Mauser C96 with stock, 1898 & earlier
Official wording
Mauser Model 1896 pistol equipped with a detachable shoulder stock-holster, cal. 7.63mm Mauser, mfd. on or before December 31, 1898 and has the early type trigger, safety (safety on with lever in down position), extractor (straight sided at front without semicircular lobes on either side), firing pin retaining lug (U-shaped insert in back of bolt which retains firing pin), either the “Cone” or “Large Ring” hammer and serial number under 15,000.
What this entry requires
- ATF REQUIRESConfigured as the ATF wording states: “equipped with a detachable shoulder stock-holster”
- ATF REQUIRESConfigured as the ATF wording states: “has the early type trigger, safety (safety on with lever in down position), extractor (straight sided at front without semicircular lobes on either side), firing pin retaining lug (U-shaped insert in back of bolt which retains firing pin), either the “Cone” or “Large Ring” hammer”
- ATF REQUIRESYour serial number is one ATF listsATF: “serial number under 15,000”
- ATF REQUIRESMade on or before December 31, 1898 (ATF’s date)ATF: “mfd. on or before December 31, 1898”
- INFOAn antique under federal law, outside the GCA.
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
GermanyBasis: outside reference ¹- Manufacturer
- Waffenfabrik MauserBasis: the ATF wording
- Type
- PistolBasis: the ATF wording
- Action
- Semi-autoBasis: outside reference ²
- Caliber
- 7.63mm MauserBasis: the ATF wording
- Made
- 1896–1898ATF: made in 1898 or earlier; start year approximateBasis: outside reference ³
- Service
- Commercial
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IIIA · PDF p. 80 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: High · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “Mauser C96” ↗, country: Wikipedia: origin German Empire; manufacturer Mauser
- 2. Wikipedia, “Mauser C96” ↗, action: semi-automatic pistol, short recoil
- 3. Wikipedia, “Mauser C96” ↗, years: C96 production began 1896 (infobox 1896–1937); ATF limits the early pistols at 31 December 1898
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- None
Historical context

Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Mauser C96 7,63 (6971794467).jpg” by Askild Antonsen, CC BY 2.0. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “Mauser C96”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Mauser C96 is a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced by German arms manufacturer Mauser from 1896 to 1937. Unlicensed copies of the gun were also manufactured in Spain and China in the first half of the 20th century.