Re-examining the “Scandinavian Contract” Mauser C/96 Broomhandle
We get a lot of WWI and WWII c/96 “Broomhandle” pistols here at Parker’s gun store. In this post, we will be looking at an example of an unexplained contract block of C/96 Pistols made in the WWI era. These guns are sometimes called “Scandinavian Contract” guns, but no documentation has ever been produced linking them to a Scandinavian country.
In all respects, these pistols are regular Wartime Commercial WWI guns. They have standard Mauser markings on the right receiver, and standard Mauser markings on the top of the chamber. The hammer is marked with “NS,” for Neue Sicherung (New Safety) indicating production between approximately 1914, and the advent of the 1930 Commercial model. Their finish is definitely below Mauser’s peacetime standards, with many machining marks and a general look of rushed production.
The serial numbers of observed guns beseems to fall mostly between the high four digit or low five digit range. Some sources cite a figure of approximately 23,000 guns made in this contract, but again, no concrete proof is offered for this number. It is true that Mauser did sometimes produce a special contract of guns in their own serial number range (Italian Navy contract, Turkish contract, Red Nine contract, etc.), but just as often Mauser would simply produce contract guns with whatever serial number the factory was on at the time (Persian contract, French Gendarme, etc.).
The example pictured here is number 8034, and has all matching numbers, including the full serial number being stamped into the inside of the grips. It is in standard 7.63mm Mauser caliber, and bears no markings at all that would distinguish it from any other standard Wartime Commercial C/96. No military proofs or acceptance marks are found anywhere on the gun. This gun has been used, but not hard, and retains approximately 85% of its original finish, is mechanically excellent, and has a bright bore.
We are unsure where the idea that these were Scandinavian contract guns arose. While it’s true that C/96 pistols did make their way into Nordic countries, most of these were just standard guns used by various forces because it was all they could get. The Finns certainly used Mausers, and standard C/96 guns with a Finnish “SA” property stamp are frequently encountered. We have also encountered a late production Red 9 that was given by the Swedish military as a shooting prize, as well as a 1920 rework with Norwegian military marks.
These “Scandinavian” contract guns are very unusual to find, and it is a little hard to believe that if 23,000 were produced and sent to a Scandinavian country, that they would be so rare today. Most Scandinavian countries exported their surplus arms to the United States market, and many models of Finnish, Danish, and Swedish arms are readily available today. Again, it is a bit hard to believe that as many as 23,000 pistols went to Scandinavia and just essentially disappeared.
A possible scenario to explain the low serial numbers and the low amount of observed guns would be that these were guns pulled out of production from the Red 9 contract serial number range, made in 7.63mm Mauser, and sent to fulfill whatever contract had been placed. Or, perhaps these were just Red 9 serial range guns made for commercial production, and made in 7.63mm Mauser. While all this is pure conjecture, it would explain guns made in a unique serial number range, with few known examples, and with standard WWI era characteristics.
Whether these pistols were made for a Scandinavian country, purchased by a belligerent in the Russian Civil War, or were just plain 7.63mm guns made in the Red 9 serial range, it is still just a guess. Until a number of these guns emerge from a specific country, or until some sort of documentation comes to light explaining this contract, this will be just another fascinating aspect of collecting these unusual and highly sought after firearms.
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