A short story of two very different broomhandles

[bubbapug1]

I caught the Broomhandle bug a few months back after discussing them with a salesman at RifleGear during a transfer. I have read a lot on the guns in the past months to try to determine what I had. Of course that’s sometimes a bad idea because you than want each variant, in each caliber, and in the best shape you can find….but I am retired so I only can buy lower grade units!!!
One gun which intrigued me was a fake Broomhandle built by Astra. To say it’s a knock off of the highest quality would not be an exaggeration. To say it’s a blatant improvement would also not be stretching the truth, as the Astra 900 was designed in 1928 and employs a much more streamlined approach in terms of trigger mechanisms, etc. I would venture to guess the Astra probably employs less than half the machining steps to produce than a Mauser Broomhandle, and time is money. Also the gun appears to be easier to maintain, but alas there is no outlet for Astra parts.
The stab to the heart of Mauser is the company only sold a small number of guns to the German military, like 1,200, ot the Luftwaffe in WW2. The Astra however did sign a contract with the German military in WW2 as Mauser was too busy producing Luger and P38s.


The Broomhandle lost out to the Luger in trials to supply the Germans before WW1. One of the main issues was the safety, which wasn’t very safe, and would fire the gun when switched to fire from safe…no trigger needed!! Many officers in other armies did buy the Broomhandle, such as Winston Churchill…and of course some of the Russian Royal family was killed using a Broomhandle. The bolo actually is short for Bolshevik!! This gun should be popular with the communists in the CA state legislature!

Here are a few pics of my Mauser circa 1937 (1930 variant) and the Astra 900.












Astra right side up close







Mauser right side






Mauser left side

[bubbapug1]

Astra left side







The Astra is serviced by removing a side plate on its left side. The Mauser has to be diassembled by removing the lower from the upper, and its works are less intuitive, or should I say, less modern, although both guns use the same bold and almost the exact barrel/upper. Almost…they do use the same bolt. Note the jeweling of the internals and sided plate. My gun had some tarnishing and rust damage the contrast somewhat, but new this gun had to look impressive to someone removing the cover.













The rifling on mine is also very good, and the chamber dimensions are significantly tighter than its counterpart, to the point I had to dial the reloading dies down another 90 degrees to get the resized cases to feed. Although factory ammo works great and the chamber is in spec, it is tighter than the Mauser, at least the one I have!!! The bore diameter is also 0.300 while the Mauser is 0.308. Grooves on the Mauser are 0.314 while the Astra has grooves of 0.320”. I do except the Astra will shoot with less key holing than the shot out Mauser, but that’s not the mausers fault, it’s the corrosive ammo used in the period when it was younger.







I gotta do something about that grip screw someone bought at home depot however! The screw is not only wrong, but the grip has been dugout to remove or grip the ferrule. I'd replace it but the grips are serialized and match the rest of the gun.







Thanks for looking!

[spb_la]

Very nice write-up and pics, thank you.

[smle-man]

Nice write up and nice pistols!

I've always liked the Broomhandle. Owned two in my lifetime.

[pitfighter]

Really nice pictures - great write up - such nice lines.

[MajorSideburns]

Probably best to leave the grips and screw intact at this point. That screw looks like it has been there a while. What does a Mauser C96 in that condition go for these days if you don't mind me asking? They are neat pieces of history, I love their intricate mechanical design. Thanks for posting

[bubbapug1]

The Mauser was $1,050.00 total at little johns on auction. Except for the bore being a bit worn (the gun is still accurate) and the finish also worn especially near the rails, it's in great shape. I love the brown patina of the finish.

The Astra was bought off Gunbroker. The winning bid was $765.00. The gun was described as a project gun, in need of springs and a firing pin. I installed the pin but the springs look new to me and match my spring kit from Wolff so I didn't replace them. Internally except for tarnishing due to age the gun appears very lightly used. The bore as you can see is very clean. A chamber cast I did last night shows the chamber and lead rifling is pristine.

I think the Astra was a real deal. It's got some grip screw issues but I can live with that!! They're original and match!!

[I Swan]

I never realized the Astra's have design simplifications. I rarely see them.

[flyer898]

I have been thinking about getting a broom handle for a while now. I was not aware of the Astra. Thank you.

[smle-man]

A small number of Chinese made .45acp Broomhandles were brought into the country before the government cut off handgun/rifle imports from China. It looked like a beast of a handgun!

[bubbapug1]

A small number of Chinese made .45acp Broomhandles were brought into the country before the government cut off handgun/rifle imports from China. It looked like a beast of a handgun!

So the only thing not made in china for sale in the USA is a 45 acp broomhandle. Figures.

[I Swan]

So the only thing not made in china for sale in the USA is a 45 acp broomhandle. Figures.

Plus all the cheap SKS's, AK's, ammo, I miss all that stuff. I'm amazed what those 45 ACP Broomhandles can sell for.

[bubbapug1]

They're very rare. I would suppose the demand for them among collectors is strong. Lots of Asians into guns too in the USA. That alone could increase demand for the pistol, however I think the demographic for Asians into guns as s hobby is more like 18-45....not yet to the disposable income level to dabble in military memorabilia. That's just my observation, things could be different outside of LA, OC, IE.

The article from beetle is fantastic.

Someone needs to write up the story of Mauser in English and in the detail such a company warrants. We have very good biographies on colt and a so so one on weatherby.

Another really great book on modern weapons is "the gun". Supposedly it's about the AK but it spends just as much time on the maxim and an entire chapter on the M16 fiasco in putrid detail which really highlights the hubris of the McNamara era (error)?!? It'll make your skin crawl reading about what happened to entire platoons of marines when their weapons failed....in mass. The Russians were bad in some aspects but at least they field tested the AK.

[I Swan]

Asians as a whole are only 5% of US population and I think only Chinese really care about the Broomhandles but as mentioned there is only so many to go around. I don't think a new Broomhandle had been made since 1939 and most I find in my travels are well worn.

I did know an Armenian or two that were really in to getting a Broomhandle I do think these guns got around and do have a mystique like the Luger.

[SonofWWIIDI]

Nice OP!

The first time I saw a broomhandle was at a very young age, in the movie "Young Winston".


I liked the look and have wanted one ever since. Alas $$$ have always been an issue.

I always thought it was cool that Clint Eastwood used one, with the stock, in then movie "Joe Kidd", after taking it off of Larmar's dead body.


And of course it was reinvented in "Star Wars".


Maybe someday when I move to a free state I'll be able to pick one up.