LugerForum Discussion Forums - My c96 Mystery/theory proved to be correct

I had the opportunity to shoot 4 C96 Mauser pistols recently and all shot about 3 or 4 foot high at 50 yards. I thought about this and reasoned that the Germans could never have been so sloppy as to build a pistol this far out of line. I had a theory as to why this was happening. I knew it could not be that I was using ammo that was different than they used because even if you soup up the velocity it would not account for such a large difference in trajectory.

I suddenly had a thought as to what might be causing this and then after reading the book "System Mauser" I saw a picture of an old timer test firing the Mauser pistol at the factory to sight it in. What I saw in the old picture confirmed what I had suspicioned but I decided to try doing what he was doing to prove it beyond all reasonable doubt.

What was he doing? He was sighting it in while using the shoulder stock. Believe it or not when sighting the pistol with the sholder stock v/s shooting it without the stock accounts for about a 3 foot change in trajectory at 50 yards. Once I put the shoulder stock on the pistol shot almost to point of aim. It shot only about 6 inches high at 50 yards v/s 4 feet when firing it without the stock.

Needless to day I was then busily blasting apart clay pigeons with monotonous regularity. Those old C96's if in good shape are amazingly accurate pistols. I cannot say that for many of the more modern pistols that I own. You would think that in 100 years accuracy would have gotten better in pistols not worse but the proof is in the shooting and there you have it. It certainly is true unfortuately. They don't make em like they used to.

Thats why I love the old classic pistols. They truly were a wonderful work of art.