A recent photo of a Mauser C96 from a forum member left me wondering.
There is a weakness in this pistol design, and it can be catastrophic both for the pistol but mainly for it's shooter.
This so called "weakness" is not really the pistol fault but it can happen from at least 3 factors.
For starters let me identify the "weak" point. Circled in red is the area that need to be watched.
Int his photo you can see the rear end of the barrel extension and the recoil spring abutment.
It is paramount that the rearmost rectangle of the barrel extension has perfectly squared vertical lines and that the recoil spring abutment (bolt retainer) is in this position. It his also very important that there is no deformation whatsoever in the hole for the abutment to enter the barrel extension.
Exemple of the hole in good condition.
For starters. If you own a pistol that doesn't comply with these standards. Do no shoot with it.
To be continued on the possible reasons for an unsafe condition.
There is a weakness in this pistol design, and it can be catastrophic both for the pistol but mainly for it's shooter.
This so called "weakness" is not really the pistol fault but it can happen from at least 3 factors.
For starters let me identify the "weak" point. Circled in red is the area that need to be watched.

Int his photo you can see the rear end of the barrel extension and the recoil spring abutment.
It is paramount that the rearmost rectangle of the barrel extension has perfectly squared vertical lines and that the recoil spring abutment (bolt retainer) is in this position. It his also very important that there is no deformation whatsoever in the hole for the abutment to enter the barrel extension.
Exemple of the hole in good condition.


For starters. If you own a pistol that doesn't comply with these standards. Do no shoot with it.
To be continued on the possible reasons for an unsafe condition.