Mauser HSc

[HWooldridge]

I may have an opportunity to buy one in .380. I believe it was made in the early’60’s.

Anyone have experience with one - good or bad? I plan to swap it out with the 642 Smith every so often as a carry piece.

[stubshaft]

If it is under $600.00 I would buy it in a heartbeat! Fantastic little carry gun.

[rintinglen]

My experience with them has been mixed.

The first one I had was a jammamatic. It was a 70's gun The magazine lips were soft and bent under pressure. I traded it and did not miss it one iota. The one I have now works ok with the triple K aftermarket mag, but I was having problems with the factory Mag until I bought a wolff replacement spring set and replaced the magazine spring and the recoil spring. Now it seems to be functioning properly. They are one of the coolest looking guns ever, but I am not sure that the looks match the practicality of the gun.

[36g]

Some people think they have a bit of a sharp recoil due to grip shape and likewise you may get a bit of hammer bite/slide bite depending on how large your hands are and your grip position. Same can be said for Walther PP's. That being said, they are a classic cool looking gun. I've got three wartime ones in 7.65mm (.32 ACP) and one post war in 9mm Kurz (.380).

My biggest complaint is no manual slide release - you have to drop the mag and then work the slide to close the locked open slide. A typical weak spot is the thin extension on the upper grip panels. Seems like it's a likely point for fracture.

[pworley1]

Mine was a little picky about the bullet it likes best, but once I started using the 356242 It has been a great little shooter.

[Bent Ramrod]

A friend bought one in .380 back in the ‘70s. Held nicely, looked very Cool and worked flawlessly with factory ammo. The sight picture was particularly attractive and easy to pick up; unusual for any pocket pistol back then. But with reloads, even with jacketed bullets of proper size, it failed to feed and rounds stuck before fully chambering.

We were, relatively speaking, tyros at reloading back then, but still had never had any trouble with the usual run of autoloader cartridges like 9mm and .45 ACP. (Tex had a Star PD, a bunch of Lugers and a Thompson, and the only issues we saw were magazine lip problems in some of the Lugers.) The loading dies were Lyman, IIRC, and there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with them. Anyway, Tex wouldn’t have a gun that only shot factory ammo, so it was traded off at another gun show.

I wonder now, though, whether another set of reloading dies might have solved the problem.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Back in the early '70s I was the Jr. partner in a gun shop. We had some Mauser HScs in stock, sold them, and were told by buyers that they had a jamming problem. We did not re-order them. In later years I heard that the problems had been solved. I do not know what the source of the jamming was, but since the problems were all in the distant past you might be buying "this" or "that". Personally I would not buy it, and would instead look at a Walther PPK or other pistol with a sterling reputation.

DG

[Electrod47]

Had one in .32 or .380 caliber ( never bothered to confirm) with Nazi emblems/markings almost new condition. It was a relative of a relative bring back from WW2. Nobody cared about guns so it was passed on to me in about 1986. Used it for trade on a 250.00 firearm I was hot for at the time.......started kicking myself around 1994.

[Outpost75]

Real Mausers in 7.65mm run only CIP hardball, but not American stuff. Interarms copies had soft parts. Hammer strut prone to breakage in .380. Awkward safety and reloading. Traded mine and got a pair of Ruger LCPs.

[El Bibliotecario]

I briefly had a .380 HSc. Given that it had feeding problems and that I had a reliable Walther PP .380 I disposed of the HSc.

[HWooldridge]

Sounds like more trouble than it’s worth. Reckon I’ll pass and find something else. Thanks for the advice.

[Outpost75]

The Walther PPs being imported which were former W. German police guns frequently fail at the safety shaft of the decocking lever, because the shaft work-hardens from many years of dropping the hammer on it. This is a single point of failure on the Walthers. Replacement used parts from Numrich of unknown history frequently fail in the same manner. A new factory OEM part sent from Germany costs $100.

I sold my Mausers and Walthers and replaced them with Berettas. SIG P230 is also designed around this issue and is proven reliable.

[FergusonTO35]

Bersa Thunder .380 FTW!

[Frank V]

Ruger LCP is a great .380, reliable, reasonably accurate, & won’t break the bank.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Mr. HWooldridge: Honestly, I feel kind of bad about having helped dissuade you from buying something that you wanted. There are lots of good .380s out there. If it was me, I'd be looking at some of the new-as-tomorrow offerings by S&W, CZ, etc. If you were attracted by the historical aspect of the Mauser or it's all-steel construction there are others of that time period that you could consider. Here's 3 from my accumulation that at one time or another I carried with complete confidence. Like me, they're sort of obsolete but still useful.



DG

[HWooldridge]

DG,

This was sort of an idle purchase - someone I know has the HSc and another person gave me a box of .380 ammo, so of course, that was a good excuse to buy another gun...LOL

However, I don't want something that's substandard in performance so no big deal. I already passed on the purchase and it will go to someone else to mess with - whether good or bad.

Thanks to everyone for the responses.

HW

[MrWolf]

DG,

This was sort of an idle purchase - someone I know has the HSc and another person gave me a box of .380 ammo, so of course, that was a good excuse to buy another gun...LOL

However, I don't want something that's substandard in performance so no big deal. I already passed on the purchase and it will go to someone else to mess with - whether good or bad.

Thanks to everyone for the responses.

HW

I will say I was pleasantly surprised by the S&W EZ Shield in 380. I had originally gotten one for my gf to use but her hands were to small and just didn't fit her right. I ended up trying it and was pleasantly surprised, so much so that it has become my discreet front cargo pants pocket carry She fits perfectly in my Duluth firehouse cargo pants front pocket so I can discretely carry in places where concealment is not that easy. Good luck.
Ron

[pietro]

.

FWIW, I had a stainless one from Interarms (now defunct) back then, and found it to be every bit as good as my .380 Walther PPK - in fit/finish/accuracy & reliability.

IDK how hard spare parts would be to find these days, if needed due to it's age - so you may wish to research that a bit before you buy.