Mauser 1934 - many questions

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Winchester_73

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I have the chance to acquire a Mauser 1934. I know some parts had the SN, or at least part of it. So I have the following questions:

1) Which parts have all or part of the SN?

2) Were the grips serial numbered?

3) Were any recently imported to the US? My friend said some were.

4) Where should I look for an import mark?

5) How are original mags marked?
 
The full serial number is on the left of the slide and the back of the frame. The last four are on the barrel lug, the sear, the side plate and the disconnector. The grips are not numbered. The most common magazine is the round front, with banner, but I have seen plain ones that seemed to be original. They were not usually numbered although some police issue guns had the last three of the serial number on the bottom front.

I don't recall seeing any recent imports, but there may have been some. The import mark could be anywhere on the gun.

HTH

FWIW, all those Mauser pistols, including the HSc, are highly collectible, but IMHO are poor pistols for serious purposes, being complex and prone to breakage.

Jim
 
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Thanks Jim. Now that I know what I need to know, of course the seller has yet to get back to me. They are neat little guns. The Germans made great guns, for the most part.
 
"The Germans made great guns..."

Unfortunately, IMHO, those Mauser pistols were not among them. I never understood how a company that designed and made THE definitive bolt action rifle made such poorly designed pistols. The old WWII movies always seemed to have Peter Lorre as the German spy, and he always had a Mauser. I thought it was a good thing he never had to shoot anyone as three springs would break if he did.

Even the fabulous C96 (Broomhandle) was an obsolete POS by 1910 and it was only because Mauser tied pistol sales to rifle sales that anyone bought them at all. Even the Luger is a better gun than the Broomhandle.

Jim
 
Even the fabulous C96 (Broomhandle) was an obsolete POS by 1910 and it was only because Mauser tied pistol sales to rifle sales that anyone bought them at all. Even the Luger is a better gun than the Broomhandle.
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Tell you what Mr. Keenan, you can have the French handguns and I'll take the German ones.

I'm pretty sure the broomhandle which was a "POS" by 1910, by your undertanding was one of the first select fire handguns ever made, which IMO, is a big advantage for the time. The luger should be compared to period revolvers or the 1911 as nothing else is a fair comparison.

What exactly, by your definition, makes the Mauser pistols so terrible? I'm curious...The basic design was originated in about 1910 or thereabouts so I think the age of the firearm, for WWII, should be considered. Perhaps it wasn't a great design by then, but how many handguns were at that time, when they're about 25+ yrs old?

Kind of reminds me of my uncle who criticizes the Winchester 1873 for the toggle action design compared to the 1892 when the 1873 was almost 20 yrs its senior, ahead of its time and one of the best selling, most infamous rifles of all time. The times have to be considered in these scenarios...
 
I enjoy shooting mine at the range, not regularly but occasionally. That firing pin is a pain to replace at least on mine as I had to modify one purchased since this gun was a vet bring back a looong time ago.

If you do dry fire it make sure you use a snap cap as the fp is prone to breaking!

Here is a link to my posts about it-
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=348415

Joe
 
Perhaps "POS" wasn't the best term to use for the 1896 Mauser, but it was obsolete by 1900 as far as I'm concerned. It was a product of the 1890's, when auto loaders were in their infancy, was a machinist's nightmare and was, in fact, a relatively weak design due to the fact that a small piece, known colloquially as a "bolt stop" was all that kept the bolt out of your forehead.

Browning realized early on that utilizing a small piece of metal to keep a recoiling part out of your face wasn't a good idea and subsequently remedied the problem. Mauser kept the 1896 limping on until the 1930s, with large scale sales mostly to the Chinese.

The 1910/1914/1934 design by Josef Nickl was equally as bad with more complicated machining, fragile springs and a lockwork that wouldn't function if the sideplate wasn't tight enough. Even worse, an idiosyncrasy of Nickl's design was that the slide was released when a loaded magazine was inserted, automatically chambering a round. I can't account for every Mauser 10/14/34, but I have personally witnessed at least 6 guns over the years that have had AD's because of that feature.

Certainly can't fault the workmanship, though.
 
Kind of reminds me of my uncle who criticizes the Winchester 1873 for the toggle action design compared to the 1892 when the 1873 was almost 20 yrs its senior, ahead of its time and one of the best selling, most infamous rifles of all time. The times have to be considered in these scenarios...
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FWIW, if I'm not mistaken, the toggle design of the 1873 was originated (or inspired, if you prefer) by Walter Hunt's design, ca. 1848, and was carried over to the pre Civil War Volcanic and Henry firearms. Winchester kept the toggle design limping on until 1919 simply because it was profitable, not because it was a particularly great design.
 
Winchester kept the toggle design limping on until 1919 simply because it was profitable, not because it was a particularly great design.
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But because it sold so well, and made such a reputation for itself, it was a great design, which is my point. Its not the best, but its certainly a great one. Not every gun maker even has 1 model which is as successful to the company. The toggle design of course had its limitations, but on the other hand, the gun was designed for black powder pistol rounds. But, the model 1876 may have caused a lot of the toggle design criticisms since the more powerful rounds could have possibly helped that gun to fail internally.

But I digress, I hope to get this mauser this week or next. I will post pics when I do.
 
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