Walther Chart Code That Indicates

This is a more modern version of the marking than shown in the table above.

Virtually every European pistol or rifle has these markings, but product manuals rarely cover what they mean.

Despite this fact, decoding the stampings can be incredibly useful in determining the age and origin of a firearm.

One country that seems to take these stamps to the next level is Germany; as products from Heckler Koch, SIG Sauer, and Walther all feature prominent and similar markings on their receivers, frames, barrels, and slides.

Today, we will take a look at what these stampings mean and what sort information we can glean from them.

Though the European tradition of compulsory proofing (and subsequent marking) dates back to the English Gun Barrel Proof Act of 1868, Germany did not adopt a similar law until 1891.

Intended to help guarantee the quality of firearms produced in each nation, proof laws laid forth a set of standards that gun manufacturers must adhere to in order to market their products.

Though the measures seem heavy handed, collectors largely believe that the regulations did improve the overall quality of European arms in the latter half of the 19 th century.

Over the years, the specific proof stamps employed by German manufacturers have varied somewhat (especially during and after World War Two), but the markings have remained fairly consistent for most of the past half-century.

The first stamp we will discuss is the eagle over N that is consistent on all German firearms.

The eagle is a federal insignia in Germany and in this case is indicative of the firearms acceptance according to government standards.

The N stands for nitrocellulose and as you may have guessed, means that the firearm has been approved for safe use with nitrocellulose-based gunpowder.

In order to obtain this certification, the firearm must successfully fire two rounds of ammunition that have been loaded 30 hotter than the accepted maximum caliber specification.

In terms of mechanical assurances, this stamp is the most important on the weapon.

These symbols represent the proof house that performed the testing.

Typically, each manufacturer uses the same proof house for all of their firearms, but this is not always true.

Heckler Koch and the Walther products that are produced in Ulm all exhibit a set of antlers, the insignia of the proof house in Ulm.

Meanwhile, Walther products produced in Arnsberg (usually their.22 LR offerings) undergo testing at the Cologne proof house and feature that facilitys three crowns in a shield emblem.

Lastly, SIG Sauers fully German firearms (manufactured and assembled entirely in Germany) pass through the Kiel proof house and carry the leaves of that house.

Walther Chart Code That Indicates

Almost every German firearm features a two-letter date code that indicates the guns birth year.

For dating purposes, each letter corresponds to a specific number (0-9) and together, the two letters represent the final two digits of the production year.

Heckler Koch and Walther both use the same system, featuring an I, but no J.

The association table can be found below, as can a photo of my 2006 production HK USP 9.

Note also the nitrocellulose proof that we previously saw on the barrel.

Finally, the antlerstag proof on the right tells us that this fiream passed through the Ulm proof house.

Walther Serial Number Chart