To HSc or not to HSc?

[tallen702]

I have a line on what is likely a post-war HSc. There are two things of note. In the brief time I got to look at it, I didn't see any military markings (not that I knew exactly where to look at the time) which leads me to believe that it's a post-war firearm. The other is that it's nickel-plated, but I don't recall seeing the Interarms billboard of an importer's mark on the right-hand side of the slide. The asking price is pretty low. $275 to be exact. and while the nickel plating is definitely a little foxed in certain places, overall, it looks to be in pretty decent shape. Again, I only saw it for a few minutes as I was in the middle of running an errand. I'm thinking I'll roll the dice on it with the price so low. At the very least I figure I'd get my money back and then some by parting it out if it's a dud given what I'm seeing completed parts sales go for on various platforms. . That said, what would my fellow crufflers do?

 

[Dan44]

Caliber, wood or plastic grips? That's a good price for a .32 shooter.

 

[Combloc]

Chromed? Pass.

 

[mawkie]

I think you already know I'm going to say. Take that money and put it towards a proper example, wartime or post-war. I have seen factory plated post-war HSc but all those examples had the Interarms logo and were chambered in the most commonly found round for that time period: 9mm short. I can only remember seeing 7.62 in wartime examples. It's like there was a sharp line drawn between pre and post war production as to chambering. If it's in 7.62 then my best guess is that it very likely is a wartime commercial HSc which only had a pair of tiny E/N marks on the TG and right side near the muzzle.

 

[somd_mustangs]

If it has intact wood grips, they're worth the price alone (or close to it). The front "points" always break off and good originals are hard to find. The post-war "re-issue" Mauser Hsc's from the 60's and 70's were chambered in both .32 and .380 ACP (and their grips are different). I'm not familiar with the re-issues, but they should have a commercial proof with the date where a WW2 commercial pistol would just have the E/N proofs. There was also a short period after the war where La Frenchies assembled them (like the P.38's). The S/N tells the tale. Not sure if the re-issues ever came with nickel or chrome factory finish, but the WW2 and post-war French-assembled most definitely did not.

The problem with parting it out is if the parts you want to sell off are nickel-plated - those won't bring a lot of interest

There are some rare & valuable variants but with the plating the value plummets. But for instance the just grips for this variant would be mega-bucks. It also shows what the front tip of the grips should look like whether normal "mid screw" or the rare "low screw".

Rare, Beautiful Mauser HSc - Low Grip Screw

8/3/22 - This is an extremely rare Mauser HSc from 1940. This variation with low grip screw saw only ~700 commercially manufactured, all in 1940 with high-polish finish. This variation represents the earliest HSc's manufactured, as the revision to the grip placement on the frame had already...

www.legacy-collectibles.com

 

[mawkie]

I'm watching a low grip screw Kriegsmarine HSc coming up for sale at auction very soon. Already has an opening bid of $3k. Not sure where the bidding will stop but wouldn't be shocked at $5k as they rarely see daylight.
Forgot about French HSc (silly me, I have one in the collection), might be the most underrated military version of the HSc. They used to pop up in the market place from time to time. Lately not so much.

 

[somd_mustangs]

1st variation Kriegsmarine? Wheeee doggies, I bet it hits 7-8k at least (depending on the venue I suppose).
https://p38guns.com/701013.htm (1st Var Navy HSc)
For those that haven't seen it, the p38guns website has a ton of guns other than P.38's on it and is a good reference.

The Frenchie HSc's have caught up with the WW2 army-issued examples. You still see them but they aren't the underdog anymore The same has happened with the French-assembled P.38's, they're now comparable to WW2 P.38's - and are usually import marked and refinished. Go figure.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Mawkie and SOMD Mustangs are indeed correct , from the pure Collector viewpoint . i can respect that .

The alternative viewpoint is if that were in front of me for that price , I would immediately buy it .

I would snatch it purely as a Shooter and be satisfied . Any further collectibility , if any , would just be a bonus .

 

[somd_mustangs]

Don't get me wrong, I'd be very tempted to buy it too at that price
But I wouldn't have high expectations for it other than as a conversation piece.

 

[mawkie]

I would feel better as a shooter if it wasn't plated. You don't know how tight tolerances are pre-plating and how thick a layer of plating went on. If it's post-war factory plating then have at it, no worries. You'll be good for range duty or as a commercial collecting item. If it's a non-factory re-finish then I'd be very careful before handing over hard earned cash.

 

[tallen702]

The alternative viewpoint is if that were in front of me for that price , I would immediately buy it .

I would snatch it purely as a Shooter and be satisfied . Any further collectibility , if any , would just be a bonus .

Don't get me wrong, I'd be very tempted to buy it too at that price
But I wouldn't have high expectations for it other than as a conversation piece.

I would feel better as a shooter if it wasn't plated. You don't know how tight tolerances are pre-plating and how thick a layer of plating went on. If it's post-war factory plating then have at it, no worries. You'll be good for range duty or as a commercial collecting item. If it's a non-factory re-finish then I'd be very careful before handing over hard earned cash.

Shooter/just having one in the collection is kind of where I stand on it at the moment. I'm not expecting to get the deal of a century here, the opportunity came up and I'll likely see if I can haggle down another $25 on it.

Also in the mix is a Belgian-proofed commercial Bayard "1908" in .25ACP which is the rarer of the calibers for that particular pistol. It's not exactly a collector's item by most accounts, but it's still an important historical piece given that the Germans started cranking them out (in .32) for wartime production in WWI when they captured the factory. He's asking sub $100 for it and it has a missing right grip pannel. I can get a repro easily enough, or if I want to pay some money, I can get a parted-out right grip panel easily as well. It too, would be more a curio and shooter for the money. I'll likely buy both for gits and shiggles and to satisfy the desire to buy something at the moment, and then start saving up for an 1895 Winchester.

 

[mawkie]

Shooter/just having one in the collection is kind of where I stand on it at the moment. I'm not expecting to get the deal of a century here, the opportunity came up and I'll likely see if I can haggle down another $25 on it.

Also in the mix is a Belgian-proofed commercial Bayard "1908" in .25ACP which is the rarer of the calibers for that particular pistol. It's not exactly a collector's item by most accounts, but it's still an important historical piece given that the Germans started cranking them out (in .32) for wartime production in WWI when they captured the factory. He's asking sub $100 for it and it has a missing right grip pannel. I can get a repro easily enough, or if I want to pay some money, I can get a parted-out right grip panel easily as well. It too, would be more a curio and shooter for the money. I'll likely buy both for gits and shiggles and to satisfy the desire to buy something at the moment, and then start saving up for an 1895 Winchester.

The Bayard I would jump on without hesitation. Sounds like a no-brainer to me.

 

[mawkie]

Here's a great site and article on the Bayard 1908. If it comes up in German just go to the home page and you can select English as the language.

 

[tallen702]

Upon further inspection, it's a 5th variation military production model that was a bring back that someone chromed. Going to grab it if for nothing more than to have one in hand. I also grabbed the .25ACP Bayard. I'll post pictures once MSP deigns to notify me that I'm not disapproved.

 

[tallen702]

The HSc. Nickel plated and in decent shape overall. The grips are original and fully intact, it's smooth as can be, too. Pretty happy for $275.

 

[tallen702]

I'm considering removing the nickel plating with the Brownell's solution for that job and getting it re-blued. Any thoughts?

 

[Dan44]

That was a good score.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Nah . That train already left the station . Stripping and blueing over from scratch still won't make it original .


Option A - Accept it as it is : Representive of what a 1950- mid '60s American Gun Guy would have shot/ carried .

Option B - If the imperfections in the finish offend you too much to shoot it , as of 5 minutes ago , Mahovsky's Metallife is still in business , and their matte Electroless Nickel is Very Reasonably priced , and it won't be any greater degree of non original to a serious collector .

( No , Electroless Nickel by itself isn't as bad @$$ as their Hard Chrome . But it doesn't suck , excellent corrosion resistant , and much more durable than Blue , for minor $ . )

 

[Biggfoot44]

In case I was vague , even with the close ups of the top of the slide , still a good pick up .

Thank you for buying it , to prevent Mrs Biggfoot from having to kill me for buying another gun in 2023 .

 

[tallen702]

In case I was vague , even with the close ups of the top of the slide , still a good pick up .

Thank you for buying it , to prevent Mrs Biggfoot from having to kill me for buying another gun in 2023 .

lol, I wish it was just this one I bought, but no. There were 4 other pistols in the group at the pawn shop I nabbed this from that were clearly in the same set of war trophies that had been dumped there by some ungrateful offspring who didn't want Dad's guns. As soon as I pick the others up, replace the two missing grip panels, and give them a good cleaning, I'll post up the other ones I grabbed that I consider to be a good steal overall. Mrs. Tallen would have a conniption if she knew.....