My grandfathers captured Mauser

I have no idea what it might be worth, but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be safe to shoot. I suppose if it was manufactured toward the end of the war, it MIGHT have some inferior parts. You might want to have a gunsmith look it over to ease your mind.

(Edited to add)
Do a search on Gunbroker.com for Mauser 7.65 and you'll find a couple for sale. That will at least give you an idea what people are asking for them. Like anything else, it's worth what someone will give you for it.

By the way. Nice pistol. Thanks to your grandfather for his service to our country.

It's a Mauser HSC. It probably is worth $300 or so a bit more if it has Nazi proofmarks. You can get a better price idea by checking on Gunsamerica and search Mauser HSC. If it was made near the end of the war the machining would appear rough and the finish poor. The best way is spend a few dollars and have a gunsmith check it if you don't feel confident checking it yourself.

As above it's a Mauser HSc in 7.65mm also known in America as the .32 ACP.

The Mauser was an extremely high quality pistol and was a favorite of senior German officers and police.
They were well made right up to the end of the war, although the exterior finish got rougher.

The Mauser is an easy gun to disassemble.
After making SURE the gun is unloaded, remove the magazine.
In the front inside of the trigger guard is a disassembly latch.
Push it down, then push the slide FORWARD a short distance, and lift it up and off the frame.
Turn the slide over and push the barrel forward slightly, then lift the rear up and remove it and the recoil spring.

To reassemble, replace the recoil spring and barrel, making sure the wider end of the recoil spring faces forward.
To replace the slide on the frame, press it down and pull back until it snaps in place.

The Mauser HSc does have a rather odd slide lock system, and this takes some getting used to.
When the Mauser slide is opened the slide will lock back, whether there's an empty magazine in place or NO magazine.

To close the slide, you must insert a magazine, at which point the slide will run forward. If the magazine is loaded, a round will be chambered.
Unless you insert a loaded or empty magazine you cannot close the slide.

The Mauser HSc has an excellent safety system, but again a little odd.
When the safety is applied, the firing pin is locked AND lifted up at the rear out of the path of the hammer. This is one of the safest systems ever made.
However, unlike most other double action autos, the hammer doesn't automatically un-cock.

After WWII ended, the Mauser HSc was not made again until the 1960's when Mauser reintroduced it.
In the 1970's Mauser either sold or leased the design to the Italian Gamba company who made modified copies, including a 10 shot model.

Mauser HSc's generally are nicer to the web between your thumb and index finger than a Walther PP/PPk. I ran across a commercial .380 HSc in a pawn shop over 20 years ago and scooped it up. Mine is an Interarms marked/imported model made sometime around the GCA of '68. Mauser made their last run from about 1968 to 1977. In 1985 I paid $165 for it in about 95% condition.

Here's some general info on them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauser_HSC

As you've probably already discovered, the double action trigger pull is not the best. Single action is much better.

Dfaris is right on about the weird takedown procedure. It can be a real pain to disassemble, and there are several smallish parts inside best left in place, including the trigger bar.

I've always considered it one of the 'coolest' pistol designs to come out of the 1930's.

Regards,
Rabbit.

I'm sure its still safe to shoot so have fun with it!

As for what its worth, if sentimental value is factored in then it could be worth more to you than to anyone else. Check gunbroker like suggested above but personally I wouldn't sell it. Keep it and pass it on to your grandchildren

Great little family heirloom you have there.
Mausers are nicely made and strong pistols most small caliber pistols were carreid as a means of simply being armed or as a badge or token of rank.
As a famlily keepsake the value should be considered priceless.

Here is a writeup about the HSc's operational characteristics that I did over on TFL.

In America the 7.65 is known as the .32ACP.
Most any gun shop will stock at least one or two brands.

Can I find clips for this gun?

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Your gun uses magazines, not clips. And yes, you can find magazines for it. Prices for HSc mags run around $25-35 each. Do a Google search for "mauser msc magazine" and you'll find any number of places that sell them.

FYI, the picture below depicts a "clip" on the left, and a "magazine" on the right:

Captured Mauser

It’s great to see that someone else has a Mauser HSc that was acquired in a similar manner as the one I have. My Dad and one of his buddies captured a German machine gun nest that was pinning down some Marines on a beach during an invasion and took the crew as prisoners. Very long story I won’t go into here. He removed S/N 907599 from the officer of that gun emplacement crew as they were being taken prisoner. Our service personnel weren’t supposed to keep captured weapons, and my Dad was very concerned that someone would find out about this thing when he gave it to me just prior to entering an assisted living facility near the end of his life. As it turns out, it’s a great story where ever I share it. My Dad has passed on to his eternal reward several years ago, but I still have the weapon and will keep it in the family. My son is aware of its history and has fired the weapon himself, and looks forward to receiving it from me at the appropriate time. I asked a gun smith to go through the piece and it’s in great shape. I just fired 16 rounds through it again today on the range nearby. One of the hand grips has partially broken and I was searching for a source of parts when I came upon your blog entry via Google. I hope that you heard some great stories about WW II from your Grandpa as I’d heard from my Dad about the Great Adventure and how he’d come to possess the weapon.

Mauser HSc's generally are nicer to the web between your thumb and index finger than a Walther PP/PPk.

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I certainly didn't find it so. Quite the contrary in fact. Like you, I found a 60's vintage, Interarms imported one in .380ACP (or (9mm kurz, if you like). As I had always wanted one (they are gorgeous pistols), I snatched it up. I was instantly disappointed with how the gun felt in my hand, but I bought it anyway since, as I said, I had wanted one for many years. The hammer is mounted very low in the frame, which results in the gun pointing rather low, at least for me. The gun's also very thick in cross section for a weapon that was originally designed as a .32 pocket pistol. It looks like it would be extremely ergonomic, but it doesn't feel that way (now the Remington Model 51 I own... ah, now that's another story altogether; there's a .380 that feels every bit as ergonomic as it looks).

I took it to the range that same day. It drew blood with the first round. That very low mounted hammer again. And worse still, I couldn't fire a full magazine through the thing without one to two stoppages. Not once during the entire session. And I was shooting FMJ. I took the gun apart and lubricated the slide rails, then put it back together. No difference. I don't think it was the magazine either, as I had two with the gun, neither of which appeared to be damaged in any way, and the gun performed equally unreliably with either of them. Perhaps the problem was a weak recoil spring or something that could have been fixed, but given how disappointed I was at its ergonomics, and how it bit my hand so badly, I wasn't about to put any money in it. I put it in the local trading post the same day and said goodbye to it with no regrets.

Only one I ever shot had a lot of felt recoil for a .32 and a tough trigger pull. Something to be shot on "ceremonial occasions" rather than a working gun.

My dad found a company in California that makes magazines for odd/obscure pistols. He came across a Spanish made .380 (stamped 9mm Browning Short or something) that had no magazine. A man in Spain that bought the remaining parts from the factory over there had some for sale on gunbroker, but my dad found the company in Cali and shipped them his gun. They made him a few mags, and I'm sure made several hundred for their stock. This post is sort of useless since I don't know the name of that California company. Sorry.

Fine pistols!

I sometimes carry mine although I'm not real high on the .32 as SD caliber.

I shoot it frequently because I find it very pleasant to shoot and it makes me look good on a target.

just keep it well preserved as a family handmedown.

The postwar Italian made HSc's are said to have alot of problems.
You should check to see if your Grandfather had any paperwork to bring this pistol home. Even though you will never sell it, it adds alot of value to the pistol.

Does it have the eagle-over-WA359 or eagle-over-359 stamping? If so, it's a military issue gun and will be worth a bunch more than those without. If those stampings aren't present, it's a commercial issue pistol (police, warehouse guards, etc) and will be worth 1/3 of the military issue ones.

Can I find clips for this gun?

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WARNING: Do not use the aftermarket mag that are selling for the low price.
They will fire, but you'll need pliers to remove them. They get hung-up and your fingers won't do it....Nice to have for a reload, but after that you're toast.
If you like a pic, let me know and I'll send it. I believe it was purchased through Numrich-GunParts...."Nice paperweight"...
BTW, how about a pic of yours, not an internet copy.....

German's pinning down Marines Nate? That doesn't seem very likely. I do not believe any Marines fought in the European theater. The converse though is not true, quite a few Army soldiers fought in the Pacific, esp the Phillipines and Okinawa.