Broomhandle?

[luger fan]

Hi All,

Don't know why but for almost 50 years I wanted a Mauser Broomhandle in 9mm. When they were available I couldn't afford one, now I can.

Anyone have one? What do you think of it?

Thanks,
Luger

[Wyosmith]

I do. My wife inherited it. It's a 1917 made Mauser C96 in unfired condition.
She wants to sell it.
If you are interested PM me and I'll give you an e-mail address to write and I'll send you pictures.

[44 AMP]

I had a Bolo that had been rebored to 9mm Luger. Not bad with the reproduction stock, though "wobbly".

Absolutely the most painful 9mm I ever shot and up there on painful for handguns overall. The size, shape, and above all the metal slot in the grips just hurts.

Sold it a couple years ago, sorry.

[Dr. Strangelove]

No help here, but I remember when those those things were <$100 at gun shows, mostly in 7.63 Mauser. They couldn't give them away, lol. Shooter GI 1911's were $200 and good Lugers were around $300.

I was in high school then and that may as well have been a million bucks. A local "kitchen table FFL" had a barrel of Egyptian 8mm Hakims for $50-$60, you could get Garands for about $200 then as well. Some of those Swedish "pull bolt" rifles were $30-$40.

If I had a time machine, I'd go back and buy them all.

Out of curiosity, where's a good place to look for decently priced Lugers?

The gun I learned to shoot on was a 1916 DWM Artillery model bring-back that belonged to my grandfather. I was seven years old and fascinated by it, I bugged him all the time to handle it. One day he handed it to me,said "learn how to take it apart, clean it, and reassemble it correctly and you can shoot it." (I guess he was tired of me bugging him). It took me about two hours, but I finally brought him the correctly disassembled, cleaned, reassembled pistol. (This was 38 years ago, way before you could look this stuff up on the internet)

I remember him looking at me with smile and and saying, "well, your grandma's not home so let's go to the basement". I've been hooked ever since, though I since learned that no ear protection and a tiny hand-dug basement is not the best place to shoot.

[TruthTellers]

My uncle has one and I shot it once. The grip was uncomfortable, the sights were awful, the trigger was average, and it was badly balanced.

I had an interest in them before then and lost it that day. There are better historical guns for the money.

[tangolima]

I have one, in fact 1 1/4, in .30 Mauser, but it is not for sale. I had wanted one since I was little. Finally I got one off GunBroker for $650. Not in good shape. Bore had been relined. But I didn't care. I like it as it is and the history associated with it.

I needed to work on it quite a bit and replace some parts to make it shoot safely. In the process of looking for parts, I bid on a bolo upper and won it. I don't care about the bolo, but I wouldn't mind having the upper as spare. So I have one and a quarter of a broomhandle.

It is indeed a difficult pistol to shoot. But I don't care. I like it as it is, a pride of my collection. For about a century it has traveled all around the world. In the last leg of its journey, it almost didn't make it. I fixed it up, and now we travel together.

-TL

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[highpower3006]

I have a couple. I like them from a historical standpoint and they are a crowd pleaser when you bring one out at a range. One of mine is getting to be so valuable that I am kind of reluctant to shoot it, but the other is one of the beaters that came into the country from China back around 20-30 years ago and that one I have no problem shooting. If you do get one, I would advise installing new springs right off the bat.

1916 commercial, matching numbers including the stock, '16 dated leather "holster" and military proofed:



Pictured with my 1930's era Bolo, which has zero finish and I had to have the barrel relined as there was virtually no rifling in it when I got it. But for the $130 I originally paid for it I am not complaining.

[RickB]

The only broomhandle I have experience with was a Chinese-made version chambered in .45 auto, and I had a serious case of the wants after handling it briefly.
They're a cool artifact, but I wouldn't want to have a lot of money tied-up in a "collector" grade gun that I didn't want to devalue by shooting, and I'm now having parts breakage issues with my Luger, and wouldn't want another gun that needed repairing out of proportion to how much it's shot.

[Old 454]

The only broom handle I am familiar with... the one my wife hands to sweep out the garage O.o....sorry could not resist

[RC20]

Missed those back in the day.

I find them interesting but not desirable?

[Mike Irwin]

I've always been fascinated with the Broomhandles. They're not a great handling gun, but they have a neat factor that few other guns can match.

I've shot numerous versions over the years in 9mm and 7.63, but I won't shoot them anymore.

I've seen one too many develop cracks in the bolt, and know of one person who was injured when the bolt fractured during firing and a chunk of it caught him in the face and broke his cheek bone and cut him up.

[Scorch]

Shooting a Broomhandle is uncomfortable in 7.63 Mauser or 9mm. I can only imagine a Broomhandle in 45 ACP would take that discomfort up a few notches.

[4V50 Gary]

Even with my small hands, I got hammer bite from shooting a small ring broomhandle when the shoulder stock was attached (this was in Germany). Despite this, I think they are awesome and as they incorporate something no modern firearm has: virtually all interlocking parts. With exception of the grip screw and pins for the sight, the C96 snaps together like a Lego kit.

I'd go with that minty C96 Wyosmith has. Better have some bucks though. Save up if you don't. Ask him if he'll do installment payments like in the '50-s or '60s. You paid in installments and once the installments were complete, it's yours.

Best book I have on the C96 is the one by Charles Pate, The Broomhandle Pistol: 1896-1936. It's also the newest (circa 1990 or so) but very pricey on the used market.