I posted another thread earlier about a Mauser HSc that I found sitting, abused, in a used gun shop near by. I bought it for the princely sum of $145, intending to use it as a refinishing project. I haven't done many personal gunsmithing projects lately, and I am working on some instructional material regarding home restoration of firearms - so regardless of what comes out of this gun as a shooter or collection piece, it will have been valuable to me.
Before moving on to pictures, I'd like to post a YouTube video I did showing off the gun. Viewers and subscribers on YouTube are very helpful to me in growing an audience for future pursuits, so consider following if you're of that persuasion. I will be showing all of my refinishing techniques both in video and in written posts (with pictures) here on the board. Here is the link:
https://youtu.be/cDhjTRjIquA
That out of the way, here are some pictures of the gun.
Looking lonely in the store just after I bought it, and had to leave it for Broward County's 5 day waiting period. The rough condition is apparent. The bluing actually has some decent color left where it has not been taken over with rust and pitting.
Safely at home and field stripped. Field strip on this gun is pretty cool. There is a little plunger pin inside the trigger guard. This pin is depressed, and the whole slide assembly can then be lifted forward and upward off of the frame. It's somewhat complex for a straight blowback pistol, and not the only complexity in the design.
Roll marks from the Oberndorf factory. This one has a waffenamt proof mark which indicates it is proofed for either military or police use. The area underneath where the identifying letter would be to differentiate between different police or military forces is covered in rust, so I cannot tell at this time. The serial number is in the 8xx,xxx or 9xx,xxx range (hard to tell which until it is cleaned up some) which indicates that it is either very late WW2 production, or (more likely) some years after the end of the war.
Right Side View
A view of some particularly heavy rust on the barrel. The bore is in decent condition with clear rifling but this spot of rust is potentially going to be a challenge. I'm not too concerned though.
One particularly irking thing is that a previous owner carved their initials into the checkering.
The plan with this one:
Strip it completely
Polish the metal back to white
Blue at home using a rust blue or belgian bluing process
Salvage and re-cut the checkering, if possible. Sand smooth and polish if not.
Find a replacement grip screw for the right panel
Refinish the wood
Potentially nitre blue or straw color small parts including the grip screws and extractor.
I know this is a huge post, but I love to get in depth and break things down.
I will be updating regularly, hoping to start sometime this week with a full detail strip and rust removal.