Approximately half of this initial production was purchased by Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. The first 1350 pistols were made for the commercial market and, because of the low positioning of the grip screws, have become known as the 'Low Grip Screw' variety. The early pistols have well-made wooden grips, and are highly polished and richly blued. Production began in late 1940 at serial number 700,000, as an extension of the serial number range of the Mauser Model 1934 pistol, a much more difficult pistol to manufacture.

HSc pistols used by the Luftwaffe or Waffen-SS were procured from Army and police stocks. It was procured initially by the navy ( Kriegsmarine) soon followed by the Army and police. It competed with the contemporary German Walther PPK and PP and Sauer 38H for police and military use. The Mauser HSc was originally intended as a commercial pistol. It has a semi-exposed hammer, double-action trigger, single-column magazine, and a spring surrounding the barrel. Production was continued in 1945–46 during the French occupation and, from 1968 to 1977 by Mauser. The designation HSc stood for Hahn Selbstspanner ('self-cocking hammer') Pistole, third and final design 'C'. The Mauser HSc is a 7.65mm pistol introduced in Nazi Germany during World War II, and manufactured until 1977. World War II, First Indochina War, Burundian Civil War Ĩ-round detachable box magazine (.32 ACP)ħ-round detachable box magazine (.380 ACP)

German mauser rifle serial numbers