Description
.30 Bore Pistol Mauser-
Mauser began manufacturing a compliant version of the C.96 for commercial sale from 1920 to 1921. It featured smaller grips, a shorter 99 millimetres (3.9 in) barrel, and was chambered for the standard 7.63×25mm Mauser.
An experimental 8.15×25.2mm Mauser cartridge was used to replace the banned 9×19mm Parabellum and 9×25mm Mauser Export cartridges for domestic sales but it never caught on.
Mass-production of the weapon was from 1921 to 1930. It was sold in quantity to armies in the contested Baltic region and was carried by the Poles, Lithuanians, German Freikorps and White Russians.
The Bolshevik government (and later the new Red Army) of the embryonic Soviet Union, purchased large numbers of this model in the 1920s or appropriated them from their defeated enemies.
The distinctive pistol became associated with the Bolsheviks and was thus nicknamed the “Bolo”. The “Bolo” model was also popular elsewhere, as the shorter barrel and smaller overall size made the gun easier to conceal.
There was also a transitional version in 1930 that used the “Bolo” frame but with a longer 132 millimetres (5.2 in) barrel.-.30 Bore Pistol Mauser
