Mauser 9mm Ultra and S&W 24 Nickel "Lew Horton" hard to resist

I've heard about 9mm Ultra, but I'd never seen one until now. It's a 9x18mm but is it the same as 9x18mm Makarov? I didn't know, so I googled it.

Some speculate that the 9x18 Makarov was simply an adaptation of the German pre-WWII 9mm Ultra. However, there are important differences between the two. The 9mm Ultra is simply a lengthened version of the tapered 9mm Kurz (.380 ACP) with a standard 9mm (.356") bullet. The 9x18 Makarov uses a nearly cylindrical case and 9.2 mm (.363"-.365") bullet. See picture of various 9mm case dimensions.

Makarov is of course Russian in origin and the 9mm Ultra to which I refer is German, as is the cartridge. It's a Mauser HSc-80 9x18 Ultra DA/SA Semi-Auto-AR Gamba that I just listed on Gunbroker.


I have thus far resisting any pistol caliber less powerful than 9x19mm, AKA 9mm Luger or Parabellum (with the sole exception of .22LR) but this little Mauser is sure tempting. It's brand new in the box for only a mere $330. But I shall continue to resist.


But here's another one that's much harder to resist, at least for me, a S&W 24-6 Nickel .44Spl "Lew Horton Special" 3" Bl. I love .44 Specials and a Lew Horton is top of the heap for .44 Special pistols, IMHO. That bright nickel finish is a real eye-dazzler.

But I shall manage to resist this one also. First, it's $850 which I don't have. And second, while I love S&W N-frame revolvers, even with a 3" barrel they're too dang heavy for a carry pistol, again IMHO.


I love my S&W 396 Nightguard .44 Special and my Charter Arms Bulldog .44 Special, both of which are a lot more carry-friendly than this absolutely beautiful Lew Horton. Them grapes is probably sour anyway.