Mauser Hsc (Interarms)

[waidmann]

This one that has always caught my eye if for no other reason than the bizarre trigger guard and of course its German. Well one turned up at about half the typical freight and I bit. It is of interest to me that it bears no proof marks, is inscribed Germany (no West) and is marked 9 Kurz, .38 over the chamber (its the .38 that throws me, maybe the 0 didn't take). While removing the left grip I was very underwhelmed with the trigger bar linkage and its dependency on the grip to contain it. Took me a few tries to get it right.

If anyone can comment on the above or the weapon in general please do.

 

[Sunray]

Hi. 9mm Kurz is .380 ACP. A .38 in Europe. AKA 9x17mm Browning Short. Mauser made 'em in .380 between 1970 and 1977. They stopped making 'em and sold the rights to an Italian company.
Interarms was the importer. I wouldn't put any money on it, but I suspect the West German government didn't call themselves that.
There's an exploded drawing here. http://stevespages.com/ipb-mauser-hsc.html
An Assembly & Disassembly how-to here.
http://www.marstar.ca/AssemblyMauserHScPP.htm

 

[waidmann]

Thanks Sunray, its Bundes Repubik Deutchland (Federal Rebublic of Germany). The licensee is Renato Gamba.

 

[Jim K]

Mine is marked exactly the same way, so it is not a fluke. The barrel also is marked with the "FBM" (Freiwilliger Beschuß Mauser), a voluntary proof used by Mauser after the West German government ruled that guns exported to the US did not need proof firing.

I am not sure of the dates, but that gun also dates to a period when (West) Germany (the Bundes Republik Deutschland or BRD) refused to acknowledge even the existence of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR or East Germany), hence the marking "Germany" without the word "West".

There were not a lot of those guns. Mine is 01.1103x.

Jim

 

[MMCSRET]

I always liked the looks and feel of the Hsc. I looked for one in 7.65 but never found one, still looking.

 

[waidmann]

Thanks Jim,
The Blue Book says 1983-1985 for Interarms, some Mauser; some Gamba. Mine is 01.300XX. I suspected some sort of export waiver on proof but this is the first example I've seen. Oddly I was stationed in Germany in 1983-1986. My friends with Jagdscheins were generally permitted only two handguns. I knew of one fellow with a collectors license, and a lone fellow, a jeweler, who had a carry permit with very limited permission. This gun actually has a Mauser logo on the backside of the chamber and the aforementioned FBM on the triggerguard. The gun has seen little use.

This afternoon I took her out to the back forty and unloaded at the 7 yd. mark. The double-action was very similar to an out-of-the-box Radom P-64 (horrid). Double action off-hand was an acceptable 3 inches or so but with two stoppages.

My Walther PP 9mm Kurz is not feeling any heat from this competition. Has yours any issues?

Thanks.
W.

 

[Ron James]

The HSc was original designed for the 7.65 and as such preformed admirably. When they redesigned it for 9mmK ( for the American market it seems to be very picky in the ammo it will feed reliable. Most of the individuals I know who own one have a hard time getting it to preform reliably in a constant manner. I purchased one from a Marine freind in the 1980's and sold it a couple months later. It was a constance source of irritation. I know you only want to hear good things about the gun but!

 

[waidmann]

No Ron, I want to hear what you have to say. I bought this piece as a collectable at a bargain price. As you observe in my response to Jim, I described the DA pull as horrid and I questioned the trigger bar linkage. I understand guns are discontinued for real reasons.
I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.

Thanks.

 

[Jim K]

I have fired mine only a few rounds since, like you, I bought it more as a collectible than as a using gun. I had no problems with it, but have heard many reports like Ron's.

All those German pocket pistols were originally designed for 7.65mm, mainly because 9mm Kurz was never in the German military/police supply system. And even Walthers, a few of which were made pre-WWII in the 9 Kurz caliber, didn't like it well.

To top things off, a while back Remington redesigned their .380 ACP bullet to function better in the Beretta M1934, and then found out the hard way that it didn't work in the Walthers.

What happened was that when Britain's Princess Anne was fired at by a man with a shotgun, her bodyguards returned fire with their Walther PP's, loaded with Remington ammo, and both guns jammed. The Princess was not harmed but there were red faces when it turned out the security bigwigs had such a hatred of guns that they wouldn't allow the guards the time or money to practice with their guns. Also some red faces at Remington as well. For a long time, Walther included a note with their .380 pistols for the US market saying to use only W-W or German ammunition.

Jim

 

[waidmann]

What I was using was of local manufacture, FMJ with star-line brass. It has functioned well in prior use but I'll rummage around and see what else I have to try.

The other observations are interesting, my Wather PP 9mmK has digested anything I fed it and the RN HP Remington was the only HP I could run thru my Dad's Colt Gov't.

As a general rule everything around gets shot some. I'll try a few more approaches.
Thanks and happy holiday,
Bill

 

[Jim K]

That disastrous Remington .380 was not round nosed - it had a bullet shaped more like a cone with a fairly sharp point. Their original bullet had given feeding problems in the Beretta Model 1934, of which there were tons around, and (at that time) there were very few Walthers in that caliber. So they designed the bullet to work well in the Berettas and the Colt pocket model and apparently ignored the Walthers.

Jim

 

[waidmann]

Again, thanks.

W.

 

[waidmann]

Follow-up

After several other attempts I found success.

S&B 9mm Browning Court 92 grain nickeled Round Nose. Ran 4 magazines without a hitch. The ammo is so old it says made in Czechoslovakia.

 

[Jim K]

Some time back, I got a fairly big batch of Geco 9k ammo that works just fine in the Walthers and the Mauser (and everything else I tried it in, including a Frommer Baby). I still have some but don't know if there is a current source.

Jim

 

[waidmann]

Yeah Jim, I understand but I may have a chance or two to find some at my Dad's or maybe current S&B. I am not going to lay in much and my Walthers thank God eat anything as does the Beretta.

Off topic probably ought to PM but WTH, the Made In on that 32-20 looks uniform but the U.S.A. I agree is handstamped (as well as all the other issues). I saw one yesterday that was a reworked Orbea action with a genuine Smith barrel. I feel for the guys but....

One of these days I may start a, "Tell us about when you bought an education.........."

Thanks for your help on this one.
Ciao,
Bill

 

[gyvel]

There was also a "limited" run (5000, I believe) of so-called commemorative HSc pistols imported by Interarms that sported the "American Eagle" logo on them, basically the same as that used on the "American Eagle" Parabellums that Mauser exported to the U.S. in the 60s-70s.

FYI, if you can find a surplus barrel in .32, they drop right in. I scored on on eBay before the "ban" on gun parts and it has functioned flawlessly.