I'm not sure if you meant to say so, but the thumb cut had nothing to do with gas handling; it's there to facilitate loading with a stripper clip. The potential gas relief was a side benefit. The elimination of the cut makes the action stiffer, and probably saved money too. IMHO, the thumb cut actually looks slightly more attractive, especially on a trim custom rifle.
When Paul Mauser applied for the patent on the thumb cut he submitted drawings on it's purpose and benefits. ONE OF THE BENIFITS HE CLAIMED FOR THE THUMB CUT WAS GAS HANDLING and the drawing submitted for the patent application plainly shows just that. I wish I still had access to the drawing but can't find it at the moment. There were NEVER any claims as to what the C ring was for. Some claim it was for gas handling others claim strength. It's all speculation and it may very well have been for both. The company clearly swayed away from this thinking on gas handling and thumb cuts because they later sold factory sporters without the thumb cut but with the C ring still in tact.
I'm in perfect agreement about the esthetics of the thumbcut and even had it added to one of my customs that didn't have it already.
![[Linked Image]](http://photos.imageevent.com/lucky/shanethompsonminimauserpartii/websize/MINI%20FINISHED%20042.JPG)
The point of the post was in reguards to another post that claimed the C ring was only for gas handling. There is absolutely no proof that this was Paul Mausers only intention for this item. You have to remember that in his time these were only case hardened and little extra metal didn't hurt anything.
