broom handle hammer not locking back
 

I was at the local pawn shop and they got a broom handle mauser in. I was checking it out and it looks to be a mismatched mauser. Serial number on the bottom was 101xxx the top was 107xxx I cocked it and the hammer just falls, we messed with the safety and tb e hammer still would not lock back. Played with the trigger, safety, push the top end back and forth and the hammer still will not lock back. The price for the gun when tb ey thought was working was $799 with a repop stock/holster. It may have been buffed years ago. No blue left and repop grips. If tbey do get it working is the price fair? They said they will have someone look at it but im afraid they'll get it to **** and sell it once it **** but maybe not correctly fix it. If the rifling is decent what's a reasonable price for a Franken gun? Thank you. Jim

That's about what I'd pay with a repro stock and holster. Especially if there is rifling (even if relined). I wouldn't pay more than $1,000 though. That's for sure. I'm sure Alvin will chip in (I have a few Broomhandles but not the same level of knowledge he does) but maybe the hammer pin is worn or not engaging properly? It's the little wishbone shaped part.

Michael

Before chasing on that broken mixmaster in pawn shop, probably want to check this one out:

http://www.gunauction.com/buy/13417910

This one has a mismatched magazine floor. But that floor is not a moving part, so won't affect gun functioning.

Install a firing pin and safety lever, it will be fully functional. Aftermarket firing pins are available on gunbroker.com and ebay. Repro stock is flooding on ebay.

Of course, if this one goes too high, then return to pawn shop.

Sorry about the poor spelling, im typing on my phone and between too small keyboard and auto correct, sometimes I go back and reread my posts and am amazed at the slop I post.
So $799 would be about the top price on the gun then? The sales guy told me that the gun did function and they had the hammer not locking back before. He was telling me he basically pushed the barrel back and forth while holding the hammer back etc until it worked. I think its got something worn and he just got lucky that they got it to work the one last time.
Im headed back this week and if its still there. Im going to ask that they cycle it at least 15-20 times to see if it keeps working. They said if it still acts up they will discount the price and sell it as a non functioning gun. The sales guy said to for them to pay a unsmith to work on it then sell it makes the liability to them go up not to mention eat into the profit. So we'll see. Thanks. Jim

Hammer not reliable is a serious safety issue. Much worse than pulling trigger but no bang is this -- you did not pull the trigger and it could bang at worst timing... how scary is that.... could kill someone in range. Probably can only treat it as a pile of parts. Some parts on it might still be usable.

Or you can get a poor man's 712. It's already hardly manageable when you are expecting it. Imagine if it comes as a surprise. :eek:

"Sear spring & hammer pivot". Very important part; stay away from Numrich repros. Try to find an original. (I got one from Alvin years ago.) :)

I think you will find that patience pays off when buying broomhandles. Keep an eye on the auctions and you will see that there is no rhyme or reason to what people pay for in the sub $1000 range. Sometimes a bidding war will happen over a total piece of junk, and other times you can walk away the sole bidder on a decent matched shooter for $500-700.

Do not discount a shot out bore with a nice finish at a good price, you can get it relined for $200: http://www.redmansrifling.com/mauser.htm

What is it? I have never heard this. From collecting point of view, I don't need to buy any C96 anymore. Current collection fits me well. But still buy and sell to generate some activity. Of course, if it's a very special one, I will consider.

What is it? I have never heard this variation... well, from collecting point of view, I don't need to buy any C96 anymore. Still missing many rare variations, but current collection fits me well (I can only put so much into hobby anyway). But I still buy and sell some duplicates from time to time to generate some activity. Most transactions nowadays are towards this direction.

New love is FN 1900. This is an interesting pistol too. And price is still low.

The M712 is a select fire C96, I believe it was capable of full auto.

I don't have it. It's very awkward for me to play something need special permit in this state. The state is not gun friendly. Only got a "714", and missing magazine.

CMR sells 10-round magazines. Claimed being original. But I did not see its condition, so, probably will wait a US seller. Saw quite a few of those magazines in the past, but short of supply currently.

If anyone has spare original Schnellfuer magazines in mint (or, at least excellent) condition for sale, I'd like to buy one.

They didnt have a chance to have the smith look at it today. They said call wed. Or Thursday and if their gun guy wont or cant fix it they will price it as a non working gun. Ive got a mismatched broomhandle probably imported from china bored to a 9mm. This would be a way to get it back to a 7.63 and have a project to play with. I would have a functioning gun to compare it to. Jim

Keep in mind that you cannot legally attach a repro stock to a Broomhandle. Dumb reg. considering you can do this with a Luger Navy or Artillery.

I think you should be able to obtain that item for approx. $ 550 or so. Try for less.
Thanks
Jack

I mentioned the sbr thing with the stock. It fell on deaf ears. Its like explaining 922 rules on AK47. Its a rule but pretty much nobody pays attention to it and bringing it up to a guy shooting a ak at the range will probably get you permanently booted from the range. Ill call back later this week and see what tbe price ends up at. A couple months ago they had a colt 1889 revolver missing a hammer and poor finish for $50. I picked it up got it .slyly functioning and got rid of it. I will keep up on the pistol. Hopefully Ill have a look at what I bought post. Jim

You can get a repro broomhandle stock for $30. ATF requires the C96 stock looks like original one. Translate into practical term, "roughly looks like an original one". So, don't attach a Luger style board-like stock to it.

Alvin,
a poor man's 712, is any broomhandle that has a problem that makes or allows it to fire "full auto"! As you know this will get you in trouble with the Feds as surely as a real one!:eek:

Now is my turn to ask the questions. :D What is a 714?

The M712 or M1932 is the selective fire version of the 1930 variant of the C96. It can shoot in semi auto mode or full auto. It's pretty much uncontrollable in full auto if you are not using the shoulder stock.

But thanks to Curss and DonVoigt you already know this. :D

That's right. Mauser has never assigned a name to "714". More commonly seen "712" was not called as "712" by Mauser either.

Selective firing "712" came from US importer Stoeger in 1930s. Stoeger called semi-auto only version "Genuine Mauser Twenty Shot 7.63 m/m Pistol". In 1980s, another US importer assigned "714" to their products which does look a few percent like Mauser. Since all these designations were not factory anyway, Navy Arms was so imaginative, plus "714" is a shorter name, it does not hurt to call it 714.

Being a rare variation too. Stoeger price was $100 in 1930s, coming with a 10-shot and a 20-shot magazine. Translating into today's dollar value, roughly $3600.

I just saw pictures of the "714". Looks like it has a "712" frame minus the fire selector.

Very few persons have disassembled it to see what's inside. One day in future, I will post some pictures.

Kind of weird. The winner of the item does not respond to invoice. Just checked, winner is a new member of auctionarms.com, has zero rating. Probably does not know how to proceed... why not ask then... I will give winner one week to respond to invoice.

Yes, this has been discussed here before. I think it was Navy Arms that did a run of billet semi-auto receivers for a batch of 712 Schnellfeuers they had found somewhere. No selector on the side. I don't recall if they altered the lockwork.

They were all refinished; some were done as carbines. IIRC someone (might have been me) posted the ad from SGN about them. :)

Alvin,
it is not so weird, lots of "un-rated" bidders have this problem,
maybe bought it in "error", lost the $$, or wife said no! or just
changed his mind.:confused:

Hopefully it is just that he forgot to look at the auction or his email,
do keep us posted.

Turned out being OK -- received a valid transferring dealer's FFL via email today. Just wait for money order now. Should be OK. The price sold to him is low, if he indeed backs out, I would be very surprised. It's not easy to find one like this at this price. Lots of C96 with deep pits under blue are sold this price on gunbroker.com and auctionarms.com. This one is pits free, and finish is original 75-80% except floor. Bore is shiny bright, not relined or rebored. He'll be very happy.

Now expecting my new M1930 coming :)

Called the shop today and the smith hasn't looked at it yet. Turns out he's more of a gun hobbies not a full blown gun smith and a regular customer not a guy running a business. Price hasn't changed but the sales guy said he would talk to the boss about making a "as is" adjustment. So im going to stop by this weekend and see how much of a adjustment there is. Jim

Good luck, Jim. I think it'd be a good buy if they could come down a bit on the price due to 'non-functionality' and you could send it somewhere to a smith who knows Broomhandles (any recommendations off of the forum?).

Update. Went back twice to the pawn shop. Both time was told they havent looked further into the mauser. I guess they arent in a real hurry to do anything with it. Im sure people arent beating down the doors to buy the thing, they have a customer (me) interested but arent doing anything about it. Im probably going to stop by in a couple weeks and see if its still there. Funny thing they have the repop stock attached to the pistol to make a nice short barreled rifle. Dont know if thier ffl covers sbr's but ive never seen a suppressor for sale there. Its a pawn shop so who knows. Jim

In most cases, attaching stock is OK. Some sellers do not know Navy Arms assembled 714 were not C&R, nor are those Chinese Selbstlader marked parts pistols with removable magazine. also attaching a stock without registration, that's illegal. Some FFL dealers even attach repro stock to Navy Arms publicly on gunbroker.com for sale. Obviously, they did not do their homework. Looks like no one chasing them either. They are adults, it's their business. If authority chases them, their licenses are in jeopardy. How stupid it is to lose license this way.

Alanint....are you sure? On the Smith and Wesson forum, I saw a reply from the ATF to a shooter dated 1/24/2014 that stated repro stocks of correct size and shape are legal with an original C96, but NOT with one that had a newly manufactured receiver.......???

I saw the same letter posted. Got me wanting a repo stock for mine. Jim

Went back to the pawn shop yesterday. I was told someone came in and fixed it. I got the feeling someone came in took it apart and reset whatever and they called it good. $800 no warranty, no idea why the hammer wouldn't lock back in the first place. I passed. Jim

Yes, that is correct. I'm not sure how I stated this in my post, but exact copies are ok, what you cannot do is come up with modern gizmos as stocks for antique pistols.

Sorry for any confusion.

Bringing back a older thread. Went to the shop today. The gun guy said the old timer gun Smith stopped by and said its probably a broken sear or sear spring. Thats why the hammer wont stay locked back. They said they had $450 into the rig with three strippers, reproduction holster and leather strap and the gun. They would let it go for $450. The top and bottom doesnt match. Looks like no finish, its a 7.63 and the barrel looks like a musket. As in its a smooth bore! Zero rifling left.
I know its probably not worth it, I would be better off buying one in functioning condition for a little more money. But...im a sucker for poor orphaned projects. Jim

One last thing, there is a very small import mark sac ca stamped on it. Im thinking maybe its one of those mauser imported from china back in the eighties? Jim

With sac ca stamp, it should be a broomhandle imported from China in 1980s.

For project C96, it's a special category. There are better base guns from time to time. For example, this one was sold just a few days ago:

http://www.gunauction.com/buy/13463719/

Well... It's $240 more expensive than that $450 one. But be honest, to reline the bore of that $450 piece, that will easily cost you $240. Fixing the hammer problem,,, parts plus labor,,, won't cost another $100?? After that, will it work... who knows... I understand people are doing project not for money, just for fun, but a better base will be easier to start.

This $690 one has a weird grip, which is ugly. But a pair of reproduction grip panels are easy to come, and cheap.

Jim,
like many or even most of the chinese imports, it is pretty much worn out.

You may never get it to work, at least not without spending a fortune on it.:surr:

I'd get a functioning one, if a shot out bore was the only thing- that could be fixed.

This one is full of snakes and will bite your, JMHO>

Im going to pass on this one. I have no issue swapping out parts and figuring stuff out. But 450 and redmans charges $215 plus shipping to reline, plus whatever parts it ends up needing I would be upside down in the thing in a hurry. Jim

$450 is what I offered Simpson's a year or two back for a C96 with a bent barrel. (I would have grafted a new barrel on it). At that price, I figured it was worth $450 in parts...And priceless for experimenting... :)

I have never looked at machine work as 'fun', in the strictest sense of the word...I get a lot of satisfaction doing machining, welding, turning, fabricating...making things out of lumps of metal with machines...It's more a sense of satisfaction than 'fun'... :thumbup:

My first "real" job was as a production machinist...I loved the work but hated the job... :mad: