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Description
The Mauser C78 - also known as M78 Oberndorf - is a single-action revolver manufactured by the Mauser company in Oberndorf am Neckar during the late 19th century. It was the first German revolver to be mass-produced for modern center-fire cartridges. It was also called the "zig-zag" in reference to the design of the six-round zig-zag-grooved cylinder and was chambered in various 6mm to 11mm calibers, like the 10.6x25mm Mauser cartridge. Designed by Paul Mauser under the factory designation Construktion 1878 (C78), this revolver was his first handgun design. The original C78 zig-zag revolver had a solid frame and loading gate. It was developed as a test model for the 1879 German trials to provide the first German military handgun to fire modern brass cartridges and to replace the earlier needle-fire and pinfire revolvers. Despite being an efficient and well-finished weapon, the Mauser brothers tried to sell it to the German army, especially the army of the Kingdom of Württemberg without much success. In 1879 evaluations of different German revolvers were carried out and it was rejected because the "zig-zag" drum was deemed too complex to manufacture. German military chose M1879 Reichsrevolver developed by Spangenberg & Sauer, Suhl, (today J. P. Sauer & Sohn) and later manufactured by various companies. The Mauser C78 was only acquired by a few individual soldiers. Mauser M78 second model, open Later, the design evolved into a top break, and a swinging cylinder design and also include a solid frame rifle version. In 1886, an improved 9 mm version with a hinged frame was introduced. In 1896, the C78 was replaced by the semi-automatic Mauser C96 "broomhandle", but many of the older revolvers remained in use until after World War I.

Description
The Mauser C78 - also known as M78 Oberndorf - is a single-action revolver manufactured by the Mauser company in Oberndorf am Neckar during the late 19th century. It was the first German revolver to be mass-produced for modern center-fire cartridges. It was also called the "zig-zag" in reference to the design of the six-round zig-zag-grooved cylinder and was chambered in various 6mm to 11mm calibers, like the 10.6x25mm Mauser cartridge. Designed by Paul Mauser under the factory designation Construktion 1878 (C78), this revolver was his first handgun design. The original C78 zig-zag revolver had a solid frame and loading gate. It was developed as a test model for the 1879 German trials to provide the first German military handgun to fire modern brass cartridges and to replace the earlier needle-fire and pinfire revolvers. Despite being an efficient and well-finished weapon, the Mauser brothers tried to sell it to the German army, especially the army of the Kingdom of Württemberg without much success. In 1879 evaluations of different German revolvers were carried out and it was rejected because the "zig-zag" drum was deemed too complex to manufacture. German military chose M1879 Reichsrevolver developed by Spangenberg & Sauer, Suhl, (today J. P. Sauer & Sohn) and later manufactured by various companies. The Mauser C78 was only acquired by a few individual soldiers. Mauser M78 second model, open Later, the design evolved into a top break, and a swinging cylinder design and also include a solid frame rifle version. In 1886, an improved 9 mm version with a hinged frame was introduced. In 1896, the C78 was replaced by the semi-automatic Mauser C96 "broomhandle", but many of the older revolvers remained in use until after World War I.