1916 Red 9 C96 Broomhandle 9mm

1916 C-96 Red Nine "Broomhandle" SOLD

This is the classic C96 "Broomhandle" that was produced in 9mm for the Imperial German Army in 1916. During World War I, the Imperial German Army contracted with Mauser for 150,000 C96 pistols chambered in 9mm Parabellum to offset the slow production of the standard-issue Luger P08 pistol. This C-96 comes with the matching stock which is also in excellent condition. (2012)

NOTE: Photographs taken today with the high mega-pixel camera show more than we sometimes can see with the human eye. Magnified close-ups show us tool marks and natural surface conditions that one normally doesn't see in the ordinary handling of the weapon. Photographs are copyrighted, all rights reserved, any extraction, reproduction or display of gun pictures without the express consent of the Phoenix Investment Arms is strictly prohibited. Thank you for your cooperation.

Contrary to common belief, the C96 was not invented by Paul Mauser, but by the Feederle brothers (Fidel, Friedrich, and Josef). Fidel Feederle was the Superintendent of the Experimental Work Shop, and it is reported that the C96 (then referred to as P-7.63 or the Feederle Pistol) was designed and prototyped without the knowledge and against the wishes of Paul Mauser in 1895. Production began in 1896, and ended about 1939 with over one million C96 pistols produced.

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This is a 9mm weapon with all the matching parts marked in the military manner (exposed). The barrel is 140mm and it has an adjustable leaf sight marked up to 500 meters. The frame has the stock lug and the thumb safety. The stock is numbered and proofed to the weapon. The inside of the gun is clean and well cared for.

This variant of the C96 was named the "Red 9", after a large number "9" burned and painted in red into the grip panels, to warn the pistols' users not to load them with 7.63 mm ammunition by mistake. Of the 150,000 pistols only approximately 135,000 were delivered.

Overall length 12 inches Weight 43 ounces; Operation Short recoil; Lock Bolt lock from below has teeth which engage in recesses in bolt. Bolt travels in extension which is part of barrel forging and lock is cammed down out of engagement as barrel travels halts; Mainspring Coil operating through plunger; Disconnector Positive type prevents firing more than one shot per trigger pull; Trigger Pivot type, engaging with sear; Safety Thumb piece on left hand side of receiver

Technically, the C-96 is a recoil operated, locked breech, semi-automatic pistol. It uses short recoiling barrel with bolt, located inside the large barrel extension. The bolt and barrel are locked by the vertically tilting locking piece with two lugs, that locked into the recesses on the bottom of the bolt. The gun is hammer fired. Shown above right is the gun in full recoil.

Very early rigged C96 as an aircraft to aircraft weapon. Both the stocked "Artillery" Luger [200mm barrel w/stock] and the C-96 were employed in the early wartime aviation as they strived to design a short stocked response to the wire and struts of the early aircraft,

A distinctive feature of the 1916 Prussian military contract was the 500 meter marked leaf spring instead of the 1,000 meter on earlier models. We know today that this is beyond the maximum effective knock down power of the 9x19mm Parabellum round, yet The charging handle has Crown U (Oberndorf) proof and the last four digits of the serial number.

The Mauser Logo appears over the breach in this model. The Broomhandle was unique in that the gun was carried inside the stock. The gun is loaded with a stripper clip of ammunition (10 rounds) and the slide holds open when the gun is empty. The marking of the Red Nine grips was left to unit armorers so the positioning may vary with the individual pieces.

The whole concept of the stock was being tested in 1911-1912 by the German military as a field replacement for the K-98 carbine with both the "Artillery" Parabellum and the C-96 Broomhandle. The Parabellum stock had serveral variations of gun-inserted stock carrier. However that testing developed into a flat-board stock for the Parabellum. The stock for the Mauser Broomhandle had nore success and was mounted with leather straps to both the pistol belt and over-the-shoulder.

The Imperial Russians fell in love with both the 7.63 Mauser cartridge (aka .30 Mauser) and the Mauser Military Pistol, and were to become one of Mauser's best customers. The October Revolution did not change this fondness for the C96 and the 7.63 Mauser cartridge (it is said a C96 was one of the firearms used in the murder of the Czar and the Royal Family), and both pistol and cartridge remained in general use in the early years of Communist rule.




The inside of the wood stock is very clean, mounts a spring to hold the gun in place and stop any movement or rattle. Above Right: The serial number of the stock matches the gun indicating this entire rig was intact when it was captured in WWII.


This a magnificent example of a really hard to find Red Nine Broomhandle with a matching stock.

The C96 was utilized in WWII by the SS (Schutzstaffel) whose weapons included anything they could capture or pick up. Without their own procurement system outside the Heer they made use of the guns they liked and had to find their own ammunition. Note the C96 hanging from the belt of the right front soldier above.


One of the design flaws in the C96 was that the barrel was fixed and therefore could not be replaced when it was worn out. Old Broomhandle's now tell the tale with the bore smooth and the rest of the gun is great shape bringing the reality of this oversight to home. This C96 has a shiny bore with distinctive lands and grooves present. There is minor freckling at the throat of the barrel from the old corrosive primers once used.

Here is the New Safety with the Up being safe, (cocked hammer must be pulled back further to engage) and with the identification NS monogram on the hammer. There is no hole through the safety lever knob. Mauser referred to is as the Neue Sicherung and is a typical of the 1916 contract.

Mauser referred to is as the Neue Sicherung. A bullet can be chambered and the hammer lowered with the safety on, but the hammer is held back from the striker to prevent the gun being dropped and firing the gun. To fire you drop the thumb safety and thumb cock the gun for semi-automatic fire.
The grips on the Red Nine are the 32 ring type. This variant of the C96 was named the "Red 9", after a large number "9" burned and painted in red into the grip panels, This variation was delivered until 1918 making this a very rare gun with both the Red Nine when World War I ended as did the contract. The grips are intact; the order for the Red Nine was given to the unit armourers to warn the pistols' users not to incorrectly load them with 7.63mm ammunition. Of the 150,000 pistols commissioned, approximately 135,000 were delivered before the war ended. Because the army delegated the branding of the Red Nine to unit armourers, not all 9 mm pistols carry the Red Nine making this variation especially sought after by collectors.

The C96 was the first efficient and reliable design for a self-loading pistol. An outstanding feature of the design was the absence of pins or screws in its construction. The design is based upon the frame being milled out from a solid forging, rather than a separate pieces. This means that unfortunately a lot of present day C96's have 'shot-out' barrels, and as they cannot be changed out, they have to be bored out to the larger 9mm calibre. Loading of the C96 is by single round, or through the use of 10-round stripper clips. The C96 was designed to use 7.63mm ammunition, however, due to military requirements, a number were converted to shoot 9mm ammunition, the same as the later available Luger pistol. These are known as the 'Red 9' C96 models.
	The Prussian Contract came at the same time as the introduction of the New Safety with the Up being safe, (cocked hammer must be pulled back further to engage) and with the identification NS monogram on the hammer. There is no hole through the safety lever knob. Mauser referred to is as the Neue Sicherung. A bullet can be chambered and the hammer lowered with the safety on, but the hammer is held back from the striker to prevent the gun being dropped and firing the gun. To fire you drop the thumb safety and thumb cock the gun for semi-automatic fire. Also visible are the three separate serial numbers that appear on back of the Broomhandle.

During the Great War the Imperial German Army contracted with Mauser for 150,000 C96 pistols, chambered for the 9 mm Parabellum. This variant was named the "Red 9" and had a large, red-painted number "9" embossed on the handle, to prevent the pistols' users from loading them with 7.63mm ammunition by mistake. Of this 150,000, approximately 135,000 were delivered before the War's end. This was the only time in which the C96 was ever used officially by the German military.

It is entirely subjective to give any weapon a rating of excellent or fine, just as it is to declare it xx% blued or strawed. Few collectible firearms are out of the box new and these are premium priced. Bluing percentages is like beauty, in the eye of the beholder. We strive to provide pictures so you can judge for yourself if the gun meets your criteria.

The development of the C-96 began in 1893 or 1894. Most work had been done by the Federle brothers, who worked for the Mauser company. Final design appeared early in 1895 and had been patented by Paul Mauser. Production began in 1896. The C-96 had been offered for the German Military but failed. However, C-96 has a long and successful story on the civilian market - being offered as a pistol-carbine, it outperformed in effective range most of contemporary pistols and revolvers, being especially popular with travelers and hunters in the areas where big animals are rare or absent at all. C-96 first saw military action during the Boer war in South Africa (1899-1902).

During the First World War C-96 had been acquired by the German Army due to the lack of the standard issue Luger P-08 pistols. It also had been used during the World War Two, by some second line troops of the Reichswehr (German Army). C-96 also had been widely exported - in the 1920s Soviet Russia purchased large quantities of the short-barreled (99 mm barrels) C-96s in 7.63mm, giving the name "Bolo-Mauser" (from Bolsheviks' Mauser) to all short-barreled C-96s. In 1930s China also purchased lots of the C-96s in 7.63mm, and also manufactured copies of the C-96 but chambered for .45ACP cartridge. Surprisingly, these copies were of quite good quality. Many C-96 clones were manufactured in Spain, mostly without any license, and mostly by the Astra. In the early 1930s Mauser engineers developed a select-fire version of the C-96, which had been used in limited numbers during WW2.


The Prussian Contract came at the same time as the introduction of the New Safety with the Up being safe, (cocked hammer must be pulled back further to engage) and with the identification NS monogram on the hammer. There is no hole through the safety lever knob. Mauser referred to is as the Neue Sicherung. A bullet can be chambered and the hammer lowered with the safety on, but the hammer is held back from the striker to prevent the gun being dropped and firing the gun. To fire you drop the thumb safety and thumb cock the gun for semi-automatic fire.

The introduction of the new safety - the Crown U (Oberndorf) on the frame. With its long barrel and high-velocity cartridge, the Mauser C96 had superior range and better penetration than most other pistols; the 7.63×25mm Mauser cartridge was the highest velocity commercially manufactured pistol cartridge until the advent of the .357 Magnum cartridge in 1935.

All of the Mauser production and corporate records retained at the Mauser plant were destroyed in 1945, by order of the U.S. Army officer in command at the captured Mauser plant. This makes identification difficult and only over the years collectors have been able to identify production by the characteristics and sequence of production.

It isn't often that you can reach back into history and purchase a pristine ninety five year old classic C96 Broomhandle that is all the matching with a matching stock. These guns may be sold over the counter, call or email for availability. This 100+ year old gun has been cared for by other custodians to preserve it for us today in this pristine condition. The inside of the gun is clean and reflects the effort of custodial maintenance over the past 100 years.
This C96 is offered for $4,995.00 over-the-counter with the reservation that the gun may be sold before being posted as such on the internet. We reserve the right to sell any internet offering to a direct sale and do not warrant the availability of any firearm that do not have a cash deposit. This gun may be withdrawn without notice for in-store sale. Call for availability Any questions or request for additional pictures email to josef@phoenixinvestmentarms.com.

LAYAWAYS: Sometimes our "significant other" doesn't understand the beauty, craftsmanship and investment potential of one of these investor grade weapons. In these circumstances where discretion becomes the better part of valor we will accept layaways of up to one year with at least 20% down and some activity occurring monthly to insure that after one year the sale is completed. Cancellations of layaways forfeit 33% if done within two months, otherwise 100%. You can transfer a layaway to a consignment sale at any time. See "Legal" for exact terms.

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We honor a three day return policy. We will answer any questions, send you any pictures, as detailed as you want, to insure that what we are showing you is what you want to see, before you buy it. See Legal.

FIRING ANY WEAPON NEGATES ANY CHANCE OF RETURN!

WARNING: We do not represent these guns as safe to fire. They are not test fired before sale; they are sold as collectibles only. Prior to firing you should have it inspected by a qualified individual and abide by all safety requirements.

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