Cool post, I had no idea the HSC were so ancient, I thought they were from the 60ies or something. And I am German.

 

I just 'dug one out' to take to the local gun show on Saturday and sell it. It is eagle over N proofed SN 827853. A WW-2 Commercial. Hope to trade or sell in $650 range.

 

It's interesting to see the huge change Mauser made with the HSc. Their previous pocket model was the 1934, which is based on a model from 1910 and pretty much an antique compared with the HSc.

I love these pistols, quite under powered by today's standards but the sleek design makes it a superb pocket pistol. The hammer and mag release are both recessed, the sights are low profile, the trigger guard is tapered and there's absolutely nothing that can get caught in a pocket or a holster. Slick like a bar of soap. It would have been a worthy carry gun even today in .380 and with alloy frame.

 

It's interesting to see the huge change Mauser made with the HSc. Their previous pocket model was the 1934, which is based on a model from 1910 and pretty much an antique compared with the HSc.

...

But I like antiques

 

The Mauser HSc was one of the "Big Three" German pocket automatics of the 1930 that revolutionized the small automatic pistol.
These were the Mauser HSc, the Sauer 38H, and the Walther PP and PPK.

The Mauser has been described as an Art Decco pistol because of the very modern and streamlined design.
Before the war several different designs for the safety system were experimented with, including one where the hammer was dropped as the safety was applied.
However the design that was settled on was the very effective production version where the hammer stays cocked but the firing pin is locked and lifted up so the hammer cannot contact it.
It was very popular with senior German officers, but didn't seem to get the engraved treatment many of the Walther PP and PPK models got for presentation to Nazi officials.
Almost unknown is that the Mauser HSc was sold to the Swiss during the war. These are very rare.

After the war the Sauer 38H was never produced again, but the Walther certainly was and the Mauser saw production in the 60's and up to 2006 under several makers.
The post-war model was slightly modified by using a separate back strap.
There were some rumors that Mauser didn't actually make the post-war model, that it was contracted out like the Walther pistols were.
Whether this is true or not is unknown for sure, but the design was leased or sold to the Italian Gamba company who first produced it in the original form, then during the high capacity magazine craze of the 70's they essentially ruined the design by altering it to a 10 round magazine that ruined it's intended purpose as a "pocket gun" sized defense pistol.
Mauser apparently was first to alter the HSc to the high capacity 10 round version in 1968.

The French assembled HSc pistols during the time they had possession of the Mauser plant following WWII for their own military and police use.
Some of these were imported into the US later, often in poor condition having seen use in French Indo China (Vietnam) and Algeria.
The French again imported newly manufactured HSc pistols to the US in limited numbers sometime after the war. The importer was Armes De Chasse of Chadds Ford, PA.

European American Armory (EAA) imported an HSc and sold them through RSR Distributors. I don't know who actually manufactured them, but it's probable that the Italian Tanfoglio company bought them from Gamba.

The HSc design was unique with an odd slide stop system that locked the slide back whenever the magazine was empty or removed.
To close the gun it is necessary to insert a loaded OR empty magazine.
This takes some getting used to because with the slide open inserting a loaded magazine closes the slide and loads the chamber.
If the safety is not ON the gun can be fired immediately.

One master pistolsmith described the post-war HSc as a "2,000 round pistol", claiming that after about 2,000 rounds the HSc frame will crack in front of the frame rails.
I have owned one war-time HSc with a cracked frame in just that area and have heard of post-war guns with cracks.

Personally, the HSc grip is not as comfortable to me as the Walther PP series. This is personal preference since many others do like it.

All in all the Mauser HSc was a ground breaking design that was everything a small auto should be.

 

The Mauser HSc was one of the "Big Three" German pocket automatics of the 1930 that revolutionized the small automatic pistol.
These were the Mauser HSc, the Sauer 38H, and the Walther PP and PPK.

The Mauser has been described as an Art Decco pistol because of the very modern and streamlined design.
Before the war several different designs for the safety system were experimented with,

"including one where the hammer was dropped as the safety was applied."

However the design that was settled on was the very effective production version where the hammer stays cocked but the firing pin is locked and lifted up so the hammer cannot contact it.
It was very popular with senior German officers, but didn't seem to get the engraved treatment many of the Walther PP and PPK models got for presentation to Nazi officials.
Almost unknown is that the Mauser HSc was sold to the Swiss during the war. These are very rare.

After the war the Sauer 38H was never produced again, but the Walther certainly was and the Mauser saw production in the 60's and up to 2006 under several makers.
The post-war model was slightly modified by using a separate back strap.
There were some rumors that Mauser didn't actually make the post-war model, that it was contracted out like the Walther pistols were.
Whether this is true or not is unknown for sure, but the design was leased or sold to the Italian Gamba company who first produced it in the original form, then during the high capacity magazine craze of the 70's they essentially ruined the design by altering it to a 10 round magazine that ruined it's intended purpose as a "pocket gun" sized defense pistol.
Mauser apparently was first to alter the HSc to the high capacity 10 round version in 1968.

The French assembled HSc pistols during the time they had possession of the Mauser plant following WWII for their own military and police use.
Some of these were imported into the US later, often in poor condition having seen use in French Indo China (Vietnam) and Algeria.
The French again imported newly manufactured HSc pistols to the US in limited numbers sometime after the war. The importer was Armes De Chasse of Chadds Ford, PA.

European American Armory (EAA) imported an HSc and sold them through RSR Distributors. I don't know who actually manufactured them, but it's probable that the Italian Tanfoglio company bought them from Gamba.

The HSc design was unique with an odd slide stop system that locked the slide back whenever the magazine was empty or removed.
To close the gun it is necessary to insert a loaded OR empty magazine.
This takes some getting used to because with the slide open inserting a loaded magazine closes the slide and loads the chamber.
If the safety is not ON the gun can be fired immediately.

One master pistolsmith described the post-war HSc as a "2,000 round pistol", claiming that after about 2,000 rounds the HSc frame will crack in front of the frame rails.
I have owned one war-time HSc with a cracked frame in just that area and have heard of post-war guns with cracks.

Personally, the HSc grip is not as comfortable to me as the Walther PP series. This is personal preference since many others do like it.

All in all the Mauser HSc was a ground breaking design that was everything a small auto should be.

dfariswheel: Its obvious you're more knowledgeable than I on this subject, so I apologize, but I think I'm confused by your statement regarding the safety operation of the Mauser HSc pistol. Why would one want to "drop the hammer" of a pistol, when the safety was applied? It would seem this would introduce a dangerous element into a rather simple procedure! What am I missing here?

nowinca

 

dfariswheel,

Thanks for adding some of the history of the HSc.

At some point I will make some photographs of some of the early HSc pistols in my collection. Early on with their high polish finish and matted sight channel they were quite nice looking.

Take Care!
Tom

 

I'm not willing to spend my hard gained cash for such pistols as those, preferring the Single Action revolver, but of late I've developed an interest in European (and American) auto pistols. The American Rifleman has had some very interesting articles of late on pistols from the early days of the pistols and especially the Mauser pistols. Mauser and Walther have produced some mighty interesting pistols.

Thanks for sharing your information and good photos.

Bob Wright

 

I never was a fan of the HSc, it's just the aesthetics. I'm sure it was a fine pistol. I've recently come to appreciate the craftsmanship in the Ortgies from the early 1920s. The action is as slick as snot on a wet rubber raincoat and they were successfully used in target competition.

 

I'm a big fan of the HSc. I've got two in .32ACP - a waffenamt marked one made around 1944 for the German army and a postwar example from 1968. Both are great shooters. It has some interesting features. The slide locks back with the magazine removed and will release when a magazine (loaded or unloaded) is inserted. They were also available in nickel.

There was also a larger HSc Super with a double stack magazine made in Italy by Renato Gamba.

 

Rick Bowles,

Thanks for adding to the thread. I respectfully disagree with your aesthetics evaluation of the HSc, as I love the way they look — but each to his own.

I do, however, agree with you about the Ortgies pistols being finely crafted. I have been on the lookout for a nice example, but have not found one yet.

All of that said . . . I will add two more things:

1) I mean ABOLUTELY NO DISRESPECT by my comments above. ( Sometimes it’s hard to tell with no voice inflection when one is joking around.). I just appreciate the banter.

2) I have to say I ABSOLUTELY LOVE your description of the Ortgies slick action. You sir are a true wordsmith. One of my favorite sayings — somewhat in line with the spirit of your statement is for when one is truly exhausted I will say, “I feel like I’ve been eaten by a coyote and crapped off a cliff.”

And now back to your normally scheduled gun talkings. Enjoy!

Take Care!
Tom

 

Thankfully haven't seen a Mauser HSc fitted with Novak sights.

 

If someone is good at Photoshopping one can be made for you!

 

I've long been intrigued by the HSc, but have never owned one (yet)!

In the 70's, I was shopping around for a compact pistol, and the readily available ones that appealed most to me were the Walther PPK/s, the Beretta M84, and the HSc. Bought a PPK/s, and didn't much care for it, then got a Model 84, which I still have to this day. Never did get an HSc.

Just a few months ago I saw an HSc in excellent condition at a gun show for $325 IIRC. I hesitated for a few minutes, then went back to buy it, only to find another guy closing the deal on it.

Still kicking myself!

 

The earlier Mauser pocket pistols were finely made pistols, but by the early 30's they were designs that were very much showing their age.
The Walther PP series and the Sauer 38H were outselling them and Mauser needed a new design to compete. Thus the excellent Mauser HSc, with it's futuristic Art Decco look.
This put Mauser back in the game.

The hammer dropping safety as used by the 30's German pistols were an arguably better safety system then that used by most automatic pistols.
With most, a cocked action depended on some sort of safety, usually a manually operated type that required a specific action by the user to make it safe.
The designers of these new German pistols thought that even a striker fired auto with an automatic grip safety simply wasn't as safe as a design that locked the firing pin and safely lowered the hammer.
No amount of mishandling could cause one of the new designs to fire since it was not cocked.
The designs were so good, almost all double action auto pistols since use versions of the hammer dropping or de-cocking designs pioneered by the 30's Germans.

It was very high quality, but inexpensive small autos that killed off a number of excellent American designs like the Remington Model 51.
Finely made, but inexpensive in American dollars, A number of German designed pistols were imported in the 20's and 30's and were almost impossible to compete against.
One of the more popular of these was the Ortgies.
These were as finely finished inside as most pistols were outside.
The only down check was the extremely difficult reassembly UNLESS you had the owner's documentation and knew the "secret" of how to get it back together.
Due to the large imports in the 20's the Ortgies is rather common in the US.

It was striker fired autos like the Ortgies, Browning-Colt, Remington, and a large number of German and European small autos that were made largely obsolete by the German 30's "Big Three" designs.
After WWII almost all of the pre-war striker fired autos disappeared.

 

Mitch, I like your 1934 Mauser pistol. I just found a nice original holster for one at a local gun shop. I had to look in Eugene Bender's book to identify the holster. The have a strange cut-out for the grips.

 

I've always liked the looks of the Mauser Model 1914 and the HSc but never owned either gun. So now I do! One Model 1914 and two HSc pistols.


The Model 1914 is a commercial model; based on appearances it was made in the 1921-1928 time frame and surprise of all surprises the older HSc was built in December of 1941 (according to someone on the Mauser Forum). Both of these two guns are chambered in 7.65 MM aka .32 ACP. The second HSc is an Interarms import; chambered in .380. It is supposedly made from (primarily) parts made by Manurhin of France and assembled by Mauser. No pictures of this one yet but here are the other two:

Mauser Model 1914

Mauser HSc


Not knowing anything, just enough to show I don't know anything, about German WWII militaria, I go to websites like the "Unblinking Eye" for more information. What I learned was the HSc was made for the Army, Navy, and the Police. This one, with the German Acceptance Eagle and the letter L is one of approximately 28,000 made for the Police! It is missing a small piece of the left grip - the sharp point on the top front part of the grip is missing. On the right side of the trigger guard is the "Nitro" proof mark. Compared to what I paid and what this one is potentially worth...I did well!

I also have an Ortgies .380 Button Safety Pistol; an import to the US. The export models were marked with "Germany" on the front of the frame below the barrel. Not to start an argument but the Ortgies were not very popular nor used by the German Military. They are complicated and several parts are brittle. They were used to some degree by the German Finance Ministry and the Post Office. I've looked everywhere for the button safety parts but keep drawing a blank.

 

I have one of the 1970 manufactured, Interarms marked HSc's in .380. It is 100% reliable with ball ammo and 90% unreliable with any HP ammo except those with noses that mimic hardball which eliminates most brands. I can tell you that it is not a pleasant gun to shoot. A couple of magazines full and the web of my hand is getting sore. It is not a light gun, I figure it's the grip shape as I have other .380's that are much more comfortable to shoot. It is quite accurate as the factory test target shows and I have demonstrated to myself a few times. That said, I would have no problem carrying it loaded with FMJ's as a CCW. It's just not a fun plinker. Here are a couple of earlier Mauser autos.

 

The Ortgies are well made, accurate and reliable. They don't command a high price because, like the Savage, there are bunch of them. In the hard times following WWI the German government tried to keep as many people gainfully employed as possible to mitigate public unrest. To this end Deutsche Werke produced over 400,000 pistols in approximately three years, far more than were needed. Deutsche Werke eventually dumped thousands of guns on the market below manufacturing cost: 48,000 guns were sold to an American company in 1922 for $0.66 each, and another 43,000 at a later date for $0.75 each. Now thats a bargain!

 

Walter Rego,

Good information about your post WWII HSc in .380acp. I have on occasion fired one of the WWII commercial HSc’s in my collection. It is of course .32 caliber and is pleasant and not painful to shoot. It’s also quite accurate even with its rather minuscule sights.

On a related note, years ago I purchased a Walther PPKs in .380acp caliber. I was excited to have a copy of “James Bond’s” pistol. I took it to the range and fired two magazines of ball ammo through it and thought my hand was gonna bleed. I sold the PPKs the very next weekend. I now own a commercial PPK in .32 caliber and it is delightful to shoot. I think the less powerful round, and the wrap around grip of the original PPK design are the reasons.

Take Care!
Tom

 

I Always thought that the HSc might have had some influence on the design of the Astra Constable. Couilda' shoulda' woulda'...

 

ColtTom, interesting observation about the PPK/S in .380 and not surprising. My Colt M1908, Remington PA51 and Savage 1917 in .380 are both more pleasant to shoot than the HSc. I have a Star Model S in .380 that is a real pussycat compared to the others. I attribute that to the fact that it is a true locked breech design with a tilt down barrel and swinging link just like a miniature 1911 and not a blowback design. The Savage and Remington are not straight blowbacks but are a delayed blowback action. Grip shape and action type seem to have the most effect upon ease of shooting. For comparison, the Remington weighs 21 oz, the HSc and Star both weigh 22 oz, the Savage 23 oz, and the Colt is 24 oz so none of them are particularly lightweight compared to some of the new polymer framed CCW guns on the market.

 

Walter Rego,

Thanks for the reply. I completely agree with you. My favorite .380’s to shoot are a Colt Government Model .380 pistol, and a Glock Model 42. Both accurate, easy to shoot, and FUN.

Take Care!
Tom