Broomhandle Mauser Repair

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The 1896 Mauser pistol has had more individual effect on history than most small arms. Winston Churchill carried one as a cavalry officer of the 21st Lancers with General Kitchener in Sudan and used it to good effect at the battle of Omdurman. He also had it with him in the second Boer War when he was a newspaper correspondent, proceeding to lose it when he left it on the train while trying to organize a defense against a Boer ambush.

He later assessed this as cloaked good fortune because had he still carried it, he might have killed the Boer officer who captured him (Louis Botha) who later was instrumental in integrating South Africa more fully into the British Empire. Gavrilo Princip precipitated WWI with one when he killed the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo in 1914. Lawrence of Arabia armed himself with it (among other things). And of course, where would Han Solo be without his tricked out Broomhandle?

For nearly as long as I can remember (which is a substantial length of time these days) I’ve had a fascination with the Mauser C96 "Broomhandle". But for along time, acquisition of one competed with food, diapers, and a car payment for my meager Navy paycheck, so I was reduced to reading about them.

Then in the early ‘90s, there was an influx of these pistols with Chinese markings, generally in indifferent condition but suddenly affordable as advertised in minuscule print in the back pages of Shotgun News, a sort of the grown-up Sears Christmas Catalog of the day. Moreover being relics, one could buy them through the mail—even in California. So while stationed in Monterey, I saved up about $250 (including shipping) and ordered one in 30 Mauser without any deleterious effects on the diaper supply or pantry.

In due course the pistol arrived—it was about as tough as one might expect but functional, although the rifling was only a distant memory. Remarkably, the numbers matched and there were some of Chinese markings on the frame which, as I later learned, was as-issued in Oberndorf am Neckar, Germany. Translated, they read "Made in Germany". The markings and serial number infer that it’s a 1930 model that was built for export.

It had evidently spent a great deal of time with the barrel wrapped in cloth; whereas the finish on the frame and back end of the receiver was OK with some pitting, the barrel was mostly bare and retained the mark of the cloth embedded in the steel. There was some deep pitting at the back end of the frame and on the backstrap and some lesser damage on the sides of the frame, but the innards were clean.

Over the course of the intervening years I shot it, it’s not clear that the bullets ever actually touched the inside of the barrel on the way out except to sort of bounce off the sides and about the only way to hit the side of a barn with it was to shoot from inside. It eventually took to failing to go back into battery, requiring a manual cycle of the bolt (and then chasing down the unspent round ejected in the process), so I decided to overhaul the mechanics and refinish the pistol.

Thus, we have the fourth installment of my irregular reporting on the amateur resuscitation of elderly and/or unlikely firearms.

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Disassembly As with all projects involving a firearm, the first step is to carefully ensure that the pistol is unloaded, particularly as this pistol has a box magazine so its state is not visually obvious. Thus assured, takedown is simple. Release the magazine follower by pushing on the button at the back of the floor, forward of the trigger guard, then slide the floor forward a bit until the assembly drops out.

Cock the hammer, then depress the lock frame stop at the back of the receiver above the backstrap and pull back on the frame while holding the receiver. The receiver, bolt, and action will come out as an assembly. The action unsnaps from the barrel. The bolt locking block will come off and either the sear, the lock frame stop, or both will probably fall out. Set the frame aside and unsnap the action from the bolt, taking care to not lose the sear, safety, or lock frame stop in the process.

Set this assembly aside, then grasp the receiver and bolt assembly, peering closely at the back of the bolt. There you will observe the back end of the firing pin, thoughtfully slotted for a screwdriver. Using an appropriate size flat bit, engage the slot and push the pin in while rotating 90° counter clockwise. This will allow the firing pin to be pulled out through the hole with the firing pin spring, leaving the recoil spring inside.

Observe on the right hand side of the receiver at the back a short knob (the bolt stop) mounted fore and aft. Push it forward to disengage from the side of the receiver and pull it out; it will be under a little tension from the recoil spring. With this disengaged, the bolt will pull out the back of the receiver with the recoil spring inside. Normal takedown is complete. Far The lock frame stop is at the top of the backstrap under the hammer.

Thus far we’ve pretty much accomplished the necessary postshooting steps preparatory to cleaning. The next step gets a bit more complex. The innards of the Broomhandle compare favorably with a Swiss watch in terms of spring loaded parts and complexity. Late Victorian Germans being what they were, there are no lightly wound springs and each is seemingly designed to launch its associated parts into orbit, or at least into the most inaccessible corners of the shop if not treated very respectfully.

They were clearly designed by the same guys who set the torque value on K98 barrels. To disassemble the lock mechanism frame is straightforward but takes care. Some parts just fall out—the sear, frame lock and bolt locking block all come right off of their own accord. The safety pulls out from the left side by rotating it a bit with the hammer cocked, and the sear bar will rotate up and forward if the hammer is pulled back then eased down when the sear bar is clear.

Rotate the bar vertical and it will then come off its pin at the forward end on the right side. The easy part is done. The rocker plunger, mainspring, and mainspring plunger remain under compression between the hammer and the rocker coupling. This part is tricky. The rocker coupling needs to come out first as it pivots on two integral pins that set into corresponding notches in the bottom of the lock mechanism frame beneath the slot for the rocker plunger and it’s held in place by the rocker plunger.

The rocker is essentially comma shaped, with the tail hooked to the front and the back (convex

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The bolt will now slide out the back of the receiver. side) up, fitting through a slot in the rocker plunger at the front of the mainspring. To drop it out of its slot, one has to compress the mainspring assembly while holding the frame vertically. The frame is full of sharp edges and corners that make it uncomfortable to hold, and the mainspring is robust.

After some trial and error and not a little healing, I found that a 10-32 cap screw clamped in a vise made a pretty good pin with which to compress the mainspring. The hex hole in the cap screw engages the front of the rocker plunger enough to keep it from sliding off (with some care), and the head is a little smaller than the plunger so it allows compression into the frame, which frees the rocker coupling to fall out into a presciently placed receptacle.

Once this is complete and the rocker coupling is retrieved, the mainspring assembly will come out the front of the frame. The combination sear spring and hammer pivot then pulls out from the left, whereupon the hammer will drop free. The only disassembly on the receiver is the sight, and the trigger and floorplate plunger with their common spring.

The highly optimistic 1000 meter sight hinges on pins set into the integral sight base at the front, and is held down by a leaf spring that is inserted at the forward end of the sight. The small V-notch sight is at the back, and the sight is elevated by pushing in on a spring loaded sight leaf on the right side, which in turn engages teeth in the left side of the sight at whatever elevation is desired.

The foundation is integral to the back end of the receiver; the holes for the pivot pins in the front of the sight are in vertical ears on either side of the foundation, which have horizontal slots in them at the base. To remove the sight, push the front end of the sight down with a thumb against the leaf spring then pull back and the sight and slide mechanism will come right out via those slots.

Pull out the leaf spring and pull the slide off the front end of the sight, taking care to keep a thumb on the sight leaf and the spring loaded push button that allows moving the slide. Once clear of the sight, it will pull out to the right and release a tiny but mighty coil spring from an indent in the slide. Note, this wants watching carefully. Finally, in preparation for refinishing, we want to remove the trigger and the magazine plunger and spring. This is uncharacteristically simple.

They share a leaf spring with a lip on the front for the magazine plunger and ears on the side to hold it in place between the trigger and magazine well. The ancient Germans thoughtfully put a hole in the middle, which allows you to reach down the inside of the frame with a dental pick or Far The hole in the spring makes it simple to grab with a dental pick both for removal and reassembly. The new one fits with no slop but moves freely.

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something similar and hook the spring, lifting up toward the front and pulling back. This will disengage the lip from the top of the magazine plunger and relieve the tension on the trigger at the same time. You can now fish the spring out. The trigger and magazine plunger will drop out when you turn the frame over. Repair and Refinishing My first thought regarding the pistol’s failure to return to battery was either the sear or the bolt locking block.

As soon as I looked at the sear and sear bar, however, it seemed clear that the problem was right there. Although the parts are hardened, they’ve also seen considerable use, as witnessed by the shot out barrel. Over time the round pivot on the head of the sear, and the corresponding hole with an open bottom in the sear bar in which it rides, had worn to the point that the sear almost wouldn’t stay engaged in the sear bar. It certainly sat too low.

Some research confirmed that this was a not uncommon failure mode for these pistols. Interestingly, the edge of the sear where it’s engaged by the trigger, and the edge of the back of the sear bar where it engages the hammer were both in pretty good shape. They were clearly well polished, but both were sharp and square. I foundanew manufacture sear bar at KB International (KBtactical- Star.com) but I couldn’t identify a reasonable source for anew manufacture sear, so I took a chance on e Bay.

As it turned out, my original sear was probably okay as the worst of the wear was in the sear bar. Nonetheless, the new (used) sear was a better fit, so I went with it. I also bought anew recoil spring and firing pin spring from Precision Gunsprings (GunSprings.com) in Pennsylvania, with the most robust spring constant available. Upon reassembly with the new springs, sear, and sear bar, the action functioned fine manually and now awaited some range time to confirm the fix.

I wanted to put a smooth finish on the barrel, which required dressing it with emery and oil. The best way to do this is to chuck the whole assembly in the lathe and spin it, but there is no convenient or even safe (to the metal) way to grab the back of the receiver in a 4 jaw chuck. Which is where some 21st century technology comes in.

Considering the problem of chucking up the more or less square-ish but somewhat irregular back end of the receiver, I thought of and instantly rejected the usual expedients of brass shims. However, the thought of a jig that would both securely hold and protect the piece seemed like a good idea. I thought of machining one out of a block of plastic on the milling machine, but that rapidly fell into the too-hard basket. Then technology came to the rescue.

My brother John (also an occasional contributor to these pages) owns a Dremel 3D printer. Following some careful measurements, photographs, and production of an- Far There was more like it on the other side along with some dings on both sides forward of this. The fix is indistinguishable with the finish over it.

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notated drawings, we conspired on the phone and he quickly drew up a CAD model in On Shape, an online CAD program that is free to use so long as the files produced on it are left publicly available on its website (OnShape.com/products/free). We collaborated on that for a bit, then he produced a prototype of the left, right, and top pieces, which accommodated the contours of the back of the barrel assembly as well as the foundation for the sight.

We got it right on the first try so I chucked it up and the barrel polished up nicely. Having gotten to this point, I decided to see about a barrel liner. A quick search settled me on Redman’s Rifling and Reboring (RedmansRifling.com). I duly shipped off the barrel to their shop in Omak, Washington and some weeks later Remarkably, the Chinese characters on the left side of the magazine well that were very faint originally were actually enhanced by the application of Lauer’s Dura- Coat.

The finish, prepared with careful sanding and J-B Weld, is nicer than the original. Only the back of the bolt needs finished and just the spur on the hammer. it came back exactly as advertised—nice new bore, anew chamber set up with minimum headspace, and literally no seam at the muzzle. Now it was time for the refinishing. The first step was to fix the deep but structurally meaningless pitting in the frame.

I learned that the pitting at the back of the frame and particularly on the frame for the grips is a common malady due to water intrusion through the holes in the slot for the stock attachment. The pitting was too deep and the individual pits too large to try to grind down, so filling seemed to be a reasonable approach. There are several products on the market for this sort of repair, but it struck me that a good, hard, and largely chemically-impervious epoxy would do the trick.

It should flow well and thus completely fill the pit, and when hardened allow for thorough sanding to conform to the frame without leaving scars from the sanding and polishing media. Remarkably enough, this pretty much defined my usual goto: J-B Weld. There is a version that is specifically designed to be machined when hardened and this seemed to be the best choice. I prepared the pits by cleaning them with turpentine and a stiff brush, then sprayed them liberally with Lauer’s Dura Coat cleaner.

I then used compressed air to make sure nothing was left and the metal was dry. I mixed a batch of J-B Weld Steel Reinforced epoxy and applied it with a shaved down Popsicle stick, using a wood toothpick to make sure all of the little nooks and crannies were filled. Each pit got enough epoxy to create a bit of a meniscus and spread over the edge a bit to ensure a thorough fill.

Once I had one side done, I put the job aside to set overnight (the literature claims 4-6 hours), then repeated the process for the other side the next day. With the epoxy fully hardened, I started sanding the excess down to conform to the structure of the frame. I didn’t want to scratch the frame in the process, so I started with 200 grit and a gentle pressure using a bit of flat wood as a backing to ensure an even job. I graduated to 400 grit wet sandpaper, then a fiberglass polish.

The whole process took a couple of days (I find it pays to stop before I get sloppy) but when I was done the surface of the frame was tactilely flawless, with the repaired bits being indistinguishable by feel from the rest of the frame. The wood grips were well worn but otherwise sound, still sporting the canonical 12 horizontal lines. I stripped them carefully with Formby’s Refinishing Fluid, preserving the original stain, then applied several coats of Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil Stock Finish.

There are a couple of small

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gouges in the front edge of both that correspond to pits in the grip frame, but I left those be, figuring they add character. Because I filled the pits with epoxy, it was clear that bluing was not an option, although that would have been my preference. I decided to finish the pistol with Lauer’s Dura Coat in glossy blue-black, using the handy aerosol can. The aerosol Dura Coat is simple to use and gives you about two weeks of working time, so you can easily use it for more than one project with a little planning.

It does need to be used in a well ventilated space, but my father’s HO model railroading paint booth with It’s a sweet shooter. a robust outside exhaust was the perfect place to apply the Dura Coat. Maybe a bit over a cubic foot in volume, it has a lazy susan on the bottom and a rotating rack on the ceiling from which parts can be hung. Even so, I had to apply the finish in two batches.

There are two big parts (the frame and the barrel) and nine smaller ones; the hammer, magazine floor, bolt stop, bolt (just the back), safety, lock frame stop, rear sight, rear sight slide, and its associated locking plunger. Even so, allowing for 10 minutes or so between coats I was still done in an afternoon. I was concerned that the Dura Coat would obliterate the Chinese characters on the left side of the magazine well as they were applied lightly, probably to avoid dinging the magazine well.

As it turned out, the Dura Coat actually enhanced them and they’re easier to see now than they were when unfinished. Five coats on the small pieces and seven on the big ones later, the refinishing was complete. As in so many things, patience here is a virtue. I let the parts set for a couple of days to ensure a good hard finish, then reassembled the pistol. Now we’re back to the fussy part. Reassembly for the most part is straightforward.

But you have to put the lock mechanism back together in the right sequence, remembering always the enthusiastic spring constants involved. So, in order, begin by inserting the hammer and then insert the sear spring/hammer pivot from the left through the hammer. Insert the safety from the left side. Insert the main spring assembly from the front—it will self align with the key on the rocker plunger at the bottom.

Holding the assembly upside down, with my 10-32 cap screw or something like it compress the main spring against the hammer, holding the rocker over its slot in the front with the tip pointed forward and the convex side toward the lock mechanism frame. Maneuver the rocker into its slot, ensuring that the tip goes all the way through the slot in the rocker plunger. Ease the tension back off of the mainspring and the rocker should be fully seated in its slot.

Laying the lock mechanism frame on its left side, place the round end of the sear bar over the corresponding pin at the front of the lock mechanism frame on the right side, with the sear bar at right angles to the top of the lock mechanism frame. Rotate the sear bar counterclockwise to engage the hammer, which will need to be pulled back a bit for it to seat. Insert the sear in the open bottom hole in the sear bar about midway back and ensure that the detent on the sear engages the sear spring.

Insert the lock frame stop at the back from the left side. The right side of it will engage the bottom fork of the sear spring. Place the rocker coupling on the top of the lock mechanism frame with the hook on the bottom front engaging the rocker. Test the operation by pushing down on the rocker coupling—it should snap down but then return back up when the pressure is released. Insert the bolt into the slide with the open side facing right facing forward.

Pushing the recoil spring forward with a convenient tool, insert the bolt stop in the slot on the right side with the main body toward the back. Release the recoil spring. Insert the firing pin with its spring (which threads onto the firing pin so you don’t easily lose it). Using an appropriately sized flat blade screwdriver, push the firing pin in and rotate it 90 degrees clockwise.

Snap the barrel/receiver/bolt assembly onto the top of the lock mechanism frame—the rocker coupling will snap down and the whole assembly will then stick together. Don’t forget about the trigger and the magazine plunger.

10 Recoil Spring 11 Bolt Breechblock 12 Extractor-Late Style 12a Extractor-Earlier Style 13 Magazine Plunger 14 Trigger Spring 15 Trigger 16 Rocker Plunger 17 Mainspring 1 Barrel & Extension 2 Rear Sight 3 Rear Sight flat spring 4 Rear Sight slide 5 Rear Sight Coil spring 6 Rear Sight leaf 7 Bolt Stop 8 Firing Pin Spring 9 Firing Pin w/Spring Drop the trigger into its slot and the magazine plunger into its hole aligned as shown in the accompanying diagram.

Take your dental pick, hook it into the hole in the middle of the spring and line the spring up with the lip forward and pointed down between the trigger and the magazine plunger. A little pressure on the spring will compress it sufficiently that it can be slid forward with the pick – it will snap into the detent in the magazine plunger, and you’re done.

Taking care to not lose the lock frame stop out the left side or the sear off the right, slide the assembly Mauser C96 (Speci ications subject to change without notice) 27 Rocker Coupling 28 Lanyard Ring 29 Grips 30 Grip Screw 31 Mag/Follower Spring 32 Follower 33 Magazine Floorplate 34 Receiver-main frame 18 Mainspring Plunger 19 Lock Mechanism frame 20 Bolt Locking block 21 Sear Arm 22 Sear 23 Sear Spring 24 Hammer 25 Lock Frame Stop 26 Safety onto the frame from the back of the receiver, onto the front of the frame.

Push the assembly forward until it locks in place. It may take a little fiddling to get the ears on the back of the lock mechanism frame to align with the slots in the frame. Insert the magazine follower and spring into the magazine well. Slide the base onto the frame from the front until the spring loaded magazine plunger snaps into place. In practice, this takes about as long to accomplish as it does to read about it, saving perhaps getting the mainspring and rocker coupling sorted.

Once complete, you can check the function by cycling the bolt and it will lock back on an empty magazine. But one cycle will confirm that everything is working and that the hammer will fall when asked. Testing Once I had the pistol reassembled and was satisfied that the action was behaving, I grabbed the 18 rounds that I had remaining and headed to the Fairfax Rod and Gun Club for an operational test. I put six rounds each into three stripper clips, then loaded the first set flawlessly.

Just like with a rifle, the clip holds the bolt back avoiding the risk of a "Broomhandle thumb". Taking careful aim at the 15 yard target, I squeezed the trigger and discovered that the safety works just fine—the hammer drops but doesn’t get as far as the firing pin. After moving the safety from Sto F, I cocked the hammer and repeated the process, and I was awarded by a bang, recoil, return to battery, and a hole in the "X".

I was tempted at this point to unload the remaining rounds, clean the pistol and never fire it again, but I resisted. Instead I ran a dozen rounds through it and my efforts were rewarded by perfect functioning and a reasonably tight group, all things considered, in the black. I’m delighted with the outcome of this project. My somewhat questionable Broomhandle now works like new. Not only does it function as designed, it shoots reasonably straight, something not usually associated with it in either 9mm or 30 Mauser.

And while I would have preferred renewing the bluing, the repairs required to mitigate the pitting in the frame were beyond my abilities to fix in away that would make bluing feasible. Nonetheless, I think the Dura Coat finish is a practical and not displeasing solution. Thus closes another entry in my irregular journal of amateur reanimation of moribund firearms. AG