# Broomhandle Mauser **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 26, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broomhandle-mauser/405610 "2007-05-26T15:13:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broomhandle-mauser/405610/1 "2007-05-26T15:13:13Z")
Is it legal in the US to mount a stock on a Broomhandle Mauser? On one hand, it turns it into a Class 3 ‘short barreled rifle’. On the other hand, it might be in the ‘curio and relic’ category and be exempt. (I had a 1942 Luger that could accept a stock, but I was told it would be illegal to put one on.) ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broomhandle-mauser/405610/2 "2007-05-27T01:31:09Z")
I thought all semiautomatic handguns with an outside the butt magazine like the Broomhandle Mauser were now banned; unless that was part of the now expired Assault Weapons ban. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broomhandle-mauser/405610/3 "2007-05-27T01:47:13Z")
Your best bet would be to write- not call, and not E-mail, but send an actual letter- the BATF and ask them. FWIW, in Australia I believe it’s legal to mount a detachable stock on a Mauser Broomhandle, Luger, or Browning Hi-Power, provided the overall length of the firearm remained under 75cm. Have you found a nice Mauser C96? I’ve been looking for one for years, but they’re horribly expensive here and 7.63mm Mauser ammo is nigh-impossible to obtain. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broomhandle-mauser/405610/4 "2007-05-27T02:27:12Z")
FYI, our good friends at the [ATF](http://www.atf.gov/firearms/curios/sec3.htm) have a website. Simply typing “Mauser” and “shoulder” in the search box gave me the linked page. Curios or Relic - [QUOTE=ATF] Belgian, Pre-war mfd. Hi Power pistols, in cal. 9mm having tangent sights graduated to 500 meters, slotted for shoulder stock, having S/Ns of less than 47,000 without letter prefixes or suffixes and accompanied by original Belgian mfd. detachable wooden flat board type shoulder stocks. [/QUOTE] Doesn’t look like you can get away with an aftermarket stock, but an original is copacetic. Local laws may vary, of course. ETA - ATF Page is titled “Weapons Removed From The NFA As Collector’s Items And Classified As Curios Or Relics Under The GCA” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broomhandle-mauser/405610/5 "2007-05-27T02:45:12Z")
[QUOTE=Martini Enfield] Have you found a nice Mauser C96? [/QUOTE] No, but I’d like to get one eventually. A refinished, stock-capable ‘shooter’ (as opposed to a ‘collector’) P.08 like the one I used to have is higher on the list. Edit: Not that I particularly want a shoulder stock. Just curious, is all. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broomhandle-mauser/405610/6 "2007-05-27T02:59:09Z")
I gotta ask- What’s a broomhandle shoot like? ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broomhandle-mauser/405610/7 "2007-05-27T03:36:46Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] No, but I’d like to get one eventually. A refinished, stock-capable ‘shooter’ (as opposed to a ‘collector’) P.08 like the one I used to have is higher on the list. Edit: Not that I particularly want a shoulder stock. Just curious, is all. [/QUOTE] If you want a shooter, then look for a “Red 9” Broomhandle- so called because they have a large, red 9 engraved on the handle. They’re chambered for 9mm Parabellum, and the Red 9 is there to inform the firer of this, so they don’t load the gun with 7.63mm Mauser ammo. They’re also very hard to find- I’ve never seen one in person, so I imagine they’re horribly expensive as well. On a related note, I’ve often wondered why no-one makes a modern reproduction of the Mauser C96, ideally in 9mm Parabellum- the Mauser C96 is a hugely popular gun and you’d think there would be a reasonably significant market for it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broomhandle-mauser/405610/8 "2007-05-27T04:56:59Z")
Well, they did, sort of. Some were manufactured in China and Afganistand, either under license or just plain copied. You can find these also in .45 auto. If I was going to get a Mauser to shoot, I’d get one of these copies/licensed. Some decade or so ago, you could get one in nice shooting condition for like $200. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broomhandle-mauser/405610/9 "2007-05-27T05:05:10Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] Well, they did, sort of. Some were manufactured in China and Afganistand, either under license or just plain copied. You can find these also in .45 auto. If I was going to get a Mauser to shoot, I’d get one of these copies/licensed. Some decade or so ago, you could get one in nice shooting condition for like $200. [/QUOTE] I’m told the Chinese “Box Cannon” copies were, well, not all that great. As for the Afghani-made guns: **[Khyber Pass Copy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khyber_Pass_Copy)**. They’re not safe to fire. Often made out of railway tracks, scrapped cars, and whatever else can be salvaged, they are- at best- wallhangers or conversation pieces. To reiterate: **DO NOT FIRE KHYBER PASS MANUFACTURED FIREARMS!**