https://www.historynet.com/broomhandle-mauser-c96/ WINNING Over the WestAvailable with a detachable wooden shoulder stock that doubled as a holster, the rapid-firing C96 soon caught the attention of Western lawmen. An optional set of straps allowed the pistol to be carried as a shoulder rig, which appealed to officers on horseback, who didn’t like having a pistol flapping about on their waist when in the saddle. Several Texas Rangers bought the new foreign-made wonder gun. A photo taken around 1902 in Brownsville, Texas, shows Captain J. Abijah Brooks of Company A posing with his Mauser C96, complete with shoulder stock, beside seven of his Rangers, all of whom carry Colt Single Action Army revolvers and Winchester rifles. Another period photo captures the sheriff and three deputies of Anadarko County, Oklahoma Territory. Displayed prominently atop the deputies’ stacked rifles and six-shooters is the proud sheriff’s Broomhandle Mauser.
By those sunset years of the Old West, lawmen, outlaws and the general public had increasing access to more sophisticated arms designs. The Mauser stood out, not only for its design but also for its efficiency. Certainly, many regarded them as the greatest thing to come along since denim jeans. There were those, however, who considered them expensive novelties.
MOVIE Magic
A formidable weapon, the Mauser C96 most likely made an appearance in post-1900 gunfights in the real West. Its intimidating looks also garnered the Broomhandle roles in the “reel West.”
One of the German versions chewed up the scenery (and several bad guys) in the 1972 film Joe Kidd. In that Western Clint Eastwood’s title character carries a Single Action Army as his primary weapon, while the Mauser belongs to New Mexican mercenary Lamarr Simms (portrayed by Don Stroud). Later in the film, as he evades a posse, Kidd gets hold of the C96 and fires some 30 rounds from its 10-round magazine before it locks empty. (No average Joe, indeed.) In 2015 the prop Mauser from that film, stock included, fetched just north of $1,800 on eBay. In the 1963 James Bond spy thriller From Russia With Love, the assassin played by Robert Shaw makes use of a C96.
Of course, as the Mauser came in so late in the game, it was never a contender for the title “The Gun That Won the West.” Had it been around in the 1870s and ’80s, one might argue the West could have been “won” much sooner. WW
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