The Heckler & Koch Model 4 Pistol
by Dr. Stefan Klein and Ed Buffaloe

The HK4 – first step to pistol production by Heckler & Koch

Standard H&K factory markings on the magazine well of: 'MADE IN GERMANY/HK Inc./Arl. And 'HK 93/ (serial number)/Cal. 223/IB' code indicates 1981 manufacture. It has the military style post front sight with the outer ring and the rotating drum rear sight graduated from 100-400 meters. Buy Heckler and Koch HK USP Compact 45 Stainless New: GunBroker is the largest seller of Semi Auto Pistols Pistols Guns & Firearms All: 883683062. On certain items, we have multiple in stock, Serial Numbers may vary. Please inquire first before bidding if you are interested in a certain Serial number.

Nov 22, 2003 HK developed a series of codes to help identify their military/law enforcement firearms. Using their 2 number codes, it is possible to identify the type of firearm (belt-fed machinegun, submachinegun, etc) and the caliber. Here is how the code system breaks out.
Dec 25, 2016 010004 would be the number 10,004 in sequence. So that would be the 10,000 and 4th HK45 and not the 4th one. 000004 would be the 4th one produced-good luck getting that one! Probably a prototype that was used for testing purposes.
Serial number is 24-085682. Black fi for sale by Gulf Breeze Firearms on GunsAmerica - 919244183. Heckler & Koch USP. Caliber: 9mm (other).

Today the name Heckler & Koch is synonymous with auto pistols and assault rifles for police and military use, but this was not always the case. This article will take a look at the origins of the Heckler & Koch Company and its first production pistol, the Model 4 (HK4) which was released in 1968. The name was chosen because the pistol was available with four interchangeable barrel and spring kits: .22 Long Rifle, 6.35 mm Browning, 7.65mm Browning and 9mm Browning Short.

Heckler & Koch Model 4, First Variant

From today’s point of view none of the above calibers is particularly effective for self-defense. But the HK4 was somehow commercially successful, perhaps because it was accepted as a service pistol for the German Customs Police (Zoll), though it was never quite able to compete with the Walther PPK which was reissued by the Walther Company in the 1950s.

One of the owners of the Heckler & Koch Company, Alex Seidel, had been the primary design engineer behind the Mauser HSc (the Hahn- Selbstladespannpistole, Ausführung c) before World War II. So it is not surprising that the HK4 is closely related to the Mauser HSc. The idea of interchangeable barrels was not new either. In 1934 the August Menz Company had released the “PB Spezial” which was issued with interchangeable barrels in 9mm short, 7.65mm Browning, .22 centerfire and 4mm.

History of the Heckler & Koch Company

Heckler & Koch Model 4, Second Variant

Oberndorf am Neckar, in the far south of Germany, has been a center for weapon-making since at least 1812, when Frederick I of Württemberg established the royal weapons factory there. In 1897, the royal weapons factory, which had been manufacturing Mauser-designed rifles for some time, became Waffenfabrik Mauser AG, and later Mauser-Werke AG.

According to Weaver, Speed, and Schmid, in their book Mauser Pistolen: “Mauser-Werke AG, Oberndorf was targeted and bombed by the Allies on February 22, 1945. Physical damage to the facility was considered light, but the attack did serve to cripple the firm’s power plant...” After the war , the Allied Powers agreed that all weapons facilities in Germany were to be demolished, but the French were desperate for weapons for their new war in Indochina and their own infrastructure had been badly degraded, so they put the Mauser facility back into production through 1946, and even after that time, as they were shipping major machinery back to France, some arms-making activity may have continued.

Mauser had been the most important employer in the region and for many families it had been their only source of income. After the factory was closed, most ex-employees were completely out of work. Three former Mauser engineers, Edmund Heckler, Alex Seidel, and Theodor Koch, wished to support economic development and provide jobs. The obvious solution was to start a metal fabrication company, since they already had a trained workforce.

One on-line source states that the three sneaked into the Mauser factory to rescue much-needed equipment before it could be destroyed or removed, though Manfred Kersten states that the three negotiated with the French before the factory was demolished. The official company history on the Heckler & Koch website simply says they “...saved what they could from the ruins, thus laying the foundation for what was to become Heckler & Koch.”

The core of the new company was the Ingenieurbüro Heckler (Engineering Office Heckler) which Edmund Heckler founded in 1948. Heckler and Theodor Koch became partners and renamed Heckler’s company Heckler & Koch GmbH on 28 December 1949. The H&K company website states that, “Alex Seidel joined the team in 1949.” Why his name is not part of the company name is not explained.

Top: Mauser HSc
Bottom: Heckler & Koch HK4

Early on, the company focused on parts for sewing machines. Later they produced parts for bicycles, household appliances, and office equipment. In a short time the initial production facilities were outgrown, so the company moved to the former barracks of the Reichsarbeitsdienst (Reich Labor Service) at the Lindenhof in Oberndorf.

Heckler & Koch enjoyed rapid economic success and in 1952 new factory buildings were erected. The company then focused on manufacturing gauges and specialized tooling and in 1955 it began production of military equipment. The company website states, justifiably, that Heckler & Koch helped rebuild Germany after it had been mostly destroyed during the war. They certainly had a major impact on the prosperity and economic growth of their region.

In 1955 Germany joined NATO and the German Bundeswehr (Federal Defense Service) was founded. Soon there was a demand for a new assault rifle which should be produced on German soil. In 1958 Heckler & Koch was chosen to produce the G3 rifle. Unfortunately Edmund Heckler did not live to see the great success of this product, as he died in 1960.

A few years later Heckler & Koch decided to produce a service pistol. Alex Seidel had been the primary engineer involved in the production of the Mauser HSc pistol, so the HSc design formed the basis for the HK4. The project originated in 1966 and the HK4 went to market in 1968.

The Heckler & Koch Model 4 (HK4)

The HK4 is a blow-back operated unlocked-breech semiautomatic pistol with a double-action trigger and an external hammer. Its nam

Heckler Koch Usp Serial Numbers