Pistols with detachable butts appeared for the first time during the domination of muzzle-loading small arms in the 17th-18th centuries. In the 19th century, there were also examples of such weapons, for example, the Colt Dragoon capsule revolver. But the largest number of pistol carbines were designed, of course, in the 20th century. One of the most famous pistols of this type is the German Mauser C96. This pistol has become one of the symbols of the civil war in Russia, not a single feature film or series about the events of those years can be imagined without this weapon. The famous "Your word, comrade Mauser" from Mayakovsky's poem "Left March" is also Mauser C96.
At the time when the industrial revolution made it possible to make firearms more compact (due to the transition to the use of small calibers and smokeless powder), separate detachable butts evolved by themselves into combined holster-butts. Under normal conditions, a revolver or pistol could be carried in such a holster, using one or two hands. In case of need for a more accurate shot at a long distance, the rigid holster was removed from the shooter's belt and attached directly to the weapon, becoming the butt. One of the most famous examples of a pistol of this concept was the German Mauser C96, which was equipped with a wooden butt holster and had grooves in the lower part of the handle for attaching it. But even before Mauser, the same solution was used on the first serial self-loading pistol Borchard C93, which received a holster-butt of a combined design. In it, a pistol holster made of leather was attached to a detachable wooden butt from the side. However, the Borchard C93 did not receive the same fame as the Mauser C96, especially in the vastness of Russia.
The model gained serious popularity in the civilian weapons market and remained in demand throughout the first third of the 20th century. Hunters, explorers, travelers and bandits - everyone who needed a compact and powerful enough weapon used the Mauser C96 pistol, but each in their own interests. The reason for the great popularity of this weapon was the declared power. Advertising brochures indicated that a bullet fired from a pistol retains lethal force at a distance of up to a kilometer. True, aimed shooting at such a range could not even have dreamed of, and the attached butt would not have helped. Dispersion at the maximum range could reach 5 meters in height and 4 meters in width, while the situation was not saved even by the fact that the weapon could be fixed immovably.
Mauser had combat qualities that were high enough for pistols of its time period, but it was never adopted by any army in the world due to the complexity of design and maintenance, high cost, rather large dimensions and relatively low reliability. Despite this, the pistol was partially used in the armed forces of many countries: Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Japan and China. This pistol in world history was destined for a slightly different role than ordinary military weapons.
Brothers Friedrich and Joseph Federle developed the design of the Mauser C96 pistol back in 1893, and was later refined in collaboration with Paul Mauser and the gunsmith Gaiser. Work on finishing the pistol was completed in 1895. At the same time, the release of a test batch began. On March 15, 1895, the new pistol was shown to Kaiser Wilhelm II. At the same time, Paul Mauser patented the design in his own name, under which the pistol entered the world history of weapons forever. The pistol received its name C96 (Construktion 96 - the design of the 96th year) only in 1910, simultaneously with the beginning of the release of the pocket Mauser, which was created under the cartridge 6, 35 × 15, 5 HR. It should be noted that the name Mauser C96 was used at that time only by importers and sellers. At the manufacturing plant, the Mauser pistol was designated as "Mauser-Selbstlade-Pistole" (Mauser self-loading pistol).
The new pistol had a number of distinctive features. He had a permanent two-row magazine with a capacity of 10 rounds, which was located in front of the trigger guard and was loaded with cartridges from special plate clips. Holding the pistol was carried out using a round conical handle, which had grooves for attaching a wooden butt holster to it. The C96 received the nickname "Broomhandle", which can be translated as "broom handle", precisely because of the shape of the handle of the weapon. The pistol was equipped with a sector sight, which was designed for shooting up to 1000 meters. Especially for the pistol, a new cartridge 7, 63 × 25 Mauser was created, the design of which was based on the 7, 65 mm Borchardt cartridge, but with an increased powder charge and an elongated sleeve. The muzzle velocity of a bullet fired from a pistol reached 430 m / s, which for that time was a record figure among pistols. In addition, Mauser were also produced under the 9 mm Parabellum cartridge and in small volumes under the 9 mm Mauser Export cartridge (9 × 25 mm). Most of the pistols were chambered for the 7.63 × 25 Mauser cartridge, which was almost completely similar to the Soviet 7.62x25 mm TT cartridge.
The pistol automatics worked according to the scheme of using recoil with a short barrel stroke. A distinctive feature of the Mauser was a permanent magazine with a two-row arrangement of cartridges, which was located in front of the trigger guard and was made as a single unit with the pistol frame (the pistol layout would later be called "automatic"). The magazine capacity, depending on the modifications, could change and was 6, 10 or 20 rounds. The equipment of the store was made from clips with a capacity of 10 rounds. In later models of the pistol, the magazines became separate parts, they were attached to the frame with a latch. The indicator of the presence of a cartridge in the chamber of the pistol was the ejector, which protruded from the surface of the bolt, at the moment when the cartridge was in the chamber.
The pistol had both striking advantages and no less striking flaws. For its time, the pistol was certainly an advanced one. A powerful cartridge with a high bullet velocity and high energy, combined with a long barrel, allowed for high penetration. When firing from a distance of 50 meters, the bullet easily pierced a bar with a thickness of 225 mm, and at a distance of 200 meters - a bar with a thickness of 145 mm. Also, the pistol stood out for its accuracy when firing at long distances, which was largely facilitated by a fairly long barrel and a flat trajectory of the bullet. A big plus was the high rate of fire, especially with the attached butt-holster, which also improved accuracy when firing at distant targets.
The most significant drawbacks of the model were attributed to the large weight and large dimensions. The center of gravity of the pistol has been shifted forward. The sharp and thin front sight was not convenient for aiming. High-speed pistol shooting with one hand was very difficult due to the large toss of the pistol when fired. This was due not only to the power of the cartridge used, but also to the significant distance between the central axis of the barrel and the butt pad of the handle. The handle itself in the shape of a handle from a shovel or a broomstick also did not please with any special convenience, which negatively affected the accuracy, especially for untrained shooters. Also, the disadvantages could be attributed to the fact that after 20 shots the barrel of the pistol was already very hot, and after 100 it was simply impossible to touch it with a hand. But all these shortcomings did not prevent the pistol from becoming a truly legendary weapon.
The feature of the pistol was the ability to use the holster as a butt. The holster was made of walnut wood, on the front cut there was a steel insert with a locking mechanism and a protrusion for adjoining the butt to the pistol grip, while the holster holster hinged cover rested against the shooter's shoulder. The butt holster was worn on the harness over the shoulder. Outside, it could be lined with leather and even have pockets designed to accommodate a spare clip and tools for cleaning and disassembling a pistol. The length of such a holster was 35.5 cm, the width in the front part was 4.5 cm, in the rear - 10.5 cm. The effective firing range of a pistol with a butt attached to it reached 200-300 meters. Among other things, the butt holster made it possible to increase the efficiency of firing bursts from the Mauser modification, which was created in 1931 (model 712 or Mauser model 1932). This pistol had a fire mode translator that allowed the shooter to choose the type of fire: bursts or single shots.
Each pistol could easily be turned into a pistol-carbine using a butt-holster. But Mauser models were also produced, which were even closer to full-fledged carbines, and use with a butt was the main one for them. The first pistols-carbines were released already in 1899. Their main difference was simply a giant barrel for pistols. If the standard version of the Mauser C96 had a large barrel already - 140 mm, then in these versions it reached 300 mm. Such pistols-carbines had a forend attached to the frame, as well as a classic-type butt. The butt, which was made at the same time with the handle, could be completely separated from the frame, since folding guns or pistols with an attached butt were allowed according to the German weapon legislation of those years, and rifles and carbines that allowed a shot with the butt removed were prohibited. All Mauser carbine pistols of the original design had such features as a removable buttstock with a handle (without the possibility of firing a shot without attaching the butt to the pistol), barrels 300 and even 370 mm long, a magazine for 10 rounds 7, 63x25 mm and a sector sight with markings from 50 to 1000 meters. Pistols with such a long barrel and a full-fledged stock were produced in a very small series - about 940 pieces.
In the Russian Empire, the Mauser appeared already in 1897, at the same time the pistol was recommended as a personal weapon for the officer corps. However, the military more often used a revolver for this purpose than a Mauser pistol. The price of the Mauser C96 model was quite high - about 40 gold rubles. In addition, starting in 1913, the Mauser began to equip pilots-aviators, and from 1915 they were used to equip some automotive units and specialized units, and the weapon also went on sale as civilian.
Later, the Mauser actively used all sides of the Civil War in Russia. He was loved by "red" and "white", anarchists and basmachi. The pistol was inextricably linked with the image of the Chekist, as it was the favorite weapon of Felix Dzerzhinsky. Later, it was willingly used by some commanders of the Red Army. From time to time, this weapon was used in all conflicts and wars in which the Red Army took part in the first half of the 20th century, including in World War II. The famous owners of this pistol, in addition to the "iron Felix", were the polar explorer Ivan Papanin and the future general secretary Leonid Brezhnev.
In general, the Mauser C96 model has become in some way a landmark, classic example of self-loading pistols. This German pistol had both undoubted advantages (high range and firing accuracy) and noticeable disadvantages (considerable size and weight, inconvenience of loading and unloading). Despite the fact that the pistol was almost never in service as the main model in any army in the world, in the first third of the last century, the Mauser was quite widely popular, and this popularity was deserved. The serial production of the pistol continued until 1939, during which time about a million Muzera of all modifications were produced.
The performance characteristics of the Mauser C96:
Caliber - 7, 63 mm.
Cartridge - 7, 63x25 mm (Mauser).
Length - 296 mm.
Barrel length - 140 mm.
Height - 155 mm.
Width - 35 mm.
Pistol weight - 1100 g (without cartridges).
Magazine capacity - 10 rounds.
