No magazine *disconnector* [technically, in *interrupter*] on the Pistole model.08 Parabellum design from Georg Luger. But not only was the magazine disconnector meant for ground-force soldiers and police rather than cavalry or mounted Infantry, there was an early concern that the magizine-fed selfloading pistol was itself unsuitable for horse-mounted troops for fear that the magazinen could fall and be lost while reloading, turning the piece into a less useful single shot weapon. It was certainly not a positive feature that the inclusion of a magazine *safety* would further render the weapon absolutely useless.
Accordingly, early weapons and their magazines meant to be used from horseback were frequently found with lanyard loops on both pistol and magazine, and the practice of issuing a couple of spares *just in case* became common. Too, the stripper-clip fed C96 Mauser *broomhandle* remained in service longer with the Cavalty arm than in other issuing services and branches, despite its considerable bulk and weight- actually an asset aboard horseback. Even a young horse trooper named Winston Churchill obtained one of the big Mausers when he was a junior cavalry officer with the 21st Lancers, having damaged his arm to the point he couldn't use his saber. His account of using his C96 remains the first written account of the use of a semiauto pistol in a fight, more than a full century ago.
And one rode with me to work this morning, though I was not on horseback. A particular set of circumstances combined to make the big Mauser as useful for me today as it was for young Leftenant Churchill back then. I don't suppose I'll be taking it to California with me in the near future.
-archy-/-
