Mauser Broomhandle problems...
 

Hey everyone, I just took my broomhandle out to the range and have had some sort of failure and can't get the gun to disassemble. Upon firing the last round in the mag the bolt and hammer locked back as usual... but now the slide has no spring tension and moves freely back and forth on the receiver. The trigger also does nothing now and the hammer is stuck in the locked position. The latch to remove the lock work lifts as normal, but I can't disassemble past that point.

Any ideas?

I had a bent recoil spring that would get snagged together and caused a similar issue where the bolt could move in and out freely.

I never fired it like that, just by manually pulling the bolt it would get snagged. A new spring from Wolff solved that.

If you cannot get the slide off and the lockwork is stuck, it sounds like there may be a piece that broke or your sear disassembled. '

Is your locking block loose or misaligned?

By locking block are you referring to the lock work assembly as a whole? If so, it is not loose or misaligned. The bolt still moved freely. I removed it, the floor plate, spring and follower. The latch on the lock work lifts for disassembly but it will not budge now.

I was referring to the locking block on the right side of the slide. These have been known to crack, although I do not think it would impede removal of the lockwork.

Everything in the barrel extension including the bolt and bolt stop disassembles as normal. The problem definitely lies somewhere in the receiver...

You might try giving Alvin a PM. He has collected and owned C96's for years. I am sure he has seen every failure possible. He has helped me with some issues on my C96. These guns are old and shoot a hot cartridge for a 1896 design.
Take care.
Bob