Image credit
- Title
- File:Mark23SuppressedLeft.jpg
- Author
- Joe Loong(attribution required)
- Licence
- CC BY-SA 2.0
- Source
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mark23SuppressedLeft.jpg
How Muzzle energy is calculated
E = ½ · m · v²
Inputs
- m14.90 g230.0 grverifiedsource230 gr as published, converted at 1 gr = 0.06479891 g.
- v271.3 m/s890.0 fpsverifiedMeasured with a 127 mm barrel, not this arm's 149.1 mm. Velocity outside the sourced range is not projected.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Muzzle velocity is calculated
nearest sourced barrel length, no extrapolation
Inputs
- v at 127 mm271.3 m/s890.0 fpsverifiedsource890 ft/s as published, converted at 1 ft/s = 0.3048 m/s.
Assumptions
- This figure belongs to a 127 mm barrel. It is shown because it is the closest measurement that exists, not because it applies here.
1 of 1 inputs link to their source.
How Loaded mass is calculated
m_loaded = m_empty + m_magazine + n · m_cartridge
Not calculated: m_magazine has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- One magazine, filled to the stated capacity. Spare magazines, optics, slings and lights are the owner’s, not the arm’s.
2 of 4 inputs link to their source.
How Free recoil is calculated
E_recoil = ½ · m_firearm · v_recoil²
Inputs
- m_firearm1.2 kg2.646 lbestimatedsourceempty, cited by the infobox to an archived HK-USA spec page (web.archive.org) that could not be independently read for this survey.
- v_recoil3.369 m/s11.05 fpsestimated
Assumptions
- Propellant gas momentum is excluded: ARMAG does not record charge weights. This is therefore a lower bound on the real free recoil, consistent between entries but smaller than a figure that includes the gas term.
- Free recoil: the arm is unrestrained. Stock design, muzzle devices, stance and shooter mass are not modelled, because none of them is a property of the arm.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Capacity is calculated
as published for the primary chambering
Inputs
- capacity12estimatedsourcestandard 12-round detachable box magazine; 10-round restricted and 17-, 20- and 24-round extended magazines are also published, from the infobox, uncited there.
1 of 1 inputs link to their source.
Derived figures
Computed from the sourced values above. Open ƒ on any figure for the formula, its inputs, and the assumptions it makes.
How Momentum is calculated
p = m · v
Inputs
- m14.90 g230.0 grverifiedsource230 gr as published, converted at 1 gr = 0.06479891 g.
- v271.3 m/s890.0 fpsverifiedMeasured with a 127 mm barrel, not this arm's 149.1 mm. Velocity outside the sourced range is not projected.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Sectional density is calculated
SD = mass(gr) / (7000 · diameter(in)²)
Inputs
- mass14.90 g230.0 grverifiedsource230 gr as published, converted at 1 gr = 0.06479891 g.
- diameter11.48 mm0.4520 inverifiedsourceC.I.P. G1, maximum bullet diameter.
Assumptions
- Reported in the conventional lb/in² so it is directly comparable with published figures.
2 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Power factor is calculated
PF = mass(gr) · velocity(fps) / 1000
Inputs
- mass14.90 g230.0 grverifiedsource230 gr as published, converted at 1 gr = 0.06479891 g.
- velocity271.3 m/s890.0 fpsverifiedMeasured with a 127 mm barrel, not this arm's 149.1 mm. Velocity outside the sourced range is not projected.
Assumptions
- A competition classification defined by the IPSC and USPSA rulebooks, stated in their units. It describes a scoring category, not an effect.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Magazine dump is calculated
t = (n − 1) / (rpm / 60)
Not calculated: rpm has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- Cyclic rate held for the whole magazine, no stoppages, trigger held down. A theoretical figure for comparing mechanisms, not a measured one.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Sight error at 1 mm is calculated
θ = atan(misalignment / sight radius)
Not calculated: sight radius has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- Shows what a stated aiming error costs. The misalignment is the reader’s figure; the site does not claim how well anyone aims.
No input on this calculation carries a clickable source yet.
Specifications
Every row here is generated from the schema, so a figure recorded on this entry cannot be missing from the table, and the same rows, read the same way, are what the comparison shows.
Identity
- Type
- Pistol
- Action
- Self-loading
- Fire modes
- Semi-automatic
- Operating system
- Short recoil
- Roles
- Designed in
- Germany
- Produced in
- Introduced
- 1991
- Production
- not recorded
Dimensions and mass
- Mass, empty
empty, cited by the infobox to an archived HK-USA spec page (web.archive.org) that could not be independently read for this survey.
- Magazine, empty
- not recorded
- Length
without suppressor, from the infobox, uncited there.
- Length, folded
- not recorded
- Width
from the infobox, uncited there.
- Height
from the infobox, uncited there.
- Barrel length
from the infobox, uncited there.
Sights and rifling
- Sight radius
- not recorded
- Sight height over bore
- not recorded
- Rifling twist
- not recorded
- Twist direction
- not recorded
- Grooves
- not recorded
- Sight graduation
- not recorded
Operation
- Cyclic rate
- not recorded
- Trigger pull
- not recorded
- Effective range
cited by the infobox to an archived Heckler & Koch product page (web.archive.org) that could not be independently read for this survey.
- Units produced
- not recorded
- Launch price
- not recorded
Chamberings
- .45 ACPprimary12 rounds
Scale
A to-scale outline against family siblings. The dimensions are sourced; the shape is a representative outline for the type, and says so.
- Heckler & Koch Mark 23245.1 mm9.650 in
Representative outline: the dimensions are sourced, the shape is not. Overall length, and barrel length where recorded, are drawn from this entry's own figures; the profile is a generic one for the firearm type and says nothing about this arm's actual contours.
Detail
The Mark 23 was built to a US Special Operations Command specification rather than designed first and sold second. A 1989 review found special-operations units fielding 120 different weapon types and configurations, a logistics burden SOCOM set out to reduce, and because those units often used a pistol as a primary weapon in close quarters rather than a backup to a rifle, the command wrote a demanding requirement for what would become the Offensive Handgun Weapon System: a full package of pistol, suppressor and laser aiming module rather than a pistol alone, chambered in .45 ACP, built to run +P pressure ammunition without extra wear, and required to reach a mean of 2,000 rounds between failures.
Heckler & Koch’s submission cleared that bar by a wide margin in SOCOM’s phase II reliability trials, averaging over 6,000 rounds between failures and reaching more than 15,000 in its best runs, while Colt’s competing entry (built around existing M1911-derived technology) did not advance past the same testing. SOCOM awarded Heckler & Koch a production contract in 1995 for just under 2,000 of the complete systems. The pistol’s threaded barrel and slide are built to take a dedicated suppressor without modification, one of the specification’s own requirements, which is why HK’s own length figures for the Mark 23 are quoted both with and without one attached.
This entry’s weight and effective-range figures trace, via the Wikipedia infobox, to archived
manufacturer web pages this survey could not independently read, so both are recorded as estimated
rather than verified; every other dimensional figure here also carries estimated status, tracing to the
infobox without any citation at all. No twist rate is published.
References
This entry's own bibliography. Every citation key on this page resolves into this list.
- Heckler & Koch Mark 23 · Wikipedia · 1371977873 · read 2026-09-09 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Last verified 2026-09-09 · review status: agent-populated