Understanding Firearms

1
Proof Marks and Identification

• Understanding Firearms
• Markings
• 1880-1945
• Ian McCollum
• 
  www.ForgottenWeapons.com
• 
  admin_at_forgottenweapons.com

2
Types of Markings

• Date(s)
• Country of origin
• Manufacturer name
• Serial number(s)
• Proof mark(s)
• Unit number
• Import marking

• Patent marking
• Model name/number
• Brand name
• Military acceptance
• Refurbish mark
• Conversion marking
• Caliber

3
Where was this rifle made?
4

• France the markings translate to
• Ordnance
• Factory
• Chatellerault
• Chatellerault was a major French state arsenal

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Two More
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• What is the point of showing these examples?
• Context is essential!
• Always consider the whole gun to understand what
  you are looking at.

7
Proof Marks

• What is a proof mark?

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Why Proof Marks?

• (in no particular order)
• Public safety
• Industry reputation
• Government oversight

9
Proof Loads

• Typically 25 - 30 overpressure
• Either one or two rounds

10
Proof Marks - England

• The modern British proof law was passed in 1868,
  with an official nitro proof added in 1904 and a
  general update in 1925.
• British law did not automatically recognize
  foreign proofs, so many arms imported into
  England had to be re-proofed.
• Up to WWII, pressure was measured in tons.

11
Proof Marks - England

• Birmingham proof mark used prior to 1904
• Indicates black powder proof unless accompanied
  by the words Nitro Proofed

12
Proof Marks - England

• Standard proof marks, 1925-1954
• Birmingham
  London
• Final proof
• View proof
• Nitro proof

13
Proof Marks - England

• Standard nitro proof marks, post-1954
• Birmingham
• London (on
  action)
• 
  (on barrel)

14
Proof Marks - England

• When on foreign-made guns, the proof marks were
  enclosed in a circle, and accompanied by the mark
  NOT ENGLISH MADE

15
Proof Marks - England

• In addition to everything else, a special mark
  was used to date the proofing.
• From 1922/23 to 1940/41, this mark was used
• A21/22, B22/23, C23/24,
  etc.
• I and Q not used.
• From 1950 to 1974, it was this one
• A1951, B1952, C1953, etc.
• I not used (but Q
  was).

16
Proof Marks - England

• Lee-Enfield No.5 rifle, rebarreled in 1974

17
Proof Marks - Belgium

• Royal decree in 1672 required proof testing and
  marking of barrels
• Belgian national proof house established in Liege
• In 1888, a new law forbade the sale or display of
  unproofed firearms
• In 1891, proof testing standards for smokeless
  powder were introduced

18
Proof Marks - Belgium

• Crown over R Black powder proof
  of a barrel (also appears on smokeless
  barrels).
• Perron - Indicates fit and function of
  slides, locking mechanisms. Used from
  1903 to 1924 (not on revolvers).
• Rampant Lion PV - used 1898 - 1924
  for smokeless barrel proof. After 1924, it
  replaced the Perron mark entirely.

19
Proof Marks - Belgium

• EPV (Epreuve de Liege) with crown final
  overall proof mark after 1893
• Plain EPV final overall proof from
  1853-1893 (used on muzzleloaders after 1893)
• Star over letter Individual inspector's
  marking, 1877 to present. From 1853 to
  1877, a crown replaced the star.

20
Proof Marks - Belgium

• Black powder, post-1893

21
Proof Marks - Germany

• The modern German proof mark law took effect in
  1893, and remained definitive until 1939.
• In 1939, the proof marking symbol was changed
  form an imperial crown to a Nazi eagle.
• The well-known Waffenamt Nazi symbol was actually
  a military acceptance mark, and not a proof mark.

22
Proof Marks - Germany

• 1891 1939 proof marks
• Nitro Black powder
  Choked bore
• Final proof Rifled bore
  Smooth bore

23
Proof Marks - Germany

• Weapons manufactured prior to the proof law
  taking effect (1893) were required grandfathered,
  but had to be marked (this did not constitute an
  actual proofing).

24
Proof Marks - Germany

• In 1939, the crown was replaced by an eagle, and
  the typical 3-proof combination (B, U, and G) was
  replaced by a single eagle/N mark.

25
Proof Marks - Germany

• Typical commercial Mauser rifle

26
Proof Marks - Italy

• Italian replica cowboy pistols are probably the
  most likely place to find black powder proofs
  today.
• Italy has a nice simple set of proof marks, but a
  rather strange date code system.

27
Proof Marks - Italy

• The proof marks
• Black powder proof
• Smokeless proof
• Final definitive proof

• Brescia provisional proof
• Gardone provisional proof

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Proof Marks - Italy
29
Proof Marks - Italy

• Proof marks on an Uberti 1858 Remington copy
• Proofs will also be found on barrel and cylinder.

30
Proof Marks - Spain

• Eibar proof house established in 1844, proofing
  made mandatory in 1923.
• Typically appear as a set of 3 markings

31
Proof Marks - Spain

• First mark is the actual final proof gun is
  good
• Early (1923-1928) Late
  (1928)
• Second is the date Until 1927/28,
  a P.V. A 1927
  was used instead of
• B 1928 the date
• C 1929...

32
Proof Marks - Spain

• Third mark is an admission to the proof house
• Early (until mid 1931) Late (mid 1931
  now)
• (The King fled in 1931, and the crown went with
  him)

33
Proof Marks - Spain

• With this in mind, we can interpret this typical
  Spanish set of markings
• Gun was accepted and proofed in 1945

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Other Markings

• Date (of manufacture or refurbish)
• Model name/number
• Manufacturer name
• Import marks
• Serial number(s)
• Caliber
• Military acceptance

35
Date(s)

• Dates marked on a firearm can mean several
  different things
• Date of manufacture
• Date the gun was refurbished
• Date the model was adopted for military use
• Date the design was patented

36
Date of Manufacture

• Dates can take several forms -

37
Manufacture Date
38
Refurbish Date

• Sometimes a firearm is marked with the date of a
  major repair or conversion

39
Refurbish Date
40
Refurbish Date
41
Adoption Date

• Model dates are usually more obvious...

42
Adoption Date

• ...but not always.

43
Model Name/Number

• Probably the most unambiguous type of marking...

44
Model Name/Number

• But what if you can't read it?
• (Iranian Mauser)

45
Model Name/Number

• This very clearly says that it is a Type 99

46
Model Name/Number

• Store brand guns this was actually made by FN

47
Manufacturer Name

• On civilian guns, typically company name
• On military guns, typically arsenal name
• Sometimes just a location

48
Manufacturer Name

• Often a company's location will also be marked
  this was how you could find the company.

49
Country of Origin

• This is rarely directly marked on military arms,
  with the exception of guns imported for
  commercial sale
• It usually must be inferred from other markings

50
Import Markings

• In 1968, the GCA required this information to be
  marked on all guns imported into the US
• Serial number
• Manufacturer
• Country of origin
• Model designation
• Caliber
• Importer name
• Importer location (city state)

51
Import Markings

• Typically abbreviated heavily
• Century International Arms, Saint Albans, Vermont

52
Import Markings

• Location varies 2002 regulation change required
  them to be conspicuous
• Serial number may not contain non-latin numbers
  if it does, a new one must be marked.

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Import Markings

• Possible locations
• Under front of barrel
• Under grip panels (old)
• Side of receiver
• Sometimes tiny!

54
Import Markings

• Prior to 1968, commercial imports had to be
  marked with the country of origin

55
Import Markings

• Of course, they sometimes goofed...

56
Import Markings

• Remember, not all info has to be in the same
  place.
• If the caliber, model, or other data is already
  on the gun, it does not need to be marked again.
• Import markings are not required to be on the
  receiver, but are illegal to alter or deface.
  However, it is legal to remove parts they are on
  (ie, barrels) for repair.

57
Serial Number

• In the US, serial numbers became legally required
  on guns in 1968.
• Virtually all military arms have serial numbers.
• Most pre-1968 commercial arms of reasonable
  quality and cost also had them.

58
Serial Number

• Often multiple large parts are
• serial numbered.
• On commercial arms, it is rare
• for parts to be mis-matched.
• On military arms, it is fairly common usually
  bolts

59
Serial Number

• Some folks (like Germans) would serial number
  everything right down to the screws

60
Serial Number

• The only legally required serial number is the
  one on the receiver but this may not be where a
  manufacturer marks it

61
Serial Number

• Sometimes military arms will have unit markings,
  which look like additional serial numbers

62
Serial Number

• Foreign-made guns may have numbers printed in
  non-Latin numerals
• Looks like AK, but it's actually DK in
  Cyrillic

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Serial Number

• Arabic script...

64
Serial Number

• or Thai script...

65
Serial Number

• Letters within a serial number...
• Production block code (very common)
• Date code (fairly common)
• Prefix meaning number (N on some rifles)
• Suffix meaning year (cyrillic r)
• Model or feature designation (often built into
  the serial number rather than separate)

66
Caliber

• Generally caliber markings on military arms
  specify the bore diameter only the specific
  cartridge must be determined from context.

67
Caliber

• Which 9mm, exactly? Spanish JoLoAr
• 9x17mm (.380ACP) 9x23mm (9mm Largo)

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Caliber

• Military forces often updated guns to different
  cartridges, and did not always mark them clearly.

69
Caliber

• It was also fairly common to change the chamber
  profile to accept different bullet profiles.

70
Caliber

• Overall length can be a good clue to caliber
  changes

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Caliber

• Common opportunities for pistol caliber mixups
• 7.65mm Browning (.32 ACP) vs 7.65mm Luger (7.65mm
  Parabellum)
• 9mm Kurz (.380ACP/9x17) vs 9mm Parabellum vs 9mm
  Largo (9x23mm) vs 9mm Browning (9x20SR)
• The really confusing one is 9mm Largo vs 9mm
  Bergmann-Bayard vs 9mm Steyr, as they are all
  9x23mm cases.

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Caliber

• Occasionally, militaries actually try to be
  helpful

73
Military Acceptance

• Many models of firearm were made for both
  military and commercial sale. Military acceptance
  marks can help determine the provenance of a
  particular gun.

74
Military Acceptance

• A few examples...
• 
  Austria
• Switzerland Israel United
  Kingdom
• France US
  Nazi Germany

75
Military Acceptance

• One special case worth mentioning is the British
  DP mark, for Drill Purpose
• Generally meant the part was out of spec, and not
  to be used for live fire.

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How about some strange and goofy markings?
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Chinese Pistols
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Chinese Pistols
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Chinese Pistols
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Afghan Forgery
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Test!