C96 Broomhandle

J

john66mustang

Inactive
I have a c96 Red 9. It has no serial no's. WAFFENFABRIK MAUSER OBERNDORF A/N on 3 lines on top of chamber. Left side has the MAUSER Trade mark above the handle. The right side has WAFFENFABRIK MAUSER OBERNDORF a NECKAR.
If anyone can tell be about this gun I would appreciate it. The barrel is 4-5/8" and has been welded to keep it from shooting. I purchased the gun for $10.00's and I am looking to replace the barrel. Need help to find a barrel.
 

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Call John at Taylor Machine 253-445-4073. The barrel on C96s is not a separate piece, it is part of the upper receiver, so you will not likely find barrels anywhere.
 
The serial number on a "Red Nine" is where it is on all those pistols, on the sloped surface on the left upper part of the receiver.

I can't be certain without some better pictures, but I am pretty sure that is not a real gun at all. It looks like one of those dummies made up for collectors in areas where real guns are illegal. That would explain both the plugged barrel and the lack of serial numbers, and also the reason that you got it so cheap. (If it is a dummy, you didn't do too badly, those good quality dummies run as much as $100.)

I STRONGLY recommend you take that gun to a gunsmith or someone knowledgable before spending any money on it or even attempting to fire it with ANY ammunition.

Edited later to add: My first suspicion was focused on the grips; too new looking, the red color too bright. But I have been comparing that gun (the parts pictured) with a genuine Red 9 and still think the above assessment is correct. But it is good, darned good. I had to look at some real details to confirm (in my mind) what I suspected, like the thumbpiece on the safety being a separate part where on the real gun it is part of the safety and the grooving is different. And too many serrations on the bolt. I admit I am waiting to see if what the OP says. If it is a dummy, the OP need not feel bad; I think that "gun" would fool just about anyone.

Jim
 
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Here is pictures of the gun.
 

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more pictures of the C96. I am a gunsmith and I do not believe this C96 is a toy. If it is I am very surprised. This gun came from a movie studio and they welded the barrel. If it was a toy why would they weld the barrel?
 

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Given the level of detail of the parts, my guess would be that it is not exactly a toy, but a replica firearm. Some replicas are almost exact copies of the real thing. If it came from a movie studio, that would not surprise me in the least.
 
Movie studio guns are rarely so detailed, and that one looks "correct" right down to the markings (the Red 9 doesn't have the Mauser "banner" on the left side, but that is a detail). The parts are not correct, either, though they probably function well enough to give the "locked breech" feel to the gun.

The ejector pin markings on the frame are a sign of investment casting; they eject the part from the mold and in doing so leave that unmistakeable circular mark.

Those guns are mostly made in Japan and sell for good prices in Japan and in other countries where real handguns are prohibited. They provide collectors with something about as close as legally possible to the real thing.

The barrels are plugged both for safety reasons in case someone did get hold of live ammunition, and because the law bans any thing that can fire a cartridge. That gun would probably blow up if fired, but if the barrel were not blocked it COULD be loaded and COULD fire, so legally it would be a gun and its owner could be sentenced to a long prison term.

Jim
 
I had one of the replica Broomhandles. They were quite popular back in the 1960s/70s when real Broomhandles were very scarce and expensive. (they still are, but the flood of chinese guns in the 80s/90s reduced the market for the replicas.

They are made to field strip like the real thing. The spring(s) are weak, the chambers were not cut full depth, the firing pins were a tad too short to fire live ammo, and the barrels were plugged with a steel rod. They were made from a zinc alloy.

In good shape, they are very difficult to tell from a real gun, at a glance. IN bad shape, its pretty obvious, as steel rusts, while zinc corrodes with a different color.

Real broomhandles have serial numbers. Replicas do not.
 
That one almost fooled me and apparently did fool some very knowledgeable folks, including john66. The only one that ever fooled me close up was a replica of a British No. 2 MkI* revolver. It was crude, but no cruder than the originals. It actually took me a minute or two to realize what I was looking at.

Jim
 
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