C96 Bolo range trip

JasonGTA

JasonGTA

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I bought a C96 Bolo from a member a few months ago, brought it to the range today because someone brought in some ammo for me. I was told it was 7.63x25, it was milsup ammo I will post pictures of it later. It may be 7.62x25. Anyways I shot it with one round at a time (Just to be safe.) Shot and ejected fine, barrel is pretty shot out and it is a smooth bore, but it hit paper after a few tries. But man the muzzle flash was like a camera flash. Next week I will take a video and post it. The only problem I had is if I put more then 3 round in it the first or second brass will get stuck in the chamber and I either have to pull it out or put something down the barrel and lightly tap it out. Has anyone had this problem and knows how to fix it? Also the grips look handmade and are wobbly. I will also post pics of them later too.


Edit:
Sorry if this is not in the right sub topic. Please move if needed.
 
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It sounds like you are shooting Tokarev ammo in a C96 Mauser. Do not do this.

7.62X25 Tokarev is loaded to much higher pressures than 7.63 Mauser (30 Mauser) and can damage the gun and or yourself.
 
Clotho said:
It sounds like you are shooting Tokarev ammo in a C96 Mauser. Do not do this.

7.62X25 Tokarev is loaded to much higher pressures than 7.63 Mauser (30 Mauser) and can damage the gun and or yourself.
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The bullet measures 7.81mm and is 34.73mm long altogether.
yxNpL6H.jpg
 
I would not shoot that ammo in an old Bolo,it looks like Tokarev 7.62x25 to me,way too hot for that gun.

The ammo I have for my C96 all have a headstamp with .30 Mauser on it,another box I have says clearly 7.63,so also Mauser.

Another advise,please strip the gun,make sure the springs are in good shape and most important,check the bolt stop for cracks,because if it breaks

you end up with the bolt in your face.

I load my own ammo,5 grains of red dot behind a cast bullet and it also gives a pretty good muzzle flash out of a 5.5" barrel,but what I have seen on Youtube

videos this is pretty normal.
 
M1-Garand said:
I would not shoot that ammo in an old Bolo,it looks like Tokarev 7.62x25 to me,way too hot for that gun.

The ammo I have for my C96 all have a headstamp with .30 Mauser on it,another box I have says clearly 7.63,so also Mauser.

Another advise,please strip the gun,make sure the springs are in good shape and most important,check the bolt stop for cracks,because if it breaks

you end up with the bolt in your face.

I load my own ammo,5 grains of red dot behind a cast bullet and it also gives a pretty good muzzle flash out of a 5.5" barrel,but what I have seen on Youtube

videos this is pretty normal.
Click to expand...


Everything on the inside is in really good condition except for the barrel, it looks like it is a smoothbore. The outside looks like it has been tucked in someones waist band for 20 years. Most of the markings are worn off but you can still read them a small amount.
 
Yea, I am going to get some .30 mauser at some point and not shoot anymore of this ammo from my gun. Also, this grips on it look to be hand made. There is a bolt wedged into one side.
H1fFi3S.jpg
 
You could use the powder and components to come up with a lighter load that matches the factory ammo.
If your into that kind of thing.
 
A few years ago I bought a C96 from a member here. When I received the pistol, which looked to be in good condition, it was obvious from the way the bolt was hanging up that there was something seriously wrong with it. The seller claimed he wasn't aware of the problem. OK, he had a very good trader rating and he may not have tried to operate the pistol. I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

Every coil spring in that pistol was broken including the bolt return spring, firing pin spring and the magazine spring which is a staggered flat spring. Wolf Springs offered a new spring kit for the pistol so I ordered one. The springs all had the proper diameter and it mentioned on the package that all of the springs other than the mag spring were made from larger diameter wire for extra strength. They also needed to be trimmed as they were to long. I contacted the people at Wolf and asked them if the springs had been built in that manner to handle the cheap at the time Tokarev/submachinegun ammo that was available on the market. They told me that many of their customers had requested such springs but wouldn't advise the use of the Tok ammo in the C96 under any circumstances.

Those old pistols are works of art inside and out. They were made well and are very tough. With heavy springs they may be safe but you need to ask yourself if its worth it to break an extremely hard to find part that is serial numbered to the pistol and may have to be hand fitted to operate smoothly in the pistol. I had the opportunity several years ago to shoot a legally owned and operated Schnellfeur C96. The owner of the pistol fed its mags with surplus soviet ammo without a qualm. I refused to run that stuff through my pistol.
Before he passed away, he had put a few thousand rounds through that pistol without a hiccup. In fact, he told me that Kynoch ammo supposedly built for the pistols would not allow his full auto to function reliably. He would get stovepipes out of it with every mag. That can indicate the springs in his SFC96 were to powerful for the regular semi auto pistols like my own.

When we cleaned the pistols the parts, other than the sear disconnect looked to be identical. I don't remember what his springs looked like and didn't compare them to mine. I will not say one way or the other if the C96 pistols can or even should handle a steady diet of the surplus 7.63x25 being offered for sale now. IMHO, NO. The ammo is available or was from Tradex a banner supporter.
 
I think Wolff makes a spring replacement kit for the 96 pistol and a guy in the States did barrel re-lines Harold
 
I got several boxes of this Czech Sellier & Bellot 7.63 Mauser ammo and had excellent results shooting it in both my Austro-Hungarian 1916 Contract and German WWI Contract C-96 pistols. Head stamp reads SBP 7.63.



 
I had a bunch of that stuff. It came out several years ago. Did you find your ammo recently??? As you say it is good ammo. Did you happen to chronograph any of it?? I didn't do that with any of mine. I do know it was slightly hotter than the Kynoch soft point ammo I had.
 
mbogo3 said:
I think Wolff makes a spring replacement kit for the 96 pistol and a guy in the States did barrel re-lines Harold
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The barrel relines were actually done by several different gunsmiths there. There was also a company that offered to cut off the worn out barrels and make up a threaded barrel that was fit to the upper and offered it in 9mm as well as 30 Luger and 30 Mauser pistol. I don't know who is doing that now. I did one in 9mm and I can tell you it is a very tedious job that needs your complete attention from beginning to end. It is doable but not profitable unless someone really wants to pay through the nose. I was lucky enough to find a stripped upper in a junk box at a gun show to play with and do the mod on. Another thing, those uppers are not like AR uppers and need to be hand fitted so they operate reliably and are safe.
 
bearhunter said:
I had a bunch of that stuff. It came out several years ago. Did you find your ammo recently??? As you say it is good ammo. Did you happen to chronograph any of it?? I didn't do that with any of mine. I do know it was slightly hotter than the Kynoch soft point ammo I had.
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Hi bearhunter; I got the ammo a year or so ago; I also shoot the Fiocchi 7.63 Mauser ammo with good results. I don't have a chronograph so can't provide that data.
 
mbogo3 said:
http://www.redmansrifling.com/mauser.htm
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Thanks for that mbogo3. I have seen that ad and the fellows prices are very good. Considering the liner has to be stepped to accommodate the chamber area as well as the barrel. Then the barrel has to be drilled to accept the liner in two or maybe three steps or maybe they have a special drill made up that works like a reamer. I am going to contact them for some pics of their work. For someone in Canada wanting to get that work done special permits would be required for the import and export of the upper. Cost would likely run around $600 Canadian or more by the time it was back on your lower.
 
bearhunter said:
The barrel relines were actually done by several different gunsmiths there. There was also a company that offered to cut off the worn out barrels and make up a threaded barrel that was fit to the upper and offered it in 9mm as well as 30 Luger and 30 Mauser pistol. I don't know who is doing that now. I did one in 9mm and I can tell you it is a very tedious job that needs your complete attention from beginning to end. It is doable but not profitable unless someone really wants to pay through the nose. I was lucky enough to find a stripped upper in a junk box at a gun show to play with and do the mod on. Another thing, those uppers are not like AR uppers and need to be hand fitted so they operate reliably and are safe.
Click to expand...

C96 Broomhandle Mausers are now being relined and re-barreled in Canada. Try googling "C96 relining Canada"
 
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