Mauser HSc 9mm Kurtz (380)

[Freightman]

Traded a 2A Enfield for it and I know litle about Mauser pistols it was imported by Interarms with a SN of 01. 352xx any information as to value, good, bad, ect. would be apreciated.

[Bret4207]

The design itself dates from around WW2 IIRC. I've handled one and liked it. It's supposed to be one of the better "pocket pistols".

[EMC45]

They used to offer that as a "kit gun" if I'm not mistaken. It came in a box with a slide and barrel and mag for .22, .32, .25. I think I saw that years ago in a gun magazine.

[JW6108]

They used to offer that as a "kit gun" if I'm not mistaken. It came in a box with a slide and barrel and mag for .22, .32, .25. I think I saw that years ago in a gun magazine.

That was the HK4, based on the HSc. It caused a stir when they first came out with it, but I guess the barrel swapping with cartridges of that power range didn't appeal to as many folks as they thought it would.

It looks like not many were imported; it would be nice to find one of these kits sitting on a shelf someplace.

http://www.hkpro.com/hk4.htm

[Harry O]

That was the HK4, based on the HSc. It caused a stir when they first came out with it, but I guess the barrel swapping with cartridges of that power range didn't appeal to as many folks as they thought it would.


From memory, I read at the time that it was not meant for the US market. It was meant for European and South American countries that limit the number of guns a person can own. Like the US today, the frame was the "gun" that the authorities kept track of. The barrels, recoil springs, magazines, etc did not count. So a person could have 4 guns legally, when they could not own 4 separate guns in the same calibers.

There are always loopholes.

[pietro]

The HK4 was marketed in the US, since I bought a four-barrel kit.

It was more trouble than it was worth, and it went on down the road.

I later bought a samo/samo Mauser HSc .380, new, and found it to be a very nice, reliable pocket pistol - a very worthy competitor to the Walther PP/etc.

IMHO, you made a good trade - enjoy your HSc.

.

[Harry O]

The HK4 was marketed in the US, since I bought a four-barrel kit.
.

As noted above, there were a few brought into the US, but very few. Without the rules it was designed for, it never caught on here. That is what I was trying to say when I said it was not meant for the US market.

BTW, I have a WWII HSc in .32ACP. When I got it, the accuracy was pretty poor even though the gun was in excellent condition. Accuracy was not nearly as good as my Walther PPK in the same caliber. I thought it was the nature of the beast.

Then it started hangfiring, then failing to fire. I took it apart and found that the firing pin spring broke in half and it was screwing itself into half its original length. I got a replacement from Wolff. When replaced, the HSc was much more accurate and just as accurate as the PPK. I figure, the broken spring was giving inconsistent ignition, which gave poor accuracy. After it was repaired, the ignition was consistent and the accuracy was much improved.

[9.3X62AL]

I had a Mauser HSc some years back, and it was quite reliable and accurate with FMJ ammunition. It refused to cycle reliably with any hollow-point bullet, though--try as I might to adjust overall cartridge length. No go.

[Freightman]

Up date on the Mauser pistol, the reason it had been fired little or nothing was explained to me. The man I got it from called and ask if I was happy with the trade? yes I say! Why? well he said he couldn't get the ammo he got with the gun to chamber and felt bad that he had traded me an odd caliber. I ask what he ment he said Kurtz is 9x18 Makarov and it wouldn't chamber! thank God I said you might have been killed as 9x18 is .365 and the 380 and 9mm is .355. He said fine but kurtz isn't 380! well I had to get a book down to show the difference between 9x18 and 9x17 Kurtz.
O well I guess that is how you get an education, but sure could have been a desaster.

[9.3X62AL]

Truth to tell, there were at least 2 different 9 x 18 calibers, too. The more familiar is the Makarov variant with .363"-.365" nominal bullet diameter........and the 9 x 18 Ultra, which used .355" bullets (usually a short truncated cone) and a 380 ACP/9mm Kurtz casing 1mm longer than the standard 380 ACP. Like the Makarov, the overall cartridge length wasn't increased, and it remained a max OAL of .984" or thereabouts. It was loaded to about 5%-10% greater pressure than the 380 ACP--again much like the Makarov.

I don't believe--but I'm not certain--that any Mauser HSc pistols were chambered in 9 x 18 Ultra. Walther chambered some "PP Super" variants to the Ultra, but those are the only examples I'm familiar with. They were not an overwhelming success, which is not too surprising when you take a 32 ACP-based platform and try to over-reach with a Makarov-level 9mm cartridge. That the Makarov is one of the BEST-EVER pocket blowbacks ever plagiarized by the Commie copycats goes without saying--the 9 x 18 Ultra is kind of a "whatzis". The Mak is a PP on steroids, and that is what's needed to soak up what is largely the upper limit of blowback pistol operation stresses.