Mauser C96 Schnellfeuer

About the Mauser C96 Schnellfeuer

The Mauser C96 Schnellfeuer (Model 712) is a German select-fire machine pistol, a fully automatic development of the C96 'broomhandle' pistol introduced in 1932. Designed by Mauser engineer Karl Westinger, it added a frame-mounted fire selector switch and a detachable 10- or 20-round box magazine to the classic short-recoil C96 mechanism, allowing the shooter to choose between single shots and full-automatic fire. Chambered almost exclusively in 7.63x25mm Mauser, it cycles at roughly 950 rounds per minute, which makes it nearly uncontrollable when fired from the hand but surprisingly effective when braced with its detachable wooden shoulder stock. Mauser created the Schnellfeuer as a response to Spanish gunmakers such as Astra and Beistegui Hermanos, who had begun selling unlicensed selective-fire C96 copies into the lucrative Chinese market. Just over 100,000 were produced in the 1930s, the vast majority exported to China, where they served warlord, Nationalist, and Communist forces alike.

Mauser only built the Schnellfeuer because Spanish gunmakers had beaten them to it, flooding China with unlicensed full-auto C96 clones; the company essentially had to copy a copy of its own pistol to win back the market. At nearly 950 rounds per minute a 20-round magazine empties in well under two seconds, so without its detachable wooden stock the gun climbs almost vertically and is considered nearly impossible to control one-handed.

Mauser C96 Schnellfeuer specifications

The Schnellfeuer (German for 'rapid fire') is frequently catalogued by Mauser's commercial designation Model 712 and, in German service, as the Reihenfeuerpistole. Two competing select-fire mechanisms existed: an earlier Josef Nickl design and the simpler, more reliable Karl Westinger design that Mauser ultimately adopted for series production. Most examples used the long 140mm barrel, though a shorter 'Bolo' length was also made. A small number reached the Waffen-SS during World War II.