Treyarch has leaked another element from its pending Zombies content for Black Ops 2, as its Facebook page has a new screenshot from one of the notebooks on the field, this time showing spec designs for the Mauser M1916.
The M1916, also known as the Mauser C96 is the first automatic pistol ever made. The gun was originally produced by Germany's Mauser from 1896 to 1937, and copied in Spain and China.
Over at reddit, speculation runs that the spec sheet particularly shows that this isn't the Mauser original, but the Spanish copy, the M712 Schnellfeuer. The M712 was modified with select fire, making it a true fully automatic pistol. This gun was made between 1912 to 1917, and there are historical accounts a small set of these firearms were supplied to the Wehrmacht in World War II.
The spec sheet also shows an attachment scope, which as far as I can tell is not based on real life. Again, redditors point to similarities to the pistol in The Last Of Us, which also has an attachment scope.
The IMFDB (Internet Movie Firearms Database) shows that the M712 has been used in several recent games. Most notably, it is the "Mauser Pistol" from Red Dead Redemption and "C96" in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. As both games depict it, the gun has been modified to use a larger magazine and fire at a higher rate. Shifting to semi-automatic in Red Dead Redemption allows you to shoot as rapidly as you can press the buttons. In Metal Gear, the gun is difficult to control but powerful when mastered.
Who's taking bets on how much of this will translate over for Zombies? A superpowerful but hard to control gun sounds perfect for this type of DLC.