.45 ACP/Shanxi Type 17 Broomhandle

[Sergio Natali]

I've got a very small collection of C96 and among them there is an original SHANSEI.
As far as I know there are more than two kind of Chinese model 1896 copies.
One sort was practically hand made and at the time it was often dangerous to shoot; in the second group is possible to find quite a mix bag of varieties, some of them carry the legend Yaku Naval Dockyard on top of the chamber, where Taku is a city in the Hopiei province of China near the river Pei, and were manufactured by an armory located there.
The third sort made in 1929 was mainly used by the police and is chambered .45ACP

Quote
"...from he serial numbers noted there must have ben over 8,000 of these made and except for their size and a slight extension of he magazine to hold 10 .45 ACP cartidges, they are quite faithful reproductions of the original. A translation of the markings inicate that they were made in the Shansei Province Arsenal in 1929. since many thousands of Model 1921 Tomson submachine gun in .45 ACP were already in use in China, it is not surprising that Chinese choose to copy the popular model 1896 Mauser in that caliber," Unquote
(from System Mauser by Breathed ans Schroeder.)

Sergio