Broomhandle in 45 ACP, AKA 'Big Eyed Boxed Cannon'

[June4th]

After seeing 30Mauser's gorgeous Broomhandle, I decided to pursue my long time collection goal: a Type 17 Broomhandle in 45 ACP, made in Taiyuan Arsenal, in Shanxi Province in the 1920's and 30's. Finally, UPS delivered one to my house today.

One of the most comprehensive discussion of this gun can be found at: www.pointshooting.com/c96ok.pdf

The Governor-General/Warlord of the Province I grew up, Yan Xishan, gave a cash reward to his arsenal engineers, to make a Broomhandle in 45ACP because he wanted to consolidate his ammunition supply. Thompson SMG was the long gun of choice for his troops. Low and behold one of the engineer came up with the design.

About 8,500 of these were manufactured in Taiyuan Arsenal, nested in my childhood home town. My grandpa used to tell me the stories of General Yan and his troops. So it has some additional sentimental value to me.

John Wayne had his Colt SAA. All my childhood movie heroes used Broomhandles. This is what they used to kick 'Japanese Devils' butt (WII movies). I'm just glad that I was able to find one in short amount of time, and now I get to be the custodian of this special piece of history in my life time.

BTW, the wooden holster is original, and can clip on the pistol grip to convert it to a shoulder-fired carbine. The best part is that ATF exempts it from the SBR rules specifically. So I got my first SBR today too!

 

[mike93lx]

That's awesome. Congrats on the find.

 

[Twigg]

Now that is freakin' sweet !

 

[Fixxah]

Impressive. Now you'll have to stop over to learn to reload for it.

 

[Speedway]

Nice find. Thanks for sharing.


I know where there is a pair of these, consecutive serial numbers, and I believe one of them is unfired. Not for sale of course. I have tried.

 

[June4th]

@Fixxah: I better start reloading 38spl and 9mm then, because any 45ACP KB would've been too costly!

@Speedway: Way to whet the appetite! I'm content for now but might grab a little brother in 7.63mm or 9mm for the guy.

My first priority is to find some stripper clips for the gun. I can use 8mm Mauser clips but they only load 5 rounds at a time. This is the only place I could find 10-rd clips: http://www.kbtacticalstar.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=199, but the website looks a little shady. Has anyone dealt with them?

 

[lord1234]

Wow. Awesome. Very very awesome.

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

 

[Maninblue1861]

love it

 

[greencobra]

Very nice, good snag. Congratulations on finding it.

 

[BerkshireHunter]

That puppy's awesome! Now you just have to find a .45 Luger... oh, wait, you should probably forget about that one.

 

[JuergenG]

Very, very nice! I'd love to have one of these in my collection.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

Its beautiful!! Makes it even more meaningful when it comes from your hometown area. Congratulations on your find.

Could you interpret the markings for us on each side?

 

[June4th]

Left side says: 'Type 17'. Right side says: 'Made in Taiyuan, Year 18 of Republic of China'. Republic of China (the Nationalist) was established in 1911, so year 18 was actually 1929.

 

[lupis42]

Very nice. Congrats!

 

[Dirtypacman]

Jealous!!

 

[55_grain]

Something I didn't know existed, but now desperately need!

That's an awesome pistol you have there. Fantastic-looking condition, too. Nice job!

Nice that the elevation markings go out to 1000 meters. Who can tell me the bullet drop of a .45 at a kilometer?

55_grain

 

[30Mauser]

Absolutely gorgeous, and I can't tell you how moved I am that pictures of mine inspired you. My grandfather (who liberated it in WW2) and later my grandmother treasured that Broomhandle and would have been very flattered to have been an influence in your interest.

Enjoy, and I hope someday we can get the "siblings" together for a shoot!

 

[30Mauser]

Something I didn't know existed, but now desperately need!

That's an awesome pistol you have there. Fantastic-looking condition, too. Nice job!

Nice that the elevation markings go out to 1000 meters. Who can tell me the bullet drop of a .45 at a kilometer?

55_grain

Not sure about 1000m, but Prvi Partisan lists 230gr fmj 45ACP as dropping 15" at 100m, while the 7.63 Mauser ammo drops 9" ... but this couod be predicated on the assumption of the 45ACP being shot from a 5" 1911 and the 30 Mauser being shot from a 5.5" C96. The Box Cannon-fired 45ACP would theoretically have a higher muzzle velocity than it would fired from a 5" barrel, so that should reduce some of the drop.

Here's the PPU website:
http://ppu-usa.com/handgun-ammunition.html

 

[Eric Chang]

Very Nice,

A type 17.. thats very rare. Now its your family Heirloom. Mausers have very nice retro style and class. You have very good taste. I would like a Sig 210-5 target, not the new ones. There's a youtube video of Hippo... a canadian chinese guy(he has a massive collection) grouping 1 hole groups. Supposedly these have rifle like accuracy.

-Eric

 

[JuergenG]

Having been inspired by June4th's acquisition and following a lead passed on to me by 30Mauser I've got one this year, too.
Gotta love NES!

 

[30Mauser]

Having been inspired by June4th's acquisition and following a lead passed on to me by 30Mauser I've got one this year, too.
Gotta love NES!

Definitely full of message board love right now… the guy you bought it from, as you know a veteran of 50 years of military and civilian defense service, has completed his move back to the US from Germany and remains active on the Broomhandle message board!