C96 MAUSER ?S

[fishguts]

just picked up this mauser #80270. it has matching #s and holster. can anyone tell me a littlke about it? also it needs a fireing pin were might i look to find one? thanks for any info. its bore looks like its never been fired!

[Jim Hauff]

Fishguts,
Very Nice rig. More info forthcoming from "qualified experts", but I can see from the grip panel - it's a "RED NINE" chambered for the 9mm Parabellum round - dating from the WW1 era.
Perhaps a couple 'detail' pics of the piece, including markings on top of chamber/receiver and sides (both) will help with more complete ID.

[valbehaved]

Yes, it does look like a Red 9, ordered by the German army during WWI...
A total of about 135000 were made but only about 100000 were delivered and the rest sold as surplus after the war. Your particular variation might have Prussian eagle stamped on the front of the mag well
the holster might not be German in origin - please post extra pics of front
and back

[fishguts]

noiw you say it it is red in the 9, dont show in the pic but its there. its got like years of old greasy crud on it, shouod i try and clean ot off with something? thanks a million guys heres some more pics

[valbehaved]

Yep, it does have a Prussian eagle on the mag well..
I would just use 0000 steel wool and oil to clean the gun and to lubricate it.
They are fairly easy to take apart but can be a challenge to put back together.
Do not attempt unless you have done it before..

[Jim Hauff]

Fishguts,
The ORIGINAL C96 was mostly chambered in the .30 Mauser cartridge (7.63 x 25mm). During WW1 the German military ordered C96 chambered in their then standard 9x19mm Parabellum/Luger cartridge. To avoid confusion with which ammo the gun would accept - the 9mm pieces had that large '9' cut into the grip panels and then the nines were filled with bright red paint - hence the modern name: RED NINE.

[fishguts]

thanks guys, and i got it apart and back together, i found a video on the net on it and it helped a lot. i also found the problem of not staying cocked. someone had it apart and didnt hook up the cocking catch spring in the rite place. and i ordered a fireing pin for it. cant wait to shoot her. reg 9mm factory loads ok to shoot in it? again thanks guys this info is a big help.

[Jim Hauff]

fishguts,
Congratulations!
Keep the ammo standard pressure and you should be OK? If the slide velocity seems to be too fast - quit shooting it.

[valbehaved]

And always wear heavy safety glasses when shooting.
It is not uncommon for the bolt stop to crack and shear when shooting, especially in the guns that have been used a lot.
If that happens, the bolt will fly straight in the shooters face.
It would probably be a good idea to take out and examine the bolt stop for any microscopic cracks..

[Jim K]

That gun certainly seems to be genuine. Unfortunately, a lot of the guns imported from China were rebored and re-rifled or sleeved to 9mm Luger and then outfitted with fake Red 9 grips. The usual giveaways are grips with the wrong number of lines, the "9" of a wrong color, and the sight going to 1000 meters, where the genuine "Red 9" sight only goes to 500 meters.

You can clean the crud out of the "9" with a Q-tip or small brush and soap and water; do not use any paint solvent. The red is not bright; it is a rather dark red which can look almost brown or black when dirty.

Jim

[permafrost]

Fishguts, I'm jealous! That is some kind of sweet! I'm no kinda expert ,but I know what i like! I've always wanted a broomhandle, but couldn't afford one. Cheers and enjoy. Frosty

[fishguts]

thanks, jim the sights on this go from 50 to 500, how many lines is it susposed to have?the red is there but you have to look to see it.

[fishguts]

also, any estimate on value?

[valbehaved]

Your gun is an original "red 9" - you can tell by the serial range(separate for the standard commercial range), german imperial proofs on right chamber(Does it have it?) - usually a crown over a gothic letter, and the presence of the "prussian eagle" on the front of the mag well - only "red 9s" in certain serial range had them.The grips were also marked with a full serial number inside. Some of the 9s were apparently applied in the field and were sometimes filled with orange paint and were of different shape.
$700-900 in this condition

[fishguts]

i bet it would sell darn quick for 700!

[Jim K]

There is a story that the "Red 9" grips were marked in the field by unit armorers. I have seen no evidence that this was done, and it seems to be a story spread by sellers of fakes to explain why their guns are "different". All the undoubtedly genuine "Red 9" pistols I have seen had the exact same shape and placement of the "9" and the exact same color, clearly indicating a factory marking.

Another point to consider about "Red 9" pistols is that they are not very well finished; compared to commercial pistols, they are rough and the bluing is thin, far from what one might expect from Mauser. If a "Red 9" has a nice blue job, it has been refinished.

"Red 9" pistols in top condition can bring close to $4000; even so-so ones go $2000.

Jim

[fishguts]

thanks again guys, you guys are the best! i love this place! and if anyone else as any info at all please lets hear it! now i got to figure if i want to shoot it or not.

[gdmoody]

here is a website that has a lot of information about C96 mausers: http://www.g6csy.net/c96/index.html A picture of mine is on the, second from the bottom, database page.

EDIT: The owner of this site will not list values, but there is a bunch of info there!!

[fishguts]

thanks gd, yours the red 9? do you shoot it? did the red 9s come with the wooden stock/holster?

[fishguts]

id say this is a great example of a fake red 9!

http://cgi.ebay.com/MAUSER-C96-BROOM...item45faaed429

[Jim K]

Had to put on sunglasses to look at those fake grips and that bright red paint. Aaaarrrrrgh!

Incredibly, those grips and guns that they are put on do fool people. Last year, I tried to tell someone his "Red 9" was a fake and he gave me a whole ration of argument based on what someone "on the net" told him. The "expert" told him it was worth $10,000, which is a lot more than even a very nice and real "Red 9" will bring. (I suspected he paid close to that and wouldn't listen to anyone who was telling him what he didn't want to know.)

Jim

[fishguts]

man did this cleanup nice, took it all apart and scrubed it all in a parts cleaner. cleaned the rednine with a qtip, it helped some but the red is still a little hard to see.
i originaly bought this to resell but its growing on me! like to find a few more for the 500 i paid for her. again thanks all for the great info! now back gun hunting, hope to have more questions for yas soon!

[Jim Hauff]

Nice job! That looks like a really fine piece. Are you going to shoot it?

[fishguts]

jim im thinking about it, ive herd horror stories about the hammer or something breaking, would you?

[Jim K]

FWIW, I have shot my "Red 9" and had no problems. But one thing I recommend before shooting any C96 is to remove the bolt and make sure there are no runouts from the firing pin hole that would weaken the bolt. Also double check the bolt stop and make sure there are no cracks. There could be other problem areas but those are the ones I know have been troublesome. A cracked bolt can be very bad because if the bolt cracks through the middle, the rear end can come back in the shooter's face.

I know of no problems with the hammers.

Jim