My uncle brought a Mauser HSc .380 pistol, Interarms import, for me to look at. He said that he bought it used 25-30 years ago and never shot it because it was too hard for him to rack the slide. The slide is, in fact, almost impossible to work. All appears to be functioning but I have never felt a gun with a spring as hard to operate as that gun. Does anyone have that same gun that can tell me if this is a peculiarity of that model gun or has someone put an incorrect recoil spring in it. That is the only realistic possibility I can visualize. Any help appreciated.

Long ago, I considered buying a Mauser HSc .380 (pretty pistol), but I bought an Intertarms Walther PPK/S .380 instead. Its slide is damned hard to rack too. Just the nature of blowback .380s, I think. OTOH, the slide of my locked breech SIG P238 .380 is very easy to rack. And has a much softer recoil.

Does the slide move at all? The take-down mechanism is inside the front edge of the trigger guard. I have one here I can reference for you.

I have one. It has a ridiculously powerful recoil spring. That's a common beef against them. Mine works best with Geco .380 FMJ. I guess it's loaded hotter than the average FMJ US made stuff. They're nifty guns but a locked breech pistol will be a lot easier to charge. Mine is a range gun only.

Honestly, IMO, a $200 Ruger LCP is a far more practical and reliable .380acp carry pistol than his Mauser. If hus gun is in nice shape, he might be able to swap it straight across for a new LCP.

One of the local gun stores has one and I'm going to look at it tomorrow to see if it is as stiff. I have a serious problem myself operating the slide. If that is normal, that's just plain crazy.

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Originally posted by PGT:
Does the slide move at all? The take-down mechanism is inside the front edge of the trigger guard. I have one here I can reference for you.

The gun functions as normal. I had no problem breaking it down and cleaning it.

European .380 stuff is generally quite a bit hotter than American fodder, at least it was back in the days when the Mauser was sold. I had an HK4 back then, and had a hell of a time racking the slide.

Suggestion. Lock the slide back and leave it like that for three days. Then give it a try and see if it makes a difference. If not, consider the following, http://www.gun-parts.com/mauser/ . For all we know it might have an incorrect recoil spring.

Granted, it takes some measure of effort to rack them but it shouldn't be as much as it is made to seem. I don't find them particularly difficult but then, I'm quite familiar with blowbacks.

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Originally posted by jehzsa:
Suggestion. Lock the slide back and leave it like that for three days. Then give it a try and see if it makes a difference. If not, consider the following, http://www.gun-parts.com/mauser/ . For all we know it might have an incorrect recoil spring.

Granted, it takes some measure of effort to rack them but it shouldn't be as much as it is made to seem. I don't find them particularly difficult but then, I'm quite familiar with blowbacks.

The advice on locking the slide for a length of time is good advice, doing that helped the drawback on my Browning Hi Power 40 cal with it's 20# spring.

True also, since the pistol was used, the original owner could have installed an incorrect spring. Sometimes too, the shape of the slide, and slide serrations makes it seem harder to retract the slide than it really is.

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Mauser HSc .380 pistol, Interarms

Fwiw, those have a reputation for breaking parts. Who knows if something is impeding slide travel.

Also, the barrel might not be fully locked. I would take a look inside to see if something is out of place or damaged. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ATuKG9u0GY

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Originally posted by jehzsa:

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Mauser HSc .380 pistol, Interarms

Fwiw, those have a reputation for breaking parts.

Indeed, they do. Whether or not the reputation is deserved, I can't say.

Older members may remember Dave Arnold, who was an editor at Guns&Ammo magazine. He referred to the postwar version of this pistol as a "thousand round handgun."

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Originally posted by parabellum:

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Originally posted by jehzsa:

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Mauser HSc .380 pistol, Interarms

Fwiw, those have a reputation for breaking parts.

Indeed, they do. Whether or not the reputation is deserved, I can't say.

Older members may remember Dave Arnold, who was an editor at Guns&Ammo magazine. He referred to the postwar version of this pistol as a "thousand round handgun."

"Thousand round handgun, because its a thousand parts handgun. The most parts I have ever seen in a parts schematic for a handgun.

I remember Dave.

I have one someplace. I came upon it, and it never did shoot worth a damn, even if I could work the slide.