My fascination with this little pistol started after I read The Windchime Legacy, an amazing spy book. The main character carries a HSc. Ive been looking for one and have found a few that are decently priced but I havent been able to dig up anything in the ways of a review. I know it comes in .380 and .32ACP and there was something that said the .380's had a feed problem.

The HSc's are fine guns and I have had both calibers. I didn't have any problems with the 380, but I never shot anything but ball through it.

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C M Brier CPA, CIA, CFE

I have always thought they looked and felt great and wanted one, too. But I have read that they are finicky and that has scared me away. When it comes to this kind of gun, I have settled on the Makarov. They are reliable and accurate.

Beautiful little gun. 1st class materials and fit and finish.With available ammo 35 yrs ago getting a full magazine to operate was not easy to do.I had a 380 that would barely handle hard ball and the hollowpoints of the time did not feed very well.This gun was my buddy's hideout gun that was kept in a hollowed out hard back book on his 2 tours to Vietnam the reliability scared me and I traded it for Charter 44 Bulldog that has been reliable and trouble free for over 35 years. Might have given the Hsc a chance after some work to make it behave, but o well.

I believe Col. Askins carried one while in Spain serving in the U.S. Army in some diplomatic capacity. He tells in "Unrepentant Sinner" of dropping it to the floor from his belt at an Embassy function and calmly placing it back.

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beaver

I've had a few of the early and late war time mfg 32acp issues over the years and they were all nice handguns,,even the late issues.
They all functioned well with fmj ammo for which they were designed.

The only real fragile part that I can recall is the firing pin in those. The can break rather easily, but more are probably damaged upon disassembly than from use.
One thing to check when buying a war time HSc is that the firing pin tip is still there. The rear half will remain in place and keep the safety function of the pistol appearing normal but the tip can be broken off. I think I've still got a couple of the back halfs around here from repair jobs.

The post war HSc made a change in the design to eliminate the fragile nature of that part.

I have had both Mauser HSCs and Walther PPKs in the past and found both worked well with ball ammo.

The Mauser I had was late WWII nazi marked and the finish was not what was found in earlier specimens, but it worked quite well.

I've got several of these WWII german marked rigs in 7.65 (32acp)
I had a 380 HSC that I bought new in the 70s and carried it with the old Super Vel, never had a problem with any of them.
I think they are pretty cool looking guns.

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I bought my Interarms .380 HSC in 1971. Its accurate, ergonomic and very cool looking -- also heavy. One note, don't drop the slide with the magazine out by jerking the slide rearwards hard; this will damage something internallly. If you insert an empty magazine, it will trip the slide release and then you can let it go forward gently. At least that is what I was told and have always done it that way. Correction appreciated if I am mistaken.

Charlie

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SWCA # 2294

I too have always liked and wanted a HSc. What attracted me to one was it's art deco look. Ran across this .380 Interarms import,like new in box awile back for a really good price and snarfed it up. Shoots fine with some really supriseing 25 yard groups, so far all shooting was done with hardball.

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Stay safe people!

A seasoned armorer advised me that the Hsc was probably one
of the finest pistols made. He also explained that it was designed for
ball ammo. He was right about that as far as my Interarms example
is concerned. With hollowpoints, I went thru four magazines, trying
to make it work reliably. Then went to ball ammo, and it's great
with all my magazines. TACC1

I have one just like Vulcan Bobs. I have had it since the mid 1970s. Have not shot it in many years. Never shot it with anything but ball,it always functioned. Vulcan Bob, I am curious what you paid for yours? I got mine as part of trade that involved 2 Broomhandle Mausers, a Remington Model 11 and a Savage 311.

I had one of the Interarms marked imports back in the late 70's in .380 cal. It was reliable with ball ammo but I think the only HP's that fed properly were Silvertips and an old Remington load that was shaped just like ball with a bit of lead exposed and a tiny hollow point. It didn't look like it would expand much...
I used to keep it loaded with the first round being a Glaser Safety Slug and the rest of the magazine being ball ammo. It functioned perfectly when loaded like that. They are accurate pistols and perfect for pocket carry although a bit heavy, being an all steel gun.

I appreciate all the feedback guys. Im looking to use it as a backup for when Wisconsin gets a concealed carry law on the books. And yes a Makarov and Charter arms bulldog are on my list of TO BUY when I find them to.

Alex Seidel was one of if not the primary designer of the Mauser HSC and was also credited as the primary designer of HK's first pistol the HK4. If you look at them both it's easy to see the comparison.

I currently own a HK4 and have shot both in 7.65 (.32) with ball and through many rounds haven't had a problem.

A fun gun it's not, after several magazines it's time to massage the hand.

Hey Waldo, found it last year, with two extra Mauser mag's. Paid $300.00 out the door and felt that I did well. "I hope!"

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Stay safe people!

Didn't Mauser license an Italian firm to make the HSc also.
Seems like the Italian made model came out with a hi-cap version too but maybe I'm wrong on that point.
Sometime in late 70's perhaps..?

This was beyond the Mauser postwar production that was very close to the original design. I do remember a few of the 60's or 70's Mauser produced pistols were marked with an American Eagle design on the slide.

I always liked the HSc and the Sauer 38h

I got one of those HSC made under license in Italy by Renato Gamba in .380.




It has a 15 round mag, as can be seen from the photo, grip is much longer and a bit wider than the standard model, well made gun, very comfortable in my hand, someone told me its issued to Italian police in the 1980s.

I've only shot round nose FMJ and lead RN thru it, very reliable and a joy to shoot, comes with only 1 mag, can't seems to find another one, Gunbroker has a couple of them listed a while back, with box and extra mag, can't remember how much they went for.

A little thread drift, but anybody know of a dealer with old Mauser parts? I actually need a mag spring for a WTP 1. Maybe an HSC guy will know where to go.

Nice pistols.
Thanks,
Munster

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GO NAVY!

I've had several HSc's and currently have a French one (assembled from parts found at Oberndorf when France took over the occupation of that zone). All worked fine, but I never fed them soft nose or HPs; most of my shooting was with cast bullet handloads.

Alex Seidel said that getting around the Walther patents was difficult. Probbly this explains why the double action pull is so stiff on these guns. The single action pull is just fine.

I shot a friend's 380 HSc. For the more powerful caliber they put a recoil spring in there that almost defies human strength to cycle the slide for the first round.

Which reminds me: like the previous Mauser pocket pistols, they stay open when the last round is fired, and then shut with a slam when you insert a new magazine. Be careful your finger isn't on the trigger, as it's easy to let one go then accidentally.

I have the renato gamba .380 that i recently purchased.. Severe feeding problems.. I love the gun as an addition to my collection but geez.. I've tried american eagle, federal fmj with no luck.. Ran 80 rounds through today and I had at least 3 misfires with each 15 shot loaded clip. I want to keep this gun but what should i do?

1942 Police Eagle/L Mauser HSc with lanyard loop.

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Both the HSC, and the 1914 are really great little guns. The only complaint is the 'heel' magazine release. The European Police, and Military used the .32 acp for many years, and found it to be very capable of taking care of the bad guys. WWll German officers generally carried Walther PPs, or Mauser 1914s, but their only 'heavy lifting' was shooting someone behind the ear, and you don't need a .44 Mag for that.

If you've never handled one before, be aware that, with the slide locked back, the slide is released and slams forward when a magazine is inserted, instantly loading the pistol. This can be disconcerting if not expected and has caused more than one accident.

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and what his trumpet saith

I envy you all that have a Mauser HSC. I've always thought they are the slickest looking pistol (for their time). A Nazi issue HSC is on the top of my list for a must have gun.

Dan

They are very cool guns and are addicting. Here's a 2nd variation WWll HSC with the harder to find 655 acceptance stamp.
The officer who carried this one obviously didn't see much action.

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That is a beautiful gun Moosedog.

A few years back I had both an HSc and a Colt Mustang. The Mustang was a lot easier to fire and had less recoil. I have always attributed this to the Mustang's delayed recoil action verses the Mauser's blowback. I may be wrong though. The little Mauser was beautifully machined and blued with walnut grips.

I had a nice - but worn - Kriegsmarine HSc in 7.65. It was a heavy little chunk for the caliber, smooth and pleasing in the hand. Had some in-bore pitting (not much) which did not affect accuracy (as with most .32 ACPs I've had, this gun was very accurate). I enjoyed having it, and traded it straight across for the first DDR Mak I ever saw which just excited me more at the time (this was '90 or so).

HScs are lovely guns. The HK-4 is interesting and worth a look as well (HK also did an improved copy of the Mauser Volkspistole, as the first-available polymer-framed gun, the VP-70z).

I saw one at the Union grove gun show on Saturday looked decent, only one mag and no box. I also saw a Charter Bulldog 44 with a 3 inch Barrel at the Kenosha Gander Mountain for 299. + Tax. It was still there yesterday.

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Stan

20 years ago or so, when I was young and broke, I wanted a BUG, pocket pistol, hideout, summer/belly gun. I ran across a used but never fired Interarms HSc that was a 3 caliber gun! It was a .380 (9mm Kurtz), with extra .32 ACP (7.62mm) and .22LR barrels! If I remember right, all had different springs and the .38 and .32 used the same magazine and there was a 3rd .22LR mag. The .22 barrel was offset so the center fire firing pin would work on rimfire. This was all in a one piece plastic factory box with slots for the 2 extra barrels and magazines. I debated for a couple of weeks on it and decided to put money down.

A couple of weeks later the shop got in a pre 68' Walther PPK in .22 LR and I decided I wanted the Walther more. The shop changed over the layaway and I ended up with the PPK and to this day I'm still wondering if I made the right decision.

I've never seen an HSc in 3 calibers since or even heard of another one.

A friend of mine had a HSC and I shot it a fair amount. It is a nice gun.
I have shot several different 380's over the years, such as the H&K, all the Walthers, the old Colt, the new Colt, I owned a SIG P230 in stainless, the Star and LLama's, Berretta's the old and the new, the Browning, the Kahrs, as well as some I cannot remember..

MY favorite of ANY 380 I have ever fired and used was the original Browning 1910. I had one and carried it for several years.

While it had no sights to speak of I could shoot it better at 25 yards than any other 380 I ever shot.

I might've missed this if it's been mentioned already, but there's
some good folks over at MauserCentral who might know where parts are.
TACC1

Or ,without the mag installed, just pull the slide back and let it go. It will go forward.

Could it have been an HK4?
Heckler & Koch HK4 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
They look alot like the Mauser and did offer a 3 or 4 caliber outfit like you describe.

I've never seen one of the HSc's in a multi caliber set either. Would be interesting though!

Do you are anyone have any parts pistols? I need one little screw that is not listed any diagram I have seen to date.

Thanks, happy New year

I had an older 32 Hsc some years ago. Sold it for something else I was interested in at the time.

Still have the original magazine I suppose I'll sell since I don't have an interest in buying another.

The HK is a modernized aluminum frame updated version but it is a different gun with no interchangeable parts.
BTW where the HSc is heavier than a PPK the HK4 is lighter.

I have always wanted an HSc, and about two years ago or so found one at a local range. Shot a box or so of .380s through it and got plenty of feed failures, at least one a magazine and usually more. And it bit my hand. It is an Interarms and is so new looking that I am wondering if it just needs a few hundred rounds to break it in. Anyone know if they smooth out after awhile, like some other autos?

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Richard Gillespie
FBINA 102

Passed down from Uncle to my Dad, and then to me: .32ACP

I just purchased a mauser model HSc 380 acp. I tried it on the field and was surprised by its good aim and firing cycle. Of course I'll load it with fmj.

First shooting 10 yards double single action. . (Cry «Havoc!», and let slip the dogs of war).


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