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The Post War Mauser HSc pistol: A closer look.

25K views 14 replies 7 participants last post by  Vlim 
#1 · (Edited)
A closer look at the post war Mauser HSc.

Pistols used in the comparison:
#1: Mauser HSc serial number 00.01690 – 1968.
#2: Mauser HSc serial number 00.19411 – 1977.
#3: Mauser HSc cutaway. Undated, no serial number.
#4: Mauser HSc serial number 01.18972 – ca. 1970 (1977 proof).

Slide address:
1968:
MAUSER-WERKE A.G. Oberndorf a.N.
Modell HSc Made in Germany

1970:
MAUSER-WERKE A.G. Oberndorf a.N.
Modell HSc Made in Germany

1977:
Mauser-Werke Oberndorf GmbH
Oberndorf / Neckar
Mod. HSc Made in Germany

Undated:
MAUSER-WERKE A.G. Oberndorf a.N.
Modell HSc (rest obscured by cut-out)

Serial number:
1968
Serial number on right side of slide.
Last 3 digits of serial on inner front cut-out of frame.
Last 3 digits on bottom of chamber.

1970
Serial number on right side of slide.
Serial number on left side of frame.
Last 3 digits on bottom of chamber.

1977
Serial number on right side of slide.
Serial number on left side of frame.
Last 3 digits on bottom of chamber.

Undated
No serial numbers or partial numbers anywhere.

Grips:
1968:
Black plastic with ‘Original Mauser’ logo.

1970:
Wood.

1977:
Wood.

Undated:
Wood with several cut-outs.

Functionality:
1968:
The 1968 pistol has the hammer construction of the 1940-1942 version of the HSc. This version had to be modified in 1943 following a patent dispute between Walther and Mauser.
When the pistol’s slide is open, with the safety applied and the magazine is inserted, the slide will close and the hammer will remain in half-cocked position.

1970:
The 1970 pistol has the hammer construction of the 1943 and later versions of the HSc. This is the modified version, modelled after the wartime HSc with resolved patent issues.
When the pistol’s slide is open, with the safety applied and the magazine inserted, the slide will close and the hammer will remain cocked.

1977:
The 1977 pistol has the hammer construction of the 1943 and later versions of the HSc. This is the modified version, modelled after the wartime HSc with resolved patent issues.
When the pistol’s slide is open, with the safety applied and the magazine inserted, the slide will close and the hammer will remain cocked.

Undated:
The undated cutaway also has the hammer construction of the 1977 / 1943 version.

Proof markings:
1968:
Eagle/N on left of slide. Top before serrations.
Eagle/N on left of frame. With 68 date and Ulm antler.
Eagle/N on chamber. Visible through ejection port.

1970:
Eagle/N on right side of slide. Below ejection port.
Eagle/N on left side of frame. With HH (77) date and Ulm antler.
Eagle/N on chamber. Visible through ejection port.

1977:
Eagle/N on right side of slide. Below ejection port.
Eagle/N on left side of frame. With HH (77) date and Ulm antler.
Eagle/N on chamber. Obscured by slide.

Undated:
No proofs.

Calibre designation:
1968:
Large size 32 ACP on chamber, visible through ejection port.

1970:
Small size 9mmK with .38 below. .38 partially obscured by slide.

1977:
Small size 7.65mm with .32 below. Visible through ejection port.

Undated:
Small .32 visible. Rest milled away. Visible through ejection port.

Other markings:
1968:

1970:
Mauser banner on left side of chamber (barrel).

1977:
Mauser banner on left side of chamber (barrel).

Undated:
Mauser banner on left side of chamber (barrel).


Sear spring:
All versions of the post war HSc use a sear construction that differs greatly from the one used during 1940-1947 production.

1968:
The sear is spring loaded by utilizing the trigger spring on the front. Additionally a small curved leaf spring is placed underneath the grip to act as a buffer to push the sear back up.

The problem with this double spring lay-out is that the sear is held under pressure by the side plate. With the side plate removed the sear can jump out relatively easily.



1977:
The sear and buffer functions are both carried out by a single spring. The trigger spring is no longer attached to the sear.



1970 9mmK:
In the 1970 9mmK the cut-out for the buffer leaf spring is still present, but the pistol utilizes the same spring construction as the 1977 pistol.



Undated:
Same construction as 1970 9mmK and 1977 pistols: Single spring.

Wartime sear construction:


Preliminary conclusion:
It seems that the 1968 version was based in part on the 1940-1942 drawings of the HSc, with a modified sear/spring construction. Around 1970 the design was changed to a simpler but more rugged sear construction, on which the leaf return spring was replaced by a wire spring. Also relatively early the full serial number was added to the frame. Around 1970 the barrels began to be marked with a Mauser banner logo on the left side of the frame, a feature that is absent on the earlier 1968 models.

In 1975 Mauser’s company structure was changed from an Aktiengesellschaft (A.G.) to a Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH). This influenced the name of the company on the pistols, it changed from MAUSER-WERKE A.G. to Mauser-Werke Oberndorf GmbH.

So we can speak of the following post-war variations:
Variation 1:
1968-1970. MAUSER-WERKE A.G.. Double spring sear. Pre-patent hammer. Plastic grips.

Variation 2:
1970-1975. MAUSER-WERKE A.G.. Single spring sear. Post-patent hammer. Wooden grips.

Variation 3:
1975-1977: Mauser-Werke Oberndorf GmbH. Single spring sear. Post-patent hammer. Wooden grips.
 
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#3 ·
Firing pins are equal on the post war variations.

Grip screws differ between plastic and wooden grips. Those on the early plastic grip frames have a more rounded head. Grip screws on the later variations have a flattened screw head.
 
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#5 ·
Mauser HSc Post War Serial Number 00.000010 .32 Cal.

Vlim,
Thanks for posting information on these post war pistols. I have acquired a few of them over the years even though there isn't much collector interest here in the U.S.. This pistol is one I bought at a local gun show just a few years ago. It came with the box which is pictured and the finger extension mag. I added the spare mag. It didn't come with its manual so over the years I have acquired different ones hoping to come across the one that would be correct for it. Problem is, I wouldn't know which one, if any, of the three I have is correct for this pistol. I just keep all three with it for that reason. I hope you will find this one interesting. It has no importer's stamps on it and the wood grips are what came on it when I got it.
 

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#6 ·
Greg:
Nice very early New Model HSc prior to established serial number format and meant for the European market with Ulm proof mark. I have attached a photo of the correct German language manual that would have come with the pistol. You will note that the Manuals not meant for U.S. export list the 7,65mm (.32 ACP) before the 9mm Kurz (.380 ACP) in the title. Hope that helps.

 
#7 ·
Warbird,
Thanks for your comments and thanks for posting a picture of the correct manual. If you have any idea where one like this is available for sale I would appreciate a heads-up. I will go back to scrounging around the usual channels.

I was thinking that since this pistol was not intended for U.S. export that it may have been purchased in Europe and brought home by a service member or someone like that. It could be one explanation of how this pistol ended up over here.
 
#8 ·
Nice thought but incorrect. I recall seeing a group of these up for auction at Teuto-Arms.de back in 2003. Then in 2009, a GunBroker auction listed serial number 00.000011. So it looks like it passed through 1 or 2 auction houses before you acquired it. That certainly doesn't detract from its historical significance, however.
 
#10 · (Edited)
The Interarms contract versions were made and marked by Mauser, so I would not see that marking as a problem. Then there are the Waidmann's versions from Phoenix, Az. They too are an interesting lot.

Commercial numbering of the pistols started at 1001, these low numbers were probably kept at the factory for reference, demonstration and illustration purposes. Holger Veh, the owner of Teuto-Arms, bought the remaining Mauser stock around 1999-2000 when Mauser quit the pistol business. So he acquired all pattern room, prototype and reference pistols that were still there at the time.

So it is safe to assume that both number 10 and 11 came from the factory's reference collection.
 
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#14 ·
It was introduced with the 1968 version. Probably helped to ease production. Frame and slide parts were subcontracted to Manurhin.
 
#15 ·
I have been re-reading the original numbering plan for the Mauser Parabellum, which should be close to that of the HSc.
There is one anomaly in the Parabellum numbering plan that was caused by the need to assemble / rebuild a few Swiss 06/29 pistols for demonstration purposes:

Mauser Parabellum:
1-9: Assembled by R&D department (for checking the drawings, tooling, etc...).
10-99: Swiss 06/29 rebuilds (only 3 made).
100-999: Reserved for Interarms / Sam Cummings.
1000-1050: Commercial production, but only allowed to leave the factory after management approval.
1051-end: Normal series production.

If the same structure was used for the HSc, and we leave out the Swiss range, we get this:
1-99: R&D made pistols.
100-999: Reserved for Sam Cummings / Interarms.
1000-1050: Commercial production, but only allowed to leave the factory after management approval.
1051-end: Commercial production.

The first 2 digits of the full serial denote the caliber type:
Mauser Parabellum:
10: .30 luger
11: 9mm luger
12: 22 Luger (never made)

Mauser HSc
00: .32 ACP / 7,65mm
01: .380 ACP / 9mmK
02: .22lr (only 3 planned, 2 reported).

Following this logic, the HSc pistols 10 and 11 were made by the R&D department.

A tell-tale sign of the early (R&D) pistols is that the slide logo and address are engraved rather than etched. Also the grip shape on early R&D pistols differs from later series production. Also note that the numbering size differs on the R&D range:

Normal production numbers have the format xx.yyyy where xx is the type (00, 01, 02) and yyyy is the serial number, starting with 4 digits and ending with 5 digits (i.e. 01.1001 and 01.17500 to show a few).

The R&D serial numbers follow a format of xx.yyyyzz where xx is the type (00, 01, 02) and yyyy is 4 zeroes. zz is 01 - 99.
So we see for example 00.000002, 01.000011, etc..

R&D serial numbers I have observed so far are:
00.000002 (.32) in the Oberndorf Weapons Museum.
00.000010 (.32)
00.000011 (.32)
01.000002 (9mmK) Teuto-Arms
01.000003 (9mmK) Hermann-Historica

02.0001 (.22lr) (Always one of them that doesn't follow the logic ;).

Then there are the V-pistols, these were pistols used for testing, experimenting, etc.. and were strictly R&D property.
Observed HSc-V pistols (postwar) are:
V1 (9mmK, Teuto-Arms)
V3 (9mmK, Oberndorf)
V5 (9mmK, Teuto-Arms)
V6
V10 (9mmK, Hermann-Historica)

V001 (.22lr)

To confuse matters further, some R&D modifications were done to normal pistols from the commercial sequence.
Some of these pistols found their way to commercial sales later on. There are also 'holes' in the serial number registration, i.e. numbers that were reserved but were never assigned to a pistol.

And to make things even more interesting, several post-war HSc pistols received the serial number of a 'donor' pistol. These pistols have all the hallmarks of a commercially produced post-war HSc, but have a serial number that is not within the production range. So far, I have observed 5 pistols: One has a 4-digit serial on the front grip strap, the other has a wartime HSc-number on the front grip strap, the third has a WW1-era Mauser 1914 serial number on the frame and slide. And 2 examples have a 3-digit number on the front of the grip strap.
 
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