Broomhandle grip hold

T

tangolima

New member
I finally get to own a c96 broomhandle. Got a question after test firing it.

How should I hold it properly? I usually would like to hold a pistol as "high" up the grip as possible to minimize bore axis height. That means the middle finger would touch the bottom of the trigger guard. I found it impossible to do with a broomhandle. The web of my hand will get in the way of the hammer. Sure enough my hand started to bleed after a few shots. The hammer pinched the skin when it was being cocked.

But if I lowered my grip to clear the hammer, I would be holding to the very end of the "broom" and there would be this big void between my middle finger and the trigger guard, and it didn't feel right to me.

Your comments and advice are much appreciated.

-TL
 
It doesn't feel right to you because you are used to the modern shooting stand. When the C96 was developed the correct shooting position included a single hand bend arm hold. You can't do that when gripping the very top of the grip.
 
I was shooting single-handed with straightened arm and locked elbow. You mean I should try unlocking the elbow? Thanks.

-TL
 
The problem I found with all those shoulder stocked pistols is that the muzzle ends up only inches from my ears and face. The Mauser, being longer and with a longer stock, is a bit better than most but even with muffs the noise and blast are more than I like.

Jim
 
I find holding the Broomhandle Mauser very easy, I pick it up, I aim, I fire. It is not like a 1911 where you have to hold in a grip safety. If you can hold it and work the safety and trigger, you are holding it correctly.
Enjoy, don't over analyze it
 
OK I try not to think about it much. I need to stop the bleeding before I can enjoy it though. Shouldn't be too hard I don't think. I just need to realize it is a handle of a broom I am holding, not quite a pistol grip. Thanks.

-TL
 
My experience shooting a Bolo in 9mm unstocked was quite unpleasant, but I suffered no hammer bite (I rarely do, on anything). for me, the most uncomfortable part was the slot for the stock digging into my hand.

I recommend a light glove.

If you are shooting a stocked one, and get hammer bite, get your hand out of where it doesn't belong! :D
 
I never experienced hammer bite with a C96, but that grip is not exactly the most comfortable. We do need to remember that that was one of the very earliest auto pistols, and ideas on what such a gun should do and be had not yet fully gelled. Its bottleneck cartridge and clip-loading magazine are derived directly from the Mauser rifle, which was the Mauser experience base of the time.

I have never quite understood why it lasted as long as it did; it made a bit of sense as a compact carbine, but most weren't sold that way. As a pistol, it is awkward and hard to shoot, sitting high so its recoil seems heavier than it is. I believe Mauser kept it in the line for lack of anything better, though they did try several times to replace it without success. Their main failing appears to be that, while they had several competent designers, they had no one of the capability of Browning or Luger.

Of course its noise and blast are impressive and Mauser certainly emphasized its power, even though the impressive velocity figures were mostly the result of using a light bullet.

Do I like the C96? Sure, as an example of early pistol design. As a practical gun, it was obsolete when a fellow named Winston Churchill carried one in South Africa.

Jim
 
Those guns are ergonomic nightmares. If people's hands were really small enough back then to properly grasp that small handle, the gun was unquestionably way to powerful in terms of recoil.

From what I've seen of how early European pistols were generally designed, I think if you are getting hammer bite you are holding it all wrong. The high-frame hold with a very firm grasp is a modern thing; the old pistols were held outstretched, with a low grip, and typically with the elbow bent and the wrist broken forward. Not a secure hold in the least, but it allows the gun to more easily 'pitch up' as it recoils. Try to hold the gun more like you would hold an old revolver, since that is undoubtedly what the earliest autos were emulating in terms of ergonomics.

TCB
 
Loaded up another 20 rounds of .30 Mauser and headed towards the range. This time I consciously held onto the grip low, so that the web of my hand was barely touching the metal. I tried different variations of my stance according to advice from different people, and I did my own adjustment as it went.

I found I had to use a firm grip, or the recoil would push my grip higher and higher. Bending the elbow didn't work for me. The pistol was doing not bad in accuracy, about 3" group at 10 yards. I was shooting one-handed bullseye style. The POI was about 5" above POA, which is reasonable as the elevation was set at 50m (55 yards).

Not bad at all. BTW it is an old piece that saw actions in China. There were a few things that I needed to work through before it was ready for test firing. I probably won't ever put it to fire full power loads, considering its age and condition. It is fun. I have been wanting to have one since I was little. Close to 50 years, it is how long it has taken.

Thank you gentlemen, for your advice and information.

-TL
 
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