn | Napoleon Solo | 1964-1968 | |
| Czterej pancerni i pies | Janusz Gajos | Cpl. Janek Kos | 1966-1970 | |
| German officers | ||||
| Operation Trust (Operatsiya "Trest") | Armen Dzhigarkhanyan | Artur Artuzov | C96 M1930 | 1967 |
| Lyudmila Kasatkina | Maria Zakharchenko | |||
| Donatas Banionis | Eduard Staunitz | |||
| Viktor Shulgin | Col. Zhukovskiy | |||
| OGPU agents | ||||
| Heart of Bonivur (Serdtse Bonivura) | Yevgeni Burenkov | Toporkov | 1969 | |
| The Adjutant of His Excellency (Adyutant ego prevoskhoditelstva) | Anatoli Papanov | Ataman Angel | C96 | 1969 |
| German Yushko | Timka | |||
| Valentin Smirnitskiy | Capt. Rostovtsev | |||
| Evgeniy Shutov | Semyon Krasilnikov | C96 M1930 | ||
| A brigand | ||||
| Shadows Disappear at Noon (Teni ischezayut v polden) | Sergey Polezhaev | Filipp Menshikov | 1972 | |
| Boris Novikov | Taras | |||
| Anatoli Sobolev | A brigand | |||
| Aleksey Bakhar | A brigand | |||
| Valeri Gatayev | Frol Kurganov | In holster | ||
| Konstantin Berdikov | Red Commissar | |||
| Mission Impossible | Barry Atwater | Matthew Royce | "The Western" (S07E21) | 1972-1973 |
| Here Lies the Border (Zdes prokhodit granitsa) | Yakub Akhmedov | Talibkhan | Ep.1 | 1975 |
| Razak Khamrayev | Dzhafarbek | C96 M1930, Ep.1 | ||
| Basmachi, smugglers | C96 and C96 M1930, Ep.1 | |||
| Born by Revolution: On the Night of the 20th (Rozhdyonnaya revolyutsiey: V noch na 20-e) | A Soviet officer | Seen in documentary footage | 1976 | |
| The Strogovs (Strogovy) | Aleksey Plavinskiy | Artyom Strogov | Mauser C96 | 1976 |
| Adolf Ilyin | Evdokim Yutkin | |||
| Valeri Smolyakov | A Red partisan | |||
| Eternal Call (Vechnyy zov) | Vladlen Biryukov | Yakov Aleinikov | C96 and C96 M1930 | 1976 |
| Nikolay Ivanov | Ivan Saveliev | C96 and C96 M1930 | ||
| Nikolay Mikheev | Demyan Inyutin | C96 | ||
| The Road to Calvary (Khozhdenie po mukam) | Mikhail Golubovich | Ivan Sorokin | Ep.6 | 1977 |
| Aleksey Krychenkov | Nestor Makhno | M1930; Ep.7 | ||
| Aleksandr Pavlov | Gymza | Ep.6 | ||
| Nikolay Penkov | Lyova Zadov | Ep.11 | ||
| Konstantin Grigorev | Chugai | Ep.10 | ||
| Vitaliy Bezrukov | Latugin | M1930; Ep.12 | ||
| Data Tutashkhia | Otar Megvinetukhutsesi | Data Tutashkhia | 1977 | |
| Guram Pirtskhalava | Razha Sarchimelia | |||
| Zurab Kapianidze | Bekar Jeiranishvili | |||
| Leo Pilpani | Bodgo Kvaltava | |||
| Zurab Laperadze | Mose Zamtaradze | |||
| Karlo Sakandelidze | Nicandro Kilia | |||
| Ruslan Mikaberidze | Shvangiradze | |||
| The Professionals | assassin | "Everest was also Conquered" | 1977-1983 | |
| It Was in Kokand (Eto bylo v Kokande) | Murad Radzhabov | Irgash | 1977 | |
| Khamza Umarov | Dzhabbar Makhmud | |||
| Turgun Azizov | Dalabai | |||
| Vyacheslav Shalevich | Denis Makarovich Avvakumov | M1930 | ||
| Basmachi | ||||
| Fury (Yarost) | Vasiliy Bochkaryov | Viktor Gulyaev | 1979 | |
| Igor Okhlupin | Stepan Spiridonovich Klych | |||
| Aleksandr Martynov | Seleznyov | |||
| Nodar Shashigoglu | Dolinskiy | |||
| Vladlen Paulus | Porfiriy | |||
| Grigori Abrikosov | Ataman Kikot | In holster | ||
| Yuri Smirnov | Kostyura | |||
| The State Border: Film 2 | Russian Border guards | 1980 | ||
| Syndicate-2 (Sindikat-2) | Nikolay Olyalin | Pavlovskiy | 1981 | |
| The Meeting at High Snows (Vstrecha u vysokikh snegov) | Les Serdyuk | Konstantin Zubov | 1981 | |
| Avgust Baltrusaitis | Timokha "The Earring" | |||
| Valeri Olshansky | Aleksandr Feofanov | |||
| Bakhadyr Yuldashev | Mukhtarov | |||
| Dzhanik Fayziev | Khudayberdy | |||
| Peace to Your House (Mir vashemu domu) | Mukhamadali Makhmadov | Mirzo | 1982 | |
| Takhir Sabirov | Rustam-bek | |||
| Sharif Kabulov | Yusuf-bek | |||
| Nikolay Kochegarov | Mikhail Kobrin | |||
| Galib Islamov | Elmurad | |||
| Red commanders and Basmachi | ||||
| The State Border: Film 3 | Chinese police | 1982 | ||
| 20th of December (20-e dekabrya) | Yuri Kamornyj | Anatoliy Zheleznyak | "Flatside" | 1982 |
| Vladimir Dyukov-Samarskiy | Pavel Dybenko | In holster | ||
| Chekists, counter-revolutionaries | ||||
| Reilly: Ace of Spies | David Suchet | Inspector Tsientsin | . | 1983 |
| Eternal Call (Vechnyy zov) - Season 2 | A Soviet officer | Seen in documentary footage | 1983 | |
| Fiery Roads (Ognennye dorogi) | Ulmas Alikhodzhayev | Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi | Ep.17 | 1983-1985 |
| Bimbolat Vatayev | Sadiqjan-bai | Ep.13,15-17 | ||
| Tariyel Qasimov | Mahmudali | Ep.17 | ||
| Basmachi, Red Army commanders | Ep.13,15 | |||
| The State Border: Film 4 | Various characters | 1984 | ||
| Anzacs | Johnathon Sweet | Bill Sweet | . | 1985 |
| Hunter | John Beck | Neil Jordan | "The Castro Connection" (3.04) | 1986 |
| The Professionals | Customized with long barrel, skeleton stock, and telescopic sight | 1977-1983 | ||
| Special Operations Squad (Otryad spetsyalnogo naznacheniya) | Yuri Grebenshchikov | Col. Dmitriy Medvedev | 1987 | |
| Wounded Stones (Ranenyye kamni) | Bimbolat Vatayev | Osman | 1988 | |
| Barasbi Mulayev | Soltanbek | |||
| The Life of Klim Samgin (Zhizn Klima Samgina) | Vadim Yakovlev | Yakov | Ep.10 | 1988 |
| Incident at the Airport (Sluchay v aeroportu) | Makham Khadzhikulov | Ravshan | 1989 | |
| Columbo | is seen in a showcase | with holster/stock combo/ "Columbo Cries Wolf" (S09E02) | 1990 | |
| Bergerac | A hitman | "Diplomatic Incident" (S08E10) | 1990 | |
| The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | Daniel Craig | Captain Schiller | "Daredevils of the Desert"(S2E21) | 1992-1993 |
| Rough Riders | Spanish and German officers | 1997 | ||
| Brad Johnson | Henry Nash | |||
| Dark Angel (TV Series) | bounty hunter | "Shorty's In Love"(S1E15) | 2000-2002 | |
| Band of Brothers | Used by French soldier to execute German soldiers | 2001 | ||
| Hitler: The Rise of Evil | Freikorp soldier | 2003 | ||
| King Solomon's Mines | Nick Boraine | Ivan Fleekov | C96 M1930 | 2004 |
| CSI: NY | German SS Officer | "Yahrezit" (S05E22) | 2004-Present | |
| Verdun: Descent into Hell | German lieutenant Werner Müller | 2006 | ||
| His Majesty's Secret Service (Sekretnaya sluzhba Ego Velichestva) | Valeriy Kukhareshin | Gustav Schlegel | 2006 | |
| Andrey Rodimov | "Pyatnitsa" | |||
| The Unit | Used by an attempted assassin | "Gone Missing" (S3E10) | 2006-2009 | |
| Guns | Gun show customer | 2008 | ||
| CSI Andel (Kriminálka Andel) - Season 1 | "Baba na zabití" (S1E09) | 2008 | ||
| Deadliest Warrior | Nazi Waffen SS Leader | 2009-??? | ||
| "Narkomovskiy" Train (Narkomovskiy oboz) | Red Commissair | 2011 | ||
| Rasputin | Andrey Astrakhantsev | Yakov Yurovsky | C96 M1930 | 2011 |
| Birdsong | German soldier | 2012 | ||
| Elementary | Masked Home Invader | "One Way to Get Off" (Episode 1.07) | 2012-???? | |
| The White Guard (Belaya gvardiya) | Mikhail Porechenkov | Viktor Myshlaevskiy | 2012 | |
| The White Guard (Belaya gvardiya) | Sergey Garmash | Col. Kozyr-Leshko | 2012 | |
| Red Mountains (Krasnye gory) | Hanged on the wall | 2013 | ||
| Peaky Blinders | Billy Kimber's bodyguards | with the stocks attached | 2013 | |
| Spies (Razvedchitsy) | Svetlana Ivanova | Arina Prozorovskaya | Denix non-firing replica | 2013 |
| Svetlana Ustinova | Zoya Velichko | |||
| Penny Dreadful | Timothy Dalton | Malcolm Murray | The C96 is described as a 'prototype', yet the first prototype of the C96 was not built until 1895, and was certainly not sold to the public. However, a genuine early 'conehammer' pistol is used for the prop, and is accurately depicted in use. | 2014-??? |
| The Tunnel | Clémence Poésy | Capt. Wassermann | 2013-Present | |
| The Tunnel | Stephen Dillane | DCI Reebuck | 2013-Present | |
| Bitch War (Suchya voyna) | A MUR detective | May be Denix replica | 2014 | |
| And Quiet Flows the Don (Tikhiy Don) | Evgeniy Tkachuk | Grigoriy Melekhov | In Stechkin APS holster | 2015 |
| The Son - Season 1 | J. Quinton Johnson | Neptune | 2017 | |
| Trotsky | A revolutionary; a Red sailor | 2017 | ||
| Babylon Berlin - Season 1 | 2017 | |||
| Babylon Berlin - Season 2 | Henchmen | with stock and suppresser | 2017 | |
| The Orville | Modified. Season 1 Episode 4 "If the Stars Should Appear" | 2019 | ||
| Alyosha | The Soviet partisans commander | In holster | 2020 | |
| Eldorado KaDeWe | A robber | Ep. 01 | 2021 | |
| Paris Police 1900 | A member of the Ligue Antisemitique | Supposedly Cone Hammer model | 2021 |
Anime
| Film Title | Character | Notation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Porco Rosso | A Pirate | 1992 | |
| Gunsmith Cats | it is seen the shop and at Rally's house | 1995 - 1996 | |
| Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade | Fuse | 1998 | |
| Kerberos member | with stock attachment | ||
| FLCL | Giant robot | Massively scaled-up | 2000 - 2001 |
| Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa | Dietlinde Eckhart | 2005 | |
| Rudolph Heß | |||
| Police officer Hughes | |||
| Thule Society members | |||
| Hellsing Ultimate | "The Captain" | C96 pistols with Carbine-length barrels | 2006 - 2012 |
| Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage | Rotton the Wizard | 2006 | |
| Baccano! | Daily Days Reporter | Stocked | 2007 |
| First Squad: The Moment of Truth | Leo | with stock attachment | 2009 |
| Eden of the East | . | Seen with stock in Takizawa's closet | 2009 |
| Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood | Captain Buccaneer | 2009 - 2010 | |
| C³ | Peavey | 2011 | |
| Suisei no Gargantia | sailor, Amy | 2013 | |
| Fate/Apocrypha | Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia | Ep. "Hundreds of Flames and Hundreds of Flowers" | 2017 |
| Princess Principal | Kingdom Agents and Todo Jubei's men | Ep. 01 and 05 | 2017 |
| Sirius the Jaeger | Dorothea | Ep. 05 | 2018 |
| Golden Kamuy - Season 1 | Ep. "Race" | 2018 | |
| Golden Kamuy - Season 2 | Toni Anji | Ep. "Blue Eyes" | 2018 |
| Saga of Tanya the Evil: The Movie | Tanya von Degurechaff | M1930 | 2019 |
| Golden Kamuy - Season 3 | Svetlana | Ep. "To Live"; with 20.round magazine | 2020 |
Animation
| Title | Voice Actor | Characters | Notation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantis, The Lost Empire | Helga Sinclair | 2001 | ||
| What If...? - Season 1 | Ross Marquand | Johann "The Red Skull" Schmidt | "What If... Captain Carter Were The First Avenger?" (S1E01) | 2021 |
Mauser C96 Carbine
Mauser produced produced about 1100 full-stocked C96 Carbines during the early production period. However, it is estimated that most C96 Carbines existing today are reproductions or replicas.
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battlefield 1 | "C96 Carbine" | Flatside, with aperture rear sight | 2016 | |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 | "Escargot" | C96 Carbine; improperly depicted with full-auto fire and drum magazine | 2018 |
Anime
| Film Title | Character | Notation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. 2nd GIG | Dejima refugee | C96 Carbine | 2004-2005 |
Mauser C96 "Red 9"
The M1916 "Red 9" was a 9x19mm model produced to fill a contract for the Prussian army during the First World War. As it was externally identical to the concurrently produced 7.63mm version, its caliber was burned on each side of the grip and prominently marked in red or black paint. Some collectors refer to the 'Red 9' version as the 1916 Prussian Contract.
Specifications
Type: Pistol
Caliber: 9x19mm
Capacity: 10-round fixed box magazine
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Siege of Sidney Street | Kieron Moore | Tosca | 1960 | |
| Officers (Ofitsery) | . | Basmachi (Middle Asian Muslim rebel) | 1971 | |
| Black Caesar | Fred Williamson | Tommy Gibbs | 1973 | |
| Friday Foster | Carl Weathers | Yarbo | 1975 | |
| The Razor's Edge | German officers | 1984 | ||
| There Be Dragons | Wes Bentley | Manolo Torres | 2011 | |
| The Water Diviner | Greek and Turkish soldiers | 2014 | ||
| Operation Chromite | Lee Beom-soo | Commander Lim Gye-Jin | Black grips | 2016 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Strogovs (Strogovy) | Leonid Nevedomsky | Markel Golovanov | 1976 | |
| Mikhail Mitin | Tikhon Chyorny |
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fallout Tactics | "HSI Mauser" | 2001 | ||
| Resident Evil 4 | Red 9 | . | with an optional stock and fitted with an underbarrel laser pointer | 2005 |
| Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D | 2011 |
Anime
| Film Title | Character | Notation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Dream Hunter Rem: Massacre in the Phantasmic Labyrinth | is seen in the Geppetto base | 1992 |
Mauser C96 "1920 Rework"
The M1920 "Rework" model is a series of post-war C96s made in the Weimar Republic. They were all prewar or wartime Mauser C96s modified to meet the restrictions set in the Treaty of Versailles, which prohibited pistols from having barrels longer than 100 millimeters and 9mm calibers. They had cut-down 3.9-inch [99mm] barrels and reworked and simplified fixed sights. Pistols chambered in non-standard chamberings like 9x19mm Parabellum were converted to chamber standard 7.63x25mm Mauser rounds. Converted models were stamped "1920" to show they were compliant; this practice continued on government-issue weapons even after the ban was no longer in effect.
As all the "Rework" guns are made from preexisting Mauser C96s, they may display a wide variety of features. The key identifying features are their shortened barrels, fixed rear sight, and soldered on front sight without a barrel band on the muzzle (like on the "Bolo" guns).
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knight Without Armour | A Bolshevik | 1937 | ||
| Massacre in Rome | Executioner | 1973 | ||
| 20th of December (20-e dekabrya) | Viktor Terekhov | A Chekist | 1982 |
Mauser C96 "Bolo"
The M1921 "Bolo" model had small grips, a 10-round magazine, and a short 3.9-inch [99mm] barrel. It was first produced as a variant model for domestic sales from 1920 to 1921, going into full production from 1921 to 1930. The name "Bolo" is short for Bolshevik. Reportedly the Russian Communists or Bolsheviks favored the Broomhandle and in particular the Model 1921. The model was also popular with Poles, Lithuanians, German Freikorps, and White Russians. Among collectors the Bolo model is one of the most popular.
Of note is that "Bolo" is sometimes used to describe compact Mauser C96 pistols made in the early production period. For the purposes of IMFDB, unless otherwise stated, "Bolo" C96s are the "Post-War Bolo" model.
Specifications
Type: Pistol
Caliber: 7.63x25mm Mauser, 9x25mm Mauser Export (rare)
Capacity: 6 (early), 10 (normal production) or 20 (very early) round fixed box magazine
Film
Television
Mauser M712 Schnellfeuer
The "Schnellfeuer" ("fast fire") was introduced in the early 1930s in response to the Spanish select-fire C96 copies made in the late 1920s by companies like Astra or Beistegui Hermanos. It used ten- or twenty-round detachable magazines and a select-fire mechanism designed by Joseph Nickl (1930-1932), later improved by Karl Westinger (1932-1936), the latter the most commonly seen. With a rate of fire of 900-1,000 rpm, the ten-round magazine lasts around two-thirds of a second: recoil and muzzle climb is ferocious. Despite this, the model was highly successful: production began in 1932 and ended in 1936 after a run of around 98,000 guns.
The Schnellfeuer is popularly known as the "M712", its Wehrmacht designation during World War 2, and some collectors also refer to it as the "M1932." Semi-auto only variants were imported into the US following the introduction of the National Firearms Act, since the $200 "machine gun" transfer tax was originally significantly higher than the cost of the Schnellfeuer itself.
An interesting variant of the M712 is the PASAM (Pistolas Automaticas e Semi-Automaticas Mauser, "Mauser Automatic and Semi-Automatic Pistols"), a series of 7.63x25mm Mauser M712s purchased in the 30s by Brazilian police forces. The name is usually used to refer to two distinctive modifications from the 70s, attempting to make the 900rpm machine pistol a little more controllable. 295 PASAMs are just regular M712s, but 101 "Modification One" guns were modified with an extension welded to the magazine housing which mounted a metal foregrip, and 89 "Modification Two" guns received a more comprehensive upgrade with a foregrip with wooden grip panels and a lengthened rear grip with a 12.6 in (32 cm) fixed tubular stock permanently attached to it. Oddly, Brazil only ever purchased 10-round magazines for these weapons.
Specifications
Type: Machine Pistol
Caliber: 7.63x25mm Mauser
Capacity: 10 or 20-round detachable box magazine
Film
Television
| Show Title | Actor | Character | Note / Episode | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mob City | Richard Brake | Terry Mandel | 2013 | |
| Tyrant | seen in Jamal's arsenal/ Episode 5 | 2014 | ||
| Hetaeras of Major Sokolov (Getery mayora Sokolova) | A Finnish serviceman | May be a replica | 2014 |
Anime
| Title | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kochikame | A Gangster | 1996 - 2005 | |
| Geobreeders | Maki Umezaki | 1998 | |
| Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage | Lotton the Wizard | Ep. "Greenback Jane" and "Mr. Benny's Good Fortune" | 2006 |
| Shigofumi: Letters from the Departed | "Beginning" (E08) | 2008 | |
| The Skull Man | The Skull Man | 10 round magazine | 2009 |
| The Magnificent Kotobuki | Johnny | 2019 |
Animation
| Title | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archer - Season 1 | Manfred | 2009 | |
| Archer - Season 2 | Malory | Flashback | 2011 |
| Archer - Season 2 | Le Chuffre | 2011 | |
| Archer - Season 4 | Krieger | Fires blanks | 2013 |
| Archer - Season 5 | Charles and Rudy | Fires blanks | 2014 |
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BloodRayne | Mauz 9mm | 20-round magazine | 2002 | |
| Time Crisis 3 | unusable, 20-round magazine | 2003 | ||
| Day of Defeat: Source | 2005 | |||
| You Are Empty | 2006 | |||
| Darkest Hour: Europe '44-'45 | With Broomhandle stock | 2006 | ||
| Medal of Honor: Airborne | Third & final weapon upgrade (after improved rate of fire and 20-round magazine) | 2007 | ||
| 7.62 High Calibre | Mauser M712 and M712 Carbine | Carbine version has a longer barrel and fixed stock | 10, 20 and 30-round magazines | 2008 |
| The Saboteur | "Raum Pistol" | 10 and 20-round magazines | 2009 | |
| Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker | "C96" | 2010 | ||
| Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad | "Mauser C96" | Fully uprgraded C96 pistol | 2011 | |
| Deadfall Adventures | C-96 | 20 round detachable magazine | 2013 | |
| Survarium | 2013 | |||
| Far Cry 4 | "M-712" | 10 round magazine | 2014 | |
| Counter-Strike Online | "Mauser C96" | 10 round magazine | 2014 | |
| Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades | "Mauser M712" | 2016 | ||
| "Mauser Assault Carbine" | PASAM conversion with Vz. 61 stock and Thompson style foregrip | |||
| Sniper Elite 4 | Mauser M712 | "Lock and Load Weapons Pack" DLC | 2017 | |
| Call of Duty: WWII | "Machine Pistol" | 2017 | ||
| Call of Duty: Vanguard | "Machine Pistol" | 2021 |
M1917 Trench Carbine
The M1917 "Trench Carbine" was a rare 9.5-inch barrel fixed-stock carbine variant of the 9x19mm M1916 modified to use a massive 40-round detachable box magazine (10 and 20-round magazines were also developed; the 10-shot being incompatible with later M1917s, because of different receivers), intended to compete with the Trommelmagazin-equipped Luger as a trench raiding weapon. It was rejected on cost grounds with prototype serial numbers not exceeding double digits, and most of the prototypes were destroyed due to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, with just four examples surviving to the present day.
The "Trench Carbine" itself is clearly nothing more than a modern contrived nickname; the original examples have no special markings other than the manufacturer and the year of produce (1917).
Specifications
Type: Pistol-Carbine
Caliber: 9x19mm
Capacity: 10, 20, 40-round detachable box magazine
Fire Modes: Semi-Automatic
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battlefield 1 | 2016 | |||
| Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades | Incorrectly chambered in 7.63x25mm Mauser and has long barrel | 2016 |
Astra 900
The Astra 900 was a Spanish copy of the C96 produced by Unceta & Cia. The Astra 900 can be distinguished from the Mauser pistols by the appearances of their frames; the right side of an Astra 900 is flat and blank save for a series of pins that are found on none of the Mauser models, while the left side of an Astra 900 features a noticable side plate with Astra markings, which is removable during disassembly.
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mandate | Mikhail Vasilyev | Dubok | 1964 | |
| The Chief of Chukotka (Nachalnik Chukotki) | Mikhail Kononov | Alexei | 1966 | |
| Aleksei Gribov | Khramov |
Television
| Show Title | Actor | Character | Note / Episode | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Strogovs (Strogovy) | Aleksey Plavinskiy | Artyom Strogov | 1976 | |
| Aleksandr Susnin | Sanya | |||
| Makar the Pathfinder (Makar-sledopyt) | Oleg Borisov | Staff Capt. Chyorniy | 1984 | |
| Valeri Mironov | White Army Poruchik |
Astra 901/902/903/Model F
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The Astra 901 was a select-fire variant of the Astra 900. Introduced in 1928, it was one of the first factory select-fire versions of C96; the very first C96 machine pistols were made by Beistegui Hermanos in 1927/1928. Interestingly, the Mauser factory experimented with a their own selective-fire C96 pistol (very similar to the Astra 901) back in 1926, but this not entered to serial production. The Astra 901 did not last long in production, due having a very low capacity (10-round fixed magazine) for a full-auto pistol. The Astra 902 was an updated model of the Astra 901, featuring a 20-round fixed magazine and 180mm-long barrel.
The Astra 903 was an update to the Astra 902, featuring detachable box magazines instead of fixed magazines. It is effectively Unceta's equivalent of the M1932 Schnellfeuer, though unlike Beistegui's later versions the 903 was not compatible with Schnellfeuer magazines. The Astra Model F was a further improved version of the Astra 903 with an adjustable fire rate control mechanism that can lower the fire rate down to 250 RPM, and is chambered in 9mm Largo.
Specifications
Type: Machine Pistol
Caliber: 7.63x25mm Mauser, 9x23mm Largo (Astra Model F)
Capacity: 10-round fixed box magazine (Astra 901), 20-round fixed box magazine (Astra 902), 10, 20-round detachable box magazine (Astra 903, Astra Model F)
Fire Modes: Semi-Auto/Full-Auto; a small number of Astra 902s were made in semi-auto only
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| That Man in Istanbul (Estanbul 65) | Taiwanese agents | Astra 902 | 1965 | |
| The Spy Who Loved Me | Richard Kiel | Jaws | Astra 902 | 1977 |
Shansi Type 17
The Type 17 was a .45 ACP version produced in Shanxi, China under the orders of ruling warlord Yan Xishan in order to maintain ammunition compatibility with the Thompson M1921 clones his Taiyuan Arsenal already produced. C96 copies of varying quality were also produced by Chinese arsenals at Hanyang, Taku, and several other locations.
Specifications
Type: Pistol
Caliber: .45 ACP
Capacity: 10-round fixed box magazine
Movies
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiger on the Beat | Norman Chu | Poison Snake Ping | 1988 | |
| Chia Hui Liu (credited as Gordon Liu) | Fai |
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater | . | . | . | 2004 |
| Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots | Type 17 | . | Incorrectly shown as select-fire, with an M712 Schnellfeuer fire selector | 2008 |
| Fallout 3 | Chinese Pistol | Fires 10mm Auto | 2008 | |
| Zhu Rong v418 Chinese Pistol | Bullets set target on fire |
Hanyang C96
The Hanyang C96 was another Chinese copy of the Mauser C96, produced by Hanyang Arsenal from 1923 to the 1930's. Around 13,000 guns were manufactured.
Specifications
Type: Pistol
Caliber: 7.63x25mm Mauser
Capacity: 10-round fixed box magazine (normal production)
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fist of Legend | Cheung-Yan Yuen | Captain Jie | 1994 | |
| Paul Chun | Uncle Noh | |||
| Shanghai cops | ||||
| John Rabe | A Chinese Officer | 2009 | ||
| Let the Bullets Fly | Wen Jiang | Pocky Zhang | 2010 | |
| Chow Yun-Fat | Master Huang | |||
| You Ge | Ma Bangde | |||
| Bing Shao | Two | |||
| Fan Liao | Three | |||
| John Do | Four | |||
| Li Jing | Five | |||
| Mo Zhang | Six | |||
| Xiao Wei | Seven | |||
| Lu Yao | Hu Qian | |||
| Yun Zhou | Flora | |||
| Soldiers | ||||
| Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen | Huang Bo | Inspector Huang Haolong | 2010 | |
| Resistance fighters |
See Also
- Mauser - A list of all firearms manufactured by Mauser.
- Astra - A list of all firearms manufactured by Astra-Unceta.