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Broomhandle question
Compadres,
Thank you for letting me join this forum and for sharing your collective wisdom. I've been around guns all my life (was a factory salesman for Savage back in the 60s) and have continued to be a happy member of the firearms community well into my seventh decade.
I've handled only one or two 1896 Mauser pistols in my life, so it's fair to say I know very little about them. A buddy brought by a 1896 that appears to be a commercial model (no stock cut, VonLengerke and Detwolde markings on the left side) made in 1902 or 03.
What is interesting to me is that he also had a wooden shoulder stock into which the gun fit perfectly. It appears to be of the same vintage as the gun. I couldn't find any serial numbers on the stock. It is complete with the correct attachment for a slotted 1896, which this is not. It has suffered the years and has a few longitudinal cracks.
Could VonLengerke et al have offered a wooden buttstock with the gun, even though it wouldn't attach? Perhaps it was given out in the way some gun shops hand out a gun rug with a used pistol.
Maybe the original owner bought the buttstock years later because the gun fit inside. I would appreciate your thoughts on this interesting combination.
Thanks,
Pete
New Mexico
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