Autochucker of the Month: Mauser M2

Marko Kloos · March 19, 2002, 09:52 PM

I finally succumbed to the urge again and bought another addition for the walk-in gun locker I call home. This month, it's a SIG/Mauser M2 in .45ACP.

The Mauser M2 frame is made in the Sauer factory in Germany, on the same machinery as the P-series SIG Sauer pistols. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Mauser M2 was SIG Sauer's internal runner-up design for the sigpro. I figured that since they bought the rights to the Mauser name, they decided to make use of the design and market it as a Mauser. Either way, the gun has some undeniable similarities to both the P-series SIGs and the sigpro. The sweep of the trigger guard and the slide release lever contours are very similar to those on the sigpro, and the aluminum frame looks and feels like it came of the same workbench as the P-series guns (which it did.)

The slide is vaguely reminiscent of the P229, and the sights are low-cut versions of SIG's own high contrast bar-dot sights. This variant of the M2 weighs in at 29 ounces unloaded and holds 8+1 rounds of .45ACP.

The interesting thing about the Mauser M2 is the barrel lockup...instead of the Browning-style tilt barrel it employs the relatively rare rotating-barrel concept. The few other pistols using rotating barrels lately have not been huge commercial successes...the Beretta Cougar did ok, but the Colt All-American 2000 was a turkey because nobody could get the things to work right.

The Mauser M2 is striker-fired, the trigger cocks the striker on the last leg of its rearward movement. My variant has the manual safety, although SIG also makes the same gun without an external safety. The safety lever is a flip switch mounted on the back of the frame, just underneath the rear of the slide. It looks a little odd, like an afterthought "lawyer" safety.

The gun itself is fairly compact, about the size of a Glock 30, with a very thick double-column grip. It does, however, fit my hand better than the Glock 30, since the grip has a well-curved backstrap and a comparatively thin waist for shorter trigger reach.

I paid $349 for my M2, a very slightly used LEO trade-in. This evening, I took it out to the range for a function test, and I'm happy to report that the M2 is fit for carry duty after chewing through a mixed assortment of .45ACP FMJ and JHP ammo without any issues at all. The gun is very accurate, once I got used to the trigger I was able to make one-inch ragged holes at 21 feet. The trigger itself is a little on the heavy side, but has a short travel, and it lacks the spongy feeling of the Glock trigger. Perceived recoil is low, due to the rotating barrel setup, the wide backstrap and the mass of the gun itself.

Looks like I've added another gun to my carry battery...I'd been meaning to add a compact .45 to the lineup, and this one will fit the bill quite nicely for way under four bills.

NMGlocker · March 19, 2002, 10:29 PM

If only they would make it in 9mm.......
Its a cool design, but if it was a 10+1 round 9mm, i'd buy it in a heartbeat.

FO6 · March 19, 2002, 11:07 PM

Thanks for the review! I've been very interested in these and wanting to see one in person but nobody has it in stock.

Correia · March 21, 2002, 03:45 PM

I've only seen one of these, and that was at SHOT. I thought that it felt good in the hand, and the trigger was pretty decent for a striker fired gun.

I would imagine that with the rotating bolt, and the relative heft that the recoil would be pretty mild.

I absolutley hated the manual safety though.

It feels more like the forward/reverse switch for a cordless drill. Do you find that with practice it is easily removed?

Marko Kloos · March 21, 2002, 04:55 PM

You can swipe the safety off with your thumb fairly easy, and the nice thing about the safety is that you can see its status when the gun is holstered (or up and in your line of sight). Also, you can leave the safety off all the time, which is what I do.

Kentucky Rifle · March 21, 2002, 06:01 PM

The last time I looked at an M2 in the showcase, I was almost mesmerized by the finish on the gun. It really does look like black glass. It was a few months ago, but I could swear it was in another caliber than .45ACP. I'm probably wrong however, do you know if .45 is the only caliber?

KR

Zundfolge · March 21, 2002, 06:25 PM

They also come in .40 S&W (and originaly they talked about .357sig but it only lists .40 & .45 on Sig's site)

teombe · March 21, 2002, 06:31 PM

Maaan.. Those pics look sweet.

You guys are a bad influence on me. Now, this one will go on the 'to-buy' list after the Guardian .32 and the P226. Thanks

Greyhound Dog · March 22, 2002, 07:08 AM

I e-mailed SIG about 9 month ago and asked if they would be coming out with a 9mm and never got a response. If they did I would buy one . I like some of the ill fated pistols like the M2 and the CZ100, they seem well thought out but for some reason fail to achieve mass appeal

Greyhound Dog
G26
SIG 225
P99

NMGlocker · March 22, 2002, 11:23 PM

The thing is, if Sig/Mauser made one in 9mm, it would fill a void in Sigs pistol lineup, the compact 9mm. It would flat out kill the Taurus PT111, and give a few others fits as well, who'd buy a Kahr 10 shot 9mm, when there is a Sig alternative? Sig has got to have the WORST marketing department on earth. They have a great "old world" name in Mauser, and the M2 series could be its re-birth, much like the P99 did for Walther.

Zundfolge · March 22, 2002, 11:46 PM

If Sig made a Mauser M2 in 9mm I think they would cannibalize sales of SigPro's in 9mm ... that's probably why they didn't do it.

Marko Kloos · March 22, 2002, 11:54 PM

Also, it wouldn't sell very well, since it would be a very beefy gun for a 10-shot 9mm, and not a pre-ban for it available anywhere.

The only thing that keeps selling horse pistols in 9mm like the Beretta 92F and the SIG P226 is the fact that you can still get 15-round magazines for those guns.

The M2 is a big chunk of gun, very comparable to the Glock 30 in all dimensions. Imagine a G30 holding ten rounds of 9mm.

Quote:

The thing is, if Sig/Mauser made one in 9mm, it would fill a void in Sigs pistol lineup, the compact 9mm.

They currently make the SIG P239, and the P225 and P228 are still available as well.

NMGlocker · March 23, 2002, 01:38 PM

Quote:

They currently make the SIG P239, and the P225 and P228 are still available as well.

Yea, I own the P225, and P228.
I meant to say, a 10+1 capacity compact 9mm.
The Mauser M2 I held quite a while back, was closer in size to the mid-size Glocks, if I remember correctly.
I personally don't like the Glock 26 and others in that size range, like the Kahr. I prefer a P225 size pistol, but at least 10+1 capacity.

March 19, 2002, 09:52 PM	#1
Marko Kloos Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2000 Location: Enfield, NH Posts: 5,521	Autochucker of the Month: Mauser M2 I finally succumbed to the urge again and bought another addition for the walk-in gun locker I call home. This month, it's a SIG/Mauser M2 in .45ACP. The Mauser M2 frame is made in the Sauer factory in Germany, on the same machinery as the P-series SIG Sauer pistols. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Mauser M2 was SIG Sauer's internal runner-up design for the sigpro. I figured that since they bought the rights to the Mauser name, they decided to make use of the design and market it as a Mauser. Either way, the gun has some undeniable similarities to both the P-series SIGs and the sigpro. The sweep of the trigger guard and the slide release lever contours are very similar to those on the sigpro, and the aluminum frame looks and feels like it came of the same workbench as the P-series guns (which it did.) The slide is vaguely reminiscent of the P229, and the sights are low-cut versions of SIG's own high contrast bar-dot sights. This variant of the M2 weighs in at 29 ounces unloaded and holds 8+1 rounds of .45ACP. The interesting thing about the Mauser M2 is the barrel lockup...instead of the Browning-style tilt barrel it employs the relatively rare rotating-barrel concept. The few other pistols using rotating barrels lately have not been huge commercial successes...the Beretta Cougar did ok, but the Colt All-American 2000 was a turkey because nobody could get the things to work right. The Mauser M2 is striker-fired, the trigger cocks the striker on the last leg of its rearward movement. My variant has the manual safety, although SIG also makes the same gun without an external safety. The safety lever is a flip switch mounted on the back of the frame, just underneath the rear of the slide. It looks a little odd, like an afterthought "lawyer" safety. The gun itself is fairly compact, about the size of a Glock 30, with a very thick double-column grip. It does, however, fit my hand better than the Glock 30, since the grip has a well-curved backstrap and a comparatively thin waist for shorter trigger reach. I paid $349 for my M2, a very slightly used LEO trade-in. This evening, I took it out to the range for a function test, and I'm happy to report that the M2 is fit for carry duty after chewing through a mixed assortment of .45ACP FMJ and JHP ammo without any issues at all. The gun is very accurate, once I got used to the trigger I was able to make one-inch ragged holes at 21 feet. The trigger itself is a little on the heavy side, but has a short travel, and it lacks the spongy feeling of the Glock trigger. Perceived recoil is low, due to the rotating barrel setup, the wide backstrap and the mass of the gun itself. Looks like I've added another gun to my carry battery...I'd been meaning to add a compact .45 to the lineup, and this one will fit the bill quite nicely for way under four bills.

March 21, 2002, 06:01 PM	#6
Kentucky Rifle Senior Member Join Date: July 6, 1999 Location: Louisville, Kentucky Posts: 2,687	Hey Lendringser! The last time I looked at an M2 in the showcase, I was almost mesmerized by the finish on the gun. It really does look like black glass. It was a few months ago, but I could swear it was in another caliber than .45ACP. I'm probably wrong however, do you know if .45 is the only caliber? KR

March 22, 2002, 07:08 AM	#9
Greyhound Dog Member Join Date: February 9, 2001 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 75	9mm...?????? I e-mailed SIG about 9 month ago and asked if they would be coming out with a 9mm and never got a response. If they did I would buy one . I like some of the ill fated pistols like the M2 and the CZ100, they seem well thought out but for some reason fail to achieve mass appeal Greyhound Dog G26 SIG 225 P99

March 19, 2002, 10:29 PM	#2
NMGlocker Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2001 Location: New Mexico Posts: 371	If only they would make it in 9mm....... Its a cool design, but if it was a 10+1 round 9mm, i'd buy it in a heartbeat.

March 19, 2002, 11:07 PM	#3
FO6 Member Join Date: November 16, 2001 Location: Arlington, WA Posts: 25	Thanks for the review! I've been very interested in these and wanting to see one in person but nobody has it in stock.

March 21, 2002, 03:45 PM	#4
Correia Senior Member Join Date: December 3, 1998 Location: SLC Utah Posts: 3,740	I've only seen one of these, and that was at SHOT. I thought that it felt good in the hand, and the trigger was pretty decent for a striker fired gun. I would imagine that with the rotating bolt, and the relative heft that the recoil would be pretty mild. I absolutley hated the manual safety though. It feels more like the forward/reverse switch for a cordless drill. Do you find that with practice it is easily removed?

March 21, 2002, 04:55 PM	#5
Marko Kloos Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2000 Location: Enfield, NH Posts: 5,521	You can swipe the safety off with your thumb fairly easy, and the nice thing about the safety is that you can see its status when the gun is holstered (or up and in your line of sight). Also, you can leave the safety off all the time, which is what I do.

March 21, 2002, 06:25 PM	#7
Zundfolge Senior Member Join Date: July 29, 2001 Location: Colorado Springs Posts: 1,749	They also come in .40 S&W (and originaly they talked about .357sig but it only lists .40 & .45 on Sig's site)

March 21, 2002, 06:31 PM	#8
teombe Senior Member Join Date: February 19, 2002 Posts: 130	Maaan.. Those pics look sweet. You guys are a bad influence on me. Now, this one will go on the 'to-buy' list after the Guardian .32 and the P226. Thanks

March 22, 2002, 11:23 PM	#10
NMGlocker Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2001 Location: New Mexico Posts: 371	The thing is, if Sig/Mauser made one in 9mm, it would fill a void in Sigs pistol lineup, the compact 9mm. It would flat out kill the Taurus PT111, and give a few others fits as well, who'd buy a Kahr 10 shot 9mm, when there is a Sig alternative? Sig has got to have the WORST marketing department on earth. They have a great "old world" name in Mauser, and the M2 series could be its re-birth, much like the P99 did for Walther.

March 22, 2002, 11:46 PM	#11
Zundfolge Senior Member Join Date: July 29, 2001 Location: Colorado Springs Posts: 1,749	If Sig made a Mauser M2 in 9mm I think they would cannibalize sales of SigPro's in 9mm ... that's probably why they didn't do it.