Where can you get a pre 1899 C96?
Probably from some rich collector. I’ve only seen 2 in my life, one in a museum and an old man I used to landscape for and shoot guns with, he let me put some rounds through his. Had DWM markings made in 1909. He said it belonged to his father in England and he ended up with it after his dad died and his wife and sons came to the states in the early 30s. That old timer’s gotta be pushing 100 by now if he’s still alive.
Part of me wishes they made C96 reproductions, but when you understand the pistol on a mechanical level, you see why it’s not. Lots of tight fitting parts, super tight machining, and very complicated mechanism, would cost a fortune to produce in numbers and only forgotten weapons nerds like me would buy them