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Title:	PISTOL, SEMI-AUTOMATIC -  GERMAN PISTOL MAUSER MODEL 1896 7.63MM SN# 127
Maker/Manufacturer:	MAUSER
Date of Manufacture:	1897
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 879
Measurements:	OL: 77.4CM 30 1/2" BL: 29.8CM 11 3/4"

Object Description:

GERMAN PISTOL MAUSER MODEL 1896 7.63MM SN# 127
Manufactured by Mauser, Oberndorf, Germany - Pre-WWI commercial German semi-automatic pistol with 10-round internal magazine. Large ring hammer type. Detachable wood/metal stock. Wooden forearm, hooded front sight. Tangent rear sight. Bolt welded to slide from hammer to frame. Rare gun. AKA: Large Ring Hammer Transitional Carbine.

Markings:
Barrel: 4776.99. 127. WAFFENFABRIK/MAUSER/ A/N.
Hammer: 27.
Frame: WAFFENFABRIK/MAUSER/A NECKAR. 127.
Stock: 127. DWM logo on butt.
Trigger mechanism: 127.

Weapon transferred to the Museum from 4th MP Detachment, Ft. Myer, Virginia on 9 May 1961.

Notes: Letter from Chief of Ordnance, D.W. Flager, to Commanding Officer, Springfield Armory, dated 27 April 1898. "SIR: I have to inform you that there has been forwarded to you one Mauser pistol, and there is enclosed a sheet giving directions for its use. This pistol has been procured from the Mauser Company through the Military Attache of the United States Legation, Berlin, on request of this Department, for trial. Twenty-five hundred rounds of ammunition are stated to have been forwarded with the pistol, but have not yet been received. When received they will be forwarded to you.
You are instructed to examine the pistol, and, on receipt of the ammunition, subject it to tests and comparison with those of the Borchardt repeating pistol heretofore tested, and report the results to this office."

"...As to automatic pistols, it is believed that such a weapon will soon replace the service revolver. The Mauser, Mannlicher, Borchardt and Bergmann types were submitted to the Board of Cavalry, Artillery and Ordnance Officers, who on December 28, 1898, reported as follows:
'The Board is of opinion, based upon a careful examination of the Borchardt, the Mannlicher, the Mauser, the Colt, and the Bergmann, repeating weapons, that the development of this type of pistol has not yet reached such a stage as to justify its adoption in the place of the revolver for service use; and in the case of the adoption of such an arm in the future, the Board believes it would be inexpedient to allow it to displace the carbine, the latter being a long range weapon of precision for dismounted fire action, while the former, with its shorter barrel and attachable stock, is, in the opinion of the Board, better adapted for use as a short range weapon for rapid use while mounted.'
The Armory Board composed of Ordnance Officers reported on these automatic pistols as follows: 2. Mauser, caliber 7.63mm, or .301; weight of bullet 85 grains. This pistol in general works well, and the parts are well made and durable; it can be easily and quickly loaded, and it is capable of a rapid rate of fire; it has a high initial velocity and is more accurate than the revolver. It has the following disadvantages: It is large and cumbersome. The construction is complicated and the pistol is expensive to make. It would be more difficult to care for than a revolver. Its caliber is small (7.63 m/m - 0.30) and the bullet is extremely light, 85 grains. It is of foreign manufacture. In regard to the value of this arm as a pistol-carbine, this Board agrees with the opinion of the Board of Officers convened by S.O. 260, H.Q.A., A.G.O., November 3, 1898, which was as follows: 'The Board believes it would be inexpedient to allow it to displace the carbine, the latter being a long range weapon of precision for dismounted fire action, while the former (referring to the automatic pistol) with its shorter barrel and attachable stock, is, in the opinion of the Board, better adapted for use as a short range weapon for rapid use while mounted.'
The Board does not recommend the adoption of this pistol for service. Date of report, 1900." - Captain John T. Thompson, May 14, 1900

References:
Breathed, John W. & Joseph J. Schroeder. SYSTEM MAUSER. Handgun Press. Chicago, Il. 1967.