Way back in 1934, Mauser-Werke in Oberndorf am Neckar, Germany, began work on a pocket pistol to compete with the popular Walther PP and PPK series. After 22 prototypes were built and tested, the final version began to be produced in December, 1940. It was called the "HSc." This stands for Hahn Selbstspanner Pistole (hammer self-cocking pistol), version "c."

About 252,000 HSc pistols were produced during WWII, with production ending April 19, 1945. Pistols were issued to the German Navy, Air Force, Army, and the Schutzstaffel (SS). Members of the German military often purchased pistols on their own from commercial production. Most (54%) went to the Army, 11% went to the Navy, 12% went to the Police, and the rest (23%) were commercial production.

After the war, in 1945 and 1946, the French occupied the Mauser factory and produced about 19,000 more HSc pistols, mostly for their military then fighting in French Indochina (now Vietnam).

In 1947, a large part of the Mauser factory was destroyed by the French, and the manufacturing equipment was distributed to the Allied nations.

Mauser re-built its facilities, and then announced that they would resume HSc production in 1967. This they did, making a total of over 63,000 pistols in both .32 and .380 ACP from 1968 through 1977. Production then ceased, the the pistol faded into history.

The action is a bit different from the Walther PP series. The safety, when turned down, does not de-cock the piece. It simply lifts the firing pin up where it cannot be struck by the hammer. When the gun is empty, and the slide is back, whether or not there is a magazine in the gun, the slide stays back. There is no way to release it, as there is no external slide lock. One must re-insert the magazine; as this is done, the slide slams shut, chambering a round if there is one or more in the magazine. This is a most unusual arrangement. As there is a magazine disconnect safety, the gun cannot be fired either single- or double-action without a magazine in place.

The gun is sleek and can be pocketed and withdrawn with no projecting parts that would hang it up. The hammer can pinch the web of the hand if one is not careful to grip it properly. Magazines were made both with and without finger rests, although the finger rest variety is somewhat rare.

I picked this one up at the Mesa, AZ gun show this weekend, and I plan to write an article about it for the Blue Press soon. I thought you'd like to see a picture of it.

John

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I was always curious about those, but never enough so to buy one. When I was a young fellow, I believe I remember you could buy them in a set that would enable you to fire four calibers with the same gun (.22, .25, .32 and .380). I always thought that was kind of remarkable, but figured if I had one I would never use anything except the .22 and .380 barrels, so was never motivated to buy one.

I had a friend who owned PPKs in both .22 and .380. We shot the .22 quite a bit and had a lot of fun with it, but of course it could not keep up with a K22 for field use so we only used it for plinking. The popular opinion then was that the Walther was a much better gun, but I have always wondered how much truth there was to that notion.

Had one of those many years ago. Nazi proof marked. Had a walter PPK too. Shoulda kept them.

Good day at the show by the looks of things. That piece looks to be in very good condition. What are the overall dimensions on that? Looks to be about the size of the North American Arms Guardian. I'd love to see the article when it come out - please let us know when it's done.

Pete

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Don't tread on me

Pete, the HSc is 6 1/2 inches long with a 3-inch barrel. 7 rounds in the mag plus one in the chamber makes it an eight-shooter. It's an all-steel gun (except for the wooden grips), and weighs 21 ounces with an unloaded magazine on my postal scale.

John

__________________
- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

one w/ box and papers sat in my LGS on consignment for years. at what seemed a reasonable price. i was never enamored with 380 so i never gave it a second thought. aesthetically pleasing lines though.

i was recently gifted a walther ppk/s .22 now thats a fun little gun

You probably were looking at a Heckler & Koch Model HK4.
They offered those in a 4 caliber set. The pistol looked alot like the Mauser HSc and I think even took some of it's design from the HSc.

H&R used to import some if not all of those in the US.

The H&K is alloy frame and more than a few seem to crack at the slide abuttment of the frame where a small steel insert is imbedded.

As of curiosity there´s a movie picture where this pistol is featured.
In the " Counterfeit Traitor" William Holden is arrested by a Gestapo man armed with one.
I think this Mauser is one of the greatest design of all times, congrats for the purchase.
Regards, Ray

That is a beautiful pistol you have there John. I'm still looking for a Nazi wartime issue HSC but I have to admit, after seeing the pic of your gun I will now consider a commercial one of the same quality. Nice catch!

Nice! The Hsc is my favorite .380 handgun. It doesn't bite my hand like a ppk, has great lines, and is extremely well built. I like the action on them, though I realize many don't. I have two, one is an old Nazi stamped war version and then a later Interarms import. Great little guns, though not in the same fashion of the current generations of pocket pistols, all poly and light. These are stout and heavy.

Mauser licensed the rights off to Gamba in Italy, and they made a hi-cap version, but I know nothing about them. I heard their quality was a bit lacking though, which is a shame.

At 6.6" and 23oz - 7 rounds in the mag + one in the chamber the Sig P232 in S/Steel is a close cousin. Even looks similar by design. No wonder it caught my eye. Wonder if they are related?

Pete

Attachment 58156

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Don't tread on me

As has already been pointed out by 2152hq, you were probably looking at a Heckler & Koch HK4, which was a variant of the HSc; not surprising since many of the HK engineers were former Mauser employees. These were made from around the middle of the 1960s until roughly 1984.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

There have been 3 in the gun case at the local Cabelas for about a year now. I think the price tag was around $350.00, with black plastic grips. I think they are very elegant looking pistols, but I'd rather spend my limited gun funds on S&W revolvers, or a nice Model 39.

Regards,

Dave

Some time back, I acquired an Interarms .380 Hsc. I'd only had
Browning .380's prior, and really liked the decock function. I went through four magazines trying to get it to function, and pretty much
lost faith in it. Until I remembered what a retired armorer had said.
They were designed to use ball ammo, and as soon as I got rid of that
HP stuff, it works as intended. My attitude has changed about ball ammo since, and I have no problem worrying about future use. I now
have three good mags for it, too!
Here's what it looks like against a Browning .380, an Astra .25, and
an MPA380. The stocks are a little large for my comfort.
TACC1

Attached Images

mpa380.jpg (63.0 KB, 156 views)

This is my HSc, .32 caliber with Nazi Proofs: Eagle over 135 and Eagle over N. Got it from my father, who inherited it from his brother.
I have just learned that the gun was produced in 1943 and issued to the Army (Eagle over 135), and that the Eagle over N was the factory firing proof.

Great guns; I have one now and have had others. Most of the French made guns have an intertwined MW where the waffenamt is on one of the illustrated guns. Many of the French ones have lanyard loops too; probably used by police.

They sure feel inconspicuous and easy to draw when carried in the pocket.

The designer, Alex Seidel, said he had a hard time designing around the existing Walther patents. The double action pull is pretty stiff, as a result. The recent 380s seem to have a recoil spring off the suspension of an M1 Abrams tank, and they kick pretty hard for a 380, but the 32s are nice.

You guys are probably right, given my memory disease. I am not quite at the "rose-colored glasses" stage, but do seem to have developed something of a genius for conveniently confusing/forgetting/neglecting details of anything that happened in the '60s. Sorry for muddling things up.

I almost bought one of these new from a country gun shop near Thomaston, Georgia around 1974-75. I wavered back and forth between the Mauser and a Detective Special for a week. Wound up with the D-Special.

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Georgia On My Mind

I briefly had one like John's, but it didn't fit my hand well and pointed low. Pretty chunky, too, as I recall.

I like the Walther guns better.

I've owned a couple and they seem to run hot and cold with a good deal of variation in finish and function between guns.

I've always felt that the PP/PPK/PPKs was a more refined pistol and more consistant.

Didn't keep the HScs, but I did hang on to a couple of the Walther's...

Always take a range rod of the appropriate caliber with you if looking to buy a used HSc... dry fire with with the rod down the bore to check for a broken firing pin. The rod should jump when the hammer falls... Broken firing pins have been a problem with this model.

Drew

Good advise. Especially the original HSc pistols.
The post-war mfg was redesigned to eliminate the fragile firing pin design used in the wartime and pre war pistols.

Alot of the original HSc's w/ broken firing pins are done so by people (trying) to remove them in disassembly. Some just fail from use, maybe poor wartime QC involved too.

The very thin front half with the globe shaped pivot portion breaks off,,but the rear half will fit back in place and make the pistol appear to function correctly in manual operation. Safety works, you can see the back end of the firing pin, etc.
Everything looks go but it won't go bang.

Post war HSc uses an entirely different shaped & heavier pin.