H&K Mk 23

SOCOM's Offensive Handgun Weapon System pistol and the commercial Mark 23: the OHWS programme, the buffered-guide-rod recoil system, identification against the USP .45s, H&K's own maintenance procedures, accuracy and +P ammunition, the suppressor and aiming module, and buying one.

Firearms

H&K Mk 23 · Deep Dive

H&K Mk 23

The patent number moulded into the Mark 23's grip reads as H&K's 1991 buffered-guide-rod patent, and H&K's own manual and web pages disagree on whether the pistol even has a loaded-chamber indicator.

SOCOM's Offensive Handgun Weapon System pistol and the commercial Mark 23: the OHWS programme, the buffered-guide-rod recoil system, identification against the USP .45s, H&K's own maintenance procedures, accuracy and +P ammunition, the suppressor and aiming module, and buying one.

Photo: Mark23SuppressedLeft by Joe Loong · CC BY-SA 2.0

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    Volumes

    1. Vol 1 SOCOM's Offensive Handgun: The OHWS Programme, 1989 to 1996 Why a new special operations command wanted a pistol to attack with, what it asked for, how Colt and Heckler & Koch competed for it at Crane, and how much of the story the public record actually supports
    2. Vol 2 In Service and on Sale: 1996 to Today What became of SOCOM's offensive handgun once it was issued, who else adopted it, the successor that replaced it in Navy service, and the commercial Mark 23: how it differs, how the 1994 ban shaped it, and how H&K has described and priced it since
    3. Vol 3 How It Works: A Linkless Browning with a Buffered Guide Rod The Mk 23's cycle of operation part by part, from H&K's own manual, set beside the 1991 patent whose number is moulded into the frame: the cam on the guide rod, the two-spring recoil assembly, the barrel O-ring, the DA/SA fire control and the separate decocker
    4. Vol 4 Telling Them Apart: Mk 23 Mod 0, Mark 23, USP45 and USP Tactical How to identify the military pistol, the commercial pistol and the USP .45s they are confused with, feature by feature and marking by marking, with what H&K's own documents say about each and what no published source settles
    5. Vol 5 Field Strip, Detail Strip, Maintenance and Repair H&K's own procedures for clearing, field stripping, cleaning, lubricating and checking the Mk 23; what H&K reserves to its own armourers and why no detail-strip procedure is published; the troubleshooting table, the parts that wear and the parts that send the pistol back to the factory
    6. Vol 6 Accuracy and Ammunition The accuracy requirement as H&K quotes it, the results H&K claims, the figures that have been garbled in repetition, the one independent measurement found, and the two cartridges the pistol was built for: SAAMI's .45 Automatic and .45 Automatic +P, with pressures, velocities and the speed of sound
    7. Vol 7 The Kit: Suppressor, Laser Aiming Module and Holster The system's other two components: the Knight's Armament suppressor and its booster, the Brügger & Thomet alternative H&K also approved, what each actually achieves by the measures available, the muzzle thread that catches buyers out, the laser aiming module whose designation no primary source confirms, and what the manual asks of a holster
    8. Vol 8 Buying, Owning and Working On One What H&K sells, what it costs new and used, what to check before buying, which parts can still be had, what an owner with a full shop can sensibly make or change, and the federal and Michigan law that applies, linked to where this hub already sets it out