Mauser c96 Caliber
 

I have what I belive to be a late post war Bolo c96 mauser. I belive this based on the serial number, the shorter barrel and the smaller hand grip.

The original owner told me it is a 9mm (parabellum).

I am aware that the Bolo was made in three calibers, a 7.63, an 8 and a 9×25.

The barrel is stamped with a 7.63 marking which makes me believe it is not a 9×25 Originally. I tried a 9×19 snap cap and that fit.

I was under the impression that converting to a different caliber would require replacing the entire barrel.

Is there a way to confirm that this firearm can safely fire 9×19?

There were a few prewar bolos being 9x25mm Mauser Export caliber, very rare. The chance this one being 9x25mm is almost zero. All postwar bolos that I have seen were 7,63mm. Many were converted to 9x19mm Luger in the US due to old bore was too worn. If previous owner told you it's 9mm Luger, most likely that's the way it is now. To tell for sure, you need to measure its current bore diameter. Simpler way is to post a picture of the muzzle, should be easy to tell.

For safety, it depends on gun's overall condition. I fired quite a few Mausers, from Conehammer to Schnellfeuer, none of those failed so far. But those were relatively good condition pistols. For the particular one you mentioned being safe or not, need to find a local gunsmith to check, or you take the risk. Usually, very worn gun is easy to tell,, action is loose, sight leaf spring is very weak, trigger is sluggish, sear and disconnector don't work properly in inspection etc.

The worst two that I had fired were these two in the 1st photo, no blue left, bore is not great either. But the action was still tight. I fired 20 rounds from each of them, both worked perfectly, of course, no accuracy, keyholes on target paper, but that's expected. The alone one in the 2nd photo, although has blue left, but I dared not fire it -- when I shake it in hand, I can feel the receiver is moving. So, case by case, cannot totally depend on exterior appearance.

Thanks! I was aware that there were SOME 9×25 and that they were extremely rare. I also figured this was not one of them.

If it looks like this, it CAN'T...

http://forum.lugerforum.com/attachme...1&d=1304078877

If it is 7.63, don't try Tokarev ammunition...That's how that picture got that way... :rolleyes:

Surprisingly enough, many people (for example on Gunboards) still insist that it's safe to shoot Tok ammo in a Broomhandle. Same people probably shoot +P in their Lugers. When somebody says "I have been doing it for years and my gun still works just fine", I usually reply "My neighbor had been smoking crack for years and he's still alive".

By the way, I saw three Broomhandles with that kind of damage for sale at the Cool Springs show. When I pointed it out and asked the owners how they got that way, they looked like that proverbial deer in the headlights. I suspect they "had been doing it for years", and all of a sudden realized that it was time to sell...

Measure the bore diameter and make a chamber casting.

Some Tokarev ammo were 1400 fps, those should be safe. The only problem is Tokarev ammo quality being questionable, it lacks consistency, muzzle velocity varies big time in Chronograph, cartridges from a single box are measured from 1300 fps to 1600+ fps.

The quality of commercial 1200 fps PPU and 1400 fps Fiocchi 7.63mm cartridge is much more consistent. The quality is higher than surplus ammo. I believe they also make 7.62mm Tokarev cartridge. When have time, I will buy a couple of boxes and measure their velocity as well.