I don't post much on the forums here - mostly lurk and read, but wanted to provide some info about the HSC platform for those that might be interested.

In spite of knowing the less than stellar reviews of post-war HSCs, I found a 1970 mfg 380 acp last year for a good price and decided to give it a go.

What I had read previously was that the HSC in 380 was a departure from the original design and was supplied post-war to the American market through Interarms. The reliabilty of those was spotty, with rumors about jams, frame cracks, etc.

Anyways, the one I have seems to work in 380 fine, no failures in about 100 rds (hardly enough!) but since it was originally designed for 32 acp I decided to locate a barrel for it out of curiosity, and because I've always liked 32 - a lot, ha!

Long story short, I located a post-war barrel in 32 and swapped the 380 barrel out.

I was skeptical about a simple barrel swap, but so far, after some preliminary testing for function, there have been no hiccups.

The originally supplied 380 magazines fit and feed 32, the extractor handles perfectly, and the 380 recoil spring is fine and probably no different.

I'll probably work on a write-up here for accuracy testing, functionality, and reloads on the HSC along with two other 32s I have to compare later down the road, but wanted to clear the air on compatibility of 380 and 32 on the HSC, since it was an unknown in my search for a definitive answer.

If the 380 is apparently hard on that design, then the 32 is simply a barrel swap so far.

I know Walther designs on PPs and Ks in 380 have been spotty at times, too, but the HSC is so far a nice design as there's no fixed barrel to change.

I had an Interarms HSC in 380 for quite a while, always worked fine. A friend now owns it. When I offered to sell it, he couldn't get the $s out of his pocket fast enough, he'd been after one for a long time. He's a happy camper.

Those are seriously sweet pistols. I bought quite a few from Interarns in the '80s before the Bosnia shit went down. A good one to buy when you can find them.

Cool guns. Just watch the web of your hand when shooting and your thumbnail when taking the damn thing part. Oh, and get a spare magazine...it’ll prevent you from having to unload the one you just loaded to drop the slide on an empty chamber.

quote:

Originally posted by BaxterB:
Cool guns. Just watch the web of your hand when shooting and your thumbnail when taking the damn thing part. Oh, and get a spare magazine...it’ll prevent you from having to unload the one you just loaded to drop the slide on an empty chamber.

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes

There's definitely a chance for the slide coming back on your hand, but not the worst for me. I've been messing with three 32s lately and a PPK was the one I had to be most careful with.

The HSC fits my hand pretty well ergonomics wise, but the PPK took some getting used to, especially when not using the grip extension magazine.

What bugs me on the HSC is reassembly of the barrel into the slide. Trying to compress that heavy spring on the barrel while getting both into the slide is a PITA. The part of the barrel you can touch is all sharp corners. There has to be a better way than how I do it.

That's where the fixed barrel of the PPK or a Makarov is welcome, ha!

quote:

Originally posted by 300H&H:
There's definitely a chance for the slide coming back on your hand, but not the worst for me. I've been messing with three 32s lately and a PPK was the one I had to be most careful with.

The HSC fits my hand pretty well ergonomics wise, but the PPK took some getting used to, especially when not using the grip extension magazine.

What bugs me on the HSC is reassembly of the barrel into the slide. Trying to compress that heavy spring on the barrel while getting both into the slide is a PITA. The part of the barrel you can touch is all sharp corners. There has to be a better way than how I do it.

That's where the fixed barrel of the PPK or a Makarov is welcome, ha!

Ha! I feel your pain...