Post
by TwoRivers » Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:13 am
Yes Vikram, I am fully aware, and quite familiar with, what the Mauser "Broomhandle" is, and that it came with a wooden holster that could be attached as a stock. And that, with the attached holster, you could impress bad guys enough at around 300 meters to have them reconsider their options.
As to what it was called, and why, in the context of legality, and this topic, would not be up to the sales department or some writer. "Pistol Carbines" were quite the rage for a while. Here the Parabellum pistol carbine sported a longer barrel, had a fixed stock, and required a special heavier load. It was a true pistol carbine.
In any case it is not the only pistol designed for military use that came with a shoulder stock, though the Mauser's is by far the most elaborate. Until the '70s you could not own the pistol with its holster stock in the US. Unfortunately the law wasn't changed until after I had disposed of the stock of mine. (For $ 12.00). The Chinese reproductions that came later, when surplus M96s came in from China, were of poor quality at fifteen times my 12 dollars.
The only place, that I know of, that had a minimum barrel length requirement for civilian pistols was the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Apparently the authorities wanted to be sure that the pistols were not readily concealable.
In any case, it's the LEGAL definition within that jurisdiction, that determines what is legal, and what is not. That was really the gist of my message. Cheers.
