Hunting rifle to determine the year of issue. How to determine the year of manufacture of a gun

Painting 06.12.2021

Painting

Signs, stamps and inscriptions on guns are of certain interest not only for gunsmiths, criminologists, historians, but also for a wide range of hunters.

Below, the marking features are given, mainly in relation to the guns of the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant, however, their duration and meaning are approximately the same for all hunting weapons in Russia.

All signs and inscriptions on the gun can be divided into several large groups:

1. Mandatory marking containing information about caliber, manufacturer, etc.

2. Mandatory acceptance marks, which are actually called stamps.

3. Technological marking and hallmarks, which carry the information necessary for the organization of production.

4. Additional markings and inscriptions.

Let's consider these groups in more detail.

1. Mandatory marking

in Russia at the moment includes the manufacturer's trademark, gun number, caliber and chamber length, nominal bore diameter, muzzle restriction of each barrel, barreled steel symbol, allowable operating pressure in the chamber.

The Izhevsk Mechanical Plant was founded in 1942 on the basis of a part of the machine-building plant. At that hot time for the country, on the outskirts of the city, the equipment of the evacuated arms factories of Tula and Kovrov was placed in the barracks. Before and after the war, the city's gun shops and the City Industrial Complex were engaged in the repair and alteration of weapons from all kinds of rifled to smooth-bore weapons. And now you can still occasionally find such guns. For example, on one of the French Lebel magazine rifles with an under-barrel magazine, model 1886-93, converted into a 32-caliber shotgun, there is an inscription on the top of the barrel: NKMP RSFSR ZAVOD-OKHOTRUZHEY IZHEVSK 1940. And on the Mauser magazine rifle, also converted into a 32-caliber shotgun, on top of the barrel is embossed: Izhevsk. Gorpromkombinat. 32k. 1951.

1.1. First of all, speaking of marking, one should recall the manufacturer's trademark, which in earlier times was called the brand of the plant.

The production of hunting weapons at the mechanical plant began in 1949 with the IZH-49 and ZK rifles. The first shotgun produced is a virtually unchanged one of the Sauer models. Initially, immediately after the war, its production was established at the Izhevsk motorcycle plant (plant N524, now it is Axion JSC), where Maxim machine guns were manufactured during the Patriotic War. Of course, the guns of the motorcycle factory had their own brand on the back of the butt and barrel cushions - a hexagon with an arrow. But then, due to a change in the production profile of the motorcycle plant, the release of the gun was transferred to the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant.

In those days, the mark of a mechanical plant was a shield with a five-pointed star depicted on it. The earliest shields had the letters "AES" around the star. Then these letters disappeared, and at the end of 1962, an arrow appeared instead of a star. It is this trademark that now stands on the main part of the hunting weapon produced by the plant.

The trademark "Baikal" ("Baikal") appeared in 1963 (certificate 22673 dated 06.03.63) and first belonged to VO "Raznoexport". All export hunting weapons of Russia were marked with it. Export sporting weapons were marked with the sign "Vostok" ("East") (certificate 22643 dated 20.02.63).

In Izhevsk, the sign "Baikal" was applied along with the brand of the plant until 1983, then the signs were divided: "Baikal" was exported, and a shield with an arrow was sent to the domestic market. But, due to the fact that it was allowed to supply export markings to the domestic market, on the back of the butts and barrels of many rifles sold in Russia, there is a sign "Baikal" and the inscription "Made in the USSR" in English. In 1993, the rights to the Baikal trademark were transferred to Izhmekhzavod, and now “on the side”, for example, on the cartridges of the Krasnozavodsk Chemical Plant, it is applied only according to the agreement, despite the “huge distances” between Kama and Baikal.

The shield marking from single-barreled barrels (applied on top of the barrel) was removed in 1986, from double-barreled barrels (applied on hooks and pillows) - in 1984. After that, the shield image remained only for the domestic market and was placed on the back of the butt heads of rifles. But, I think, through unofficial channels, a certain amount of rifles with a shield instead of "Baikal" still got abroad through unofficial channels, especially in the late 80s and early 90s.

In the first half of the 1990s, a new trademark appeared, on which the shield slightly changed its shape, becoming more rectangular. Such a shield can be seen on service, signal and gas pistols and revolvers, household appliances of the plant. The old shield remains on the rifles.

1.2. Another mandatory marking for hunting weapons is the serial number and, applied simultaneously with the number, the symbol for the year of manufacture and testing of the gun.

Initially, the number of the gun was separated from the year of manufacture, although it was applied simultaneously with it. However, there was no uniformity in the marking of the year of manufacture before, on some models the letter "g" was put after the numbers, on others it was not. Separately, the year of issue was ceased to be applied in 1966, when the marking of the year with conventional letters was introduced. In signs of the AB0000 type, the first letter denotes the year, the second - the series, the numbers - the gun number. Later, the letter part was reduced to one letter, which was used to encode both the year and the series of the gun. These letters changed annually, and not only for the model as a whole, but also for each modification, so for IZH-27, IZH-27E or IZH-27E-1C, the same letter denoted completely different years of production. In 1986, a new marking of the year and numbers was introduced - the letters disappeared, only numbers remained, which have their own order. Of these, the first two digits of the number correspond to the last digits of the “year of manufacture and testing”.

1.3. Muzzle constriction designation.

Another mandatory marking is applied to the guns, indicating the magnitude of the difference in the muzzle narrowing diameters. A feature of this marking is that for the muzzle expansion, not numbers, but the letters DR are used. The earliest marking of the muzzle restriction began to be applied to the IZH-49 along with the caliber on the barrel pads and represented the letter "C" in a diamond under the line for the choke. The paycheck, therefore, was designated as "C / 2". Above the line, a caliber was applied - 16. Then, in later times, for each barrel, the nominal value of the muzzle narrowing diameters was also marked above the line and the nominal size of the barrel bores - below the line.

In 1984, an international (English) system of marking with letters of the Latin alphabet was introduced.

Table 1.

In foreign catalogs, along with the above designation, there is also the designation of a strong choke XF (Xtra-Full) - "extra full", a quarter chock as Light Modified - "light payday" and the decoding of the designation of the bell S as Spreader - "diffuser".

Initially, the English letter S was put on Izhevsk trunks with a bell, but in 1987. at the insistence of Tula, she was replaced by two Russian DRs.

1.4. The next mandatory marking is the marking of the gun model.

In fact, the index of a specific modification is marked, that is, not just IZH-27, but, for example, IZH-27M-1C. Likewise, at the Tula Arms Factory, not always TOZ-34, but also TOZ-34ER.

1.5. The marking of the designation of the cartridge used - the caliber and length of the case is also mandatory.

Currently, an international system has been adopted, according to which the product of the caliber and the length of the case, rounded to whole millimeters, is written in one line. The marking will be indicated, for example, as 12x76, although the length of the 3 "chamber is 76.2 mm or as 7.62x53R, where the letter R means that the sleeve has a protruding flange.

1.6. Marking of the nominal value of the bore diameter.

The bore diameter was previously measured at a barrel length of 150 mm for the domestic market and 250 mm for export. The latter option is now adopted for all smoothbore weapons.

1.7. Marking of the highest average value of the maximum gas pressure developed by cartridges during the operation of the weapon.

1.8. Conventional designation of the barrel steel grade - intended only for guns for export, but in fact, it is put on all guns. It looks like an elongated letter "C", inside which, depending on the elastic limit of the barrel steel, the letters "p" (from 46 to 71 kg / mm2) or "l" (more than 71 kg / mm2) are indicated.

2. Obligatory acceptance marks.

A brand is a separate mark, distinct from a marking. If the marking carries information directly about the gun, then the stamp confirms that this gun has passed the test and meets the requirements, primarily safety requirements.

2.1. The stigma of checking the durability of a weapon with reinforced shots.

Today, such a stigma exists in two forms. The letter P, inscribed in a circle, is intended for smooth-bore hunting weapons (except for rifles chambered for "Magnum"). The same letter P, but in two concentric circles - for hunting smoothbore rifles chambered for the Magnum cartridge and sporting smoothbore weapons, since a more intense test is used for the second type of weapon. The custom of using this mark seems to have very old roots. The letter P or P in a circle, meaning the test stamp "Tried" was put on the blades of the Zlatoust arms factory in 1837-1905, and in Tula, apparently, long before that. (see Kulinskiy AN "Russian edged weapons of military, naval and civilian ranks of 1800-1917". SP 1994, "Magik-PRESS", "OLYMPUS").

On Izhevsk guns, this stigma began to be applied from the beginning of 1984 with the introduction of an industry standard for marking, on Tula guns it was found earlier, at least on TOZ-34, it was put back in the 1970s and then meant an intensified test of barrels. Together with him, hallmarks were put in the form of the letters K and Y in circles - confirming tests, respectively, for accuracy and accuracy, and for an enhanced test of the gun, as well as the stamp of the OTK plant in the form of the connected letters T and K in a circle. Until 1984, other similar hallmarks were put in Izhevsk, for example, on the IZH-49, the hallmark of testing a gun with reinforced shots looked like the letter U in a trapezoid (“enhanced test”). Later the letter U was replaced by the letter H ("nitro test"). At first, each shot of a double-barreled barrel was branded with the word "NITRO", then a separate brand appeared - the letter H in a rhombus. Combined "Squirrels" and single-barreled guns were branded with the letter H in a circle - apparently the tests of the smooth barrel and the gun were combined. Since 1980, by analogy with the marks on double-barreled guns, two marks have also been introduced on single-barreled guns to confirm the enhanced shooting of the barrel and separately the gun - the letters H in a rhombus and a trapezoid.

2.2. The hallmark of the State Testing Station, as the organization overseeing weapons testing in the country, was introduced in 1966. It had the letters GIS outlined in a diamond. In fact, only acceptance and annual periodic tests of one gun of each model were carried out at the station, including shooting for guaranteed survivability. After the introduction of compulsory certification, the GIS mark was replaced by the Compulsory Certification Mark and the Test Station Mark of the enterprise (for a mechanical plant in Izhevsk - an arrow in a circle). On the IZH-27M gun, this was done around October 1993.

After the creation of the Udmurt Certification Center, since December 1996, instead of these two signs, the Sign of the Udmurt State Center in the form of an arrow with wings in an oval, which is a recognized hallmark of the Brussels Convention, has been applied. It is applied only to weapons tested by enhanced shooting.

3. Technological marking and hallmarks, which carry the information necessary for the organization of production.

These are usually signs of workers and marks of inspectors, heat number, selectivity groups.

4. Other inscriptions and signs.

Since information on technological markings is extremely scarce and not so interesting, it remains to talk about signs that are mandatory only in some cases and about optional signs and inscriptions.

Usually this group includes the names of trading companies, the Quality Mark, the inscriptions "Made in Russia", monograms of the owners and dedicatory inscriptions. Some of the additional markings are only mandatory for guns on the domestic market. The other part of the additional markings is mandatory only for export, but since the industry standard allows them to be available on the domestic market, this mark is applied to all guns - because it is easier to make the tool and does not need to keep track of unnecessary records. Of course, after entering the foreign market, Izhmekhzavod also tried to introduce international markings on all its weapons. At the same time, the production of 16-gauge guns practically ceased. In this respect, the Tula have always focused on deep Russia and Siberia, releasing, for example, relatively large quantities of TOZ-34 28 caliber.

4.1. The quality mark in accordance with GOST 1.9-67 was assigned to different models of guns in different years, for example, on the IZH-26E, it began to be applied since 1970 only on guns intended for the domestic market of the country. On export guns sold in the Union, this mark is absent. Canceled at the end of 1990.

4.2. The inscription "Made in the USSR" was applied only to the boxes of export guns, usually in Russian or, at the request of the customer, in English. In March 1992, the inscription was logically transformed into "Made in Russia". May not be available on guns for the domestic market.

4.3. It is probably worth mentioning that the manufacturers of double-barreled shotguns of the PMK countries mark their mass on the barrels, but this marking is not at all mentioned in the list of mandatory ones. The meaning of its application is completely unclear, it is not found on Russian-made guns.

4.4. Owners' signs. According to special instructions, inscriptions with the names of importing firms were applied to the barrels of individual batches of guns. For example, on one of the batches of IZH-81 rifles, on the right side of the barrel, at the request of the customer, it was written with a laser:

IMPORTED BY CAI ST.ALB.VT

please read owners manual before firing

The last line translates as "before use, please read the instruction manual." Such an inscription is now common not only for American hunting rifles.

Section: "About guns and not only"

Without pretending to have a special depth of knowledge in the field of pneumatics and without delving into theory, I want to lay out some of the results of experiments on shooting pneumatic weapons.

Determine the year of production of the Semin gun

Dear editors, not so long ago in a thrift store I bought a not quite old gun. They say that the year of issue can be determined by its number. I understand that regardless of whether I know the year of issue or not, I would rather not shoot. Still, I would love to know when my gun was made. Your editorial office employs the most qualified specialists and experts in modern weapons. I myself could not find any information on this topic: in the overwhelming majority of the articles I have reviewed, the history of Italian weapons ends in the 1950s-1960s, as if hunting weapons were not produced in Italy after that time. Only your newspaper and magazine write about modern Italian, and not only Italian, weapons. Hope you can help me.

I would also like to ask the editors to publish more practical materials under the heading "Hunting Usage", and to publish the stories of "tough" hunters about how they overwhelmed a herd of wild boars with one shot, to publish on other pages of your favorite newspaper. Reading such stories, I would like to ask their authors: "Did you have a license to shoot a herd of wild boars?"

Best regards, V. Vasiliev, Nizhny Novgorod region

Dear Mr. Vasiliev, a unified system for testing hand-held firearms in Italy up to the beginning of the XX century. did not have. Shooting, that is, actually checking the strength of the weapon, was carried out by the masters on their own initiative, since at that time there simply did not exist any legislative acts regulating this process. The first brands of gunsmiths appeared in the 15th-16th centuries. The hallmarks they put were individual and served more as an analogue of modern trademark logos than as evidence that the weapon was tested, for example, with an enhanced charge of gunpowder or was not intended to be fired with a bullet. Only in 1910 was a national testing center established in the city of Brescia.

Italy, Belgium, Germany and France initiated the conclusion of an international agreement that would establish uniform rules for the mutual recognition of marks and test marks hand fire weapons. The signing of the convention was preceded by the work of an international technical commission, which defined the test conditions, measuring equipment and test pressures.

The Convention provided for the creation of a Standing International Commission for Testing Hand Firearms from representatives of the founding countries, but the First World War interrupted the activities of both the PMK and the convention for a long time.

Brands of guns! Videoohota

Brands guns! What do the hallmarks of the SOVIET guns? You will learn about this from this video on ...

BRANDS AND MARKINGS FOR GUNS OF IZHEVSK MECHANICAL PLANT

In this video, I would like to tell you what some of the stamps and inscriptions applied to hunting ...

In Italy, the activities of the test center resumed only in 1920, and the mandatory test hand fire weapons became in 1923. Test centers are located in the cities of Brescia and Gardone, and each of them has its own brand. The year of issue of the weapon and the place where the weapon was tested can be determined by the stigma. Since 1924, the brand has included the image of the crown, and since 1951, the image of a five-pointed star has appeared instead of the crown.

All Italian hunting weapons, as well as weapons manufactured in countries that are not members of the PMK for testing handguns, are tested before going on sale at a testing center located in the city of Gardone val Trompia (province of Brescia). A series of tests is being conducted there to confirm the safety and functionality of the weapon. After carrying out such tests, a stamp is applied to the box or barrels of the gun, by which you can find out in what year the gun was produced. Shotguns manufactured between 1922 and 1953 were stamped with all four digits of the year of manufacture. Starting in 1954, the year of issue began to be designated by Roman numerals: instead of 1954, the number X was put, instead of 1955 - XI, etc. Over time, it became clear that the continued use of Roman numerals would lead to the stigma becoming too long. Therefore, in 1971, both Roman and Arabic numerals began to be used when branding guns. So to designate the 1971 release, instead of the numbers XXVII, the combination XX7 was used. 1972 was designated XX8, 1973 - XX9, 1974 - XXX. Since 1975, numbers have been abandoned altogether. From this time on, the year of stamping is indicated by two letters. In 1975, the code used was AA, in 1976 - AB, and so on. However, some letters of the alphabet were omitted (see, for example, 1985 and 1986), and therefore, in order for you to be able to confidently determine the year of manufacture of the weapon, we offer you a complete list of brands (see table).

Pay attention also to the fact that even if you bought a gun without a passport at a thrift store, then by the existing brands you can determine both the size of the muzzle restriction and the suitability of your gun for shooting with steel shot. So, the muzzle constriction is marked with five-pointed stars without edging, located in a row. One star corresponds to a full chock, two stars correspond to three quarters of a chock, three stars to a half-chock, four stars to a quarter chock, and the Latin letters "CL" to a cylinder. In addition, recently, in accordance with the rules of the PMK, a voluntary test of a steel shot projectile for barrels with a muzzle restriction of no more than half a day has been introduced. The hallmark confirming the passage of these tests is a stylized image of a shamrock.

We hope that our answers will help you to determine the year of manufacture of your shotgun.

List of brands of Italian hunting weapons from 1954 to 2005

X - 1954XIX - 1963XX8 - 1972AH - 1981AZ - 1990BM - 1999

XI - 1955XX - 1964XX9 - 1973AI - 1982BA - 1991BN - 2000

XII - 1956XXI - 1965XXX - 1974AL - 1983BB - 1992BP - 2001

XIII - 1957 XXII - 1966AA - 1975AM - 1984BC - 1993BS - 2002

XIV - 1958XXIII - 1967AB - 1976AN - 1985BD - 1994BT - 2003

XV - 1959XXIV - 1968AC - 1977AP - 1986BF - 1995BU - 2004

XVI - 1960XXV - 1969AD - 1978AS - 1987BH - 1996BZ - 2005

XVII - 1961XXVI - 1970AE - 1979AT - 1988BI - 1997

XVIII - 1962XX7 - 1971AF - 1980AU - 1989BL - 1998

There is, perhaps, not a single hunter in our country who would not have heard of I. P. Sauer and Son ”. And this is not surprising. Since the end of the last century, the Sauer company has constantly strived for widespread penetration into the Russian market, and after the First World War (before the Nazis seized power in Germany) and into the Soviet market. Much has been written about Sauer rifles in hunting literature, including by such prominent specialists as S. A. Buturlin, A. A. Zernov, A. P. Ivashentsov. During the period from 1959 to 1984 in the magazine "Okhota i okhotnicheskoe khozyaystvo" were published six publications, which reported on the guns of the firm "Sauer" (1959, No. 4; 1960, No. 12; 1968, No. 12; 1972, No. 10 ; 1979, No. 3; 1984, No. 4). Nevertheless, the editorial office of the magazine continues to receive letters from readers asking them to explain the reason for the popularity of these guns, to help figure out where, when these guns were produced and produced, as well as letters in which some special qualities are attributed to Sauer guns. All this forced us to return to this topic again.

Let us now deal with the inscriptions, brand names and trade marks on the barrels, the receiver block, the butt plate. Over the entire period of production of Sauer guns, the inscriptions on the outer parts of the guns have been modified many times both in the shape of the outline and in the place of their location. It is simply impossible to list all of them. Usually on the trunks in different places there is an inscription “I. P. Sauer and Son "or simply" Sauer ". The same inscriptions are repeated in various places on the receiver. On the inside of the stock and barrels, as well as on the butt plate, a sign of two intertwined Latin letters S and a small Latin u is usually stamped, which also means "Sauer and Son". On the sighting bar near the government cut, the Sauer trademark sign was stamped - "a man with a baton." But the company did not put this sign on its expensive guns, so as not to identify them with mass-produced guns. On the trunks, from below, you can see such a designation as "12/70 mm". This means that the caliber of the gun is 12 and the chamber length is 70 mm. As for the three intertwined rings, they represent only the brand name of certain grades of Krupp steels. Before the Second World War, Sauer used the following Krupp steels for the manufacture of barrels: “ barrel steel«, « special barrel steel«, « nirosta" (stainless steel). Barrels made of "special barrel steel" and of steel "nirosta" were usually accompanied by the sign of three intertwined rings. But, as many authors have already written, the Krupp steel did not represent anything special, and the "three rings" sign had no effect on the fight of the gun. Sauer shotguns with barrels made of steel that did not have the "three rings" mark have the same action as guns with barrels made of "special barrel steel" and steel "Nirosta", but the latter are more resistant to corrosion. After the Second World War, and the first years of the existence of the GDR, “four rings” steel was placed on Sauer rifles. As already mentioned in our magazine ("Okhota i okhotcheskoe khozyaystvo", 1972, No. 10, p. 33), this is 50A steel supplied from the USSR to the GDR.

Brands, signs on Sauer rifles

Mandatory and additional markings under the German Hunting Rifle Testing Act 1891:

Dating guns
1153 — Date of testing / shooting. (month and year, here: November 1953). Used since 1945.
453 - Date of testing / shooting (month and year, here: April 1953).
6/53 - Date of testing / shooting (month / year, here: June 1953). Used until 1933 and after 1950.

12/70 - Caliber / Chamber length. Used from 1933 to 1950.

Brands:
a - A stamp denoting a repeated test of a weapon after repair or changes.

b - The first and only test of the gun smoky - black gunpowder.

c - the place where the powder test was carried out - the city of Suhl (as well as No. 13-17).

1 - preliminary powder test of hunting rifle barrels prior to assembly. The sign is required;

2 - final powder test of shotgun barrels after assembly. The sign is required;

3 - caliber smooth-bore guns;

4 - a sign indicating that the barrels are smooth (shot);

5 - smooth barrel with choke;

6 - smooth barrel has a "paradox" drilling,

7 - rifled barrel. Designed for shooting with a bullet This sign was placed on the rifled barrels of double-barreled combined rifles, tees and fittings;

8 - the trunks were tested with nitro powder.

Changes in the style of mandatory markings in Germany after the First World War:

9 - preliminary powder test of barrels before their assembly,

10 - final powder test of the assembled barrels.

Mandatory and additional markings under German law 1939:

11 - preliminary testing of barrels before assembly with black powder;

12 - final testing of the assembled barrels, including smokeless powder;

12a - stamp of secondary and final testing of the barrel or gun with black (smokeless) gunpowder.

13 - the place where the powder test was carried out - the city of Suhl. Markings of factories in Suhl in the period 1151-1950:

14 - preliminary testing of barrels with black powder. The sign is required;

15 - final test of barrels after assembly with black powder. The sign is required;

16 - final test of the assembled barrels with smokeless powder;

17 - the sign meant that the test was carried out in the city of Suhl. Markings of the GDR, adopted in 1950:

18 - preliminary powder test of smooth-bore shotgun barrels prior to assembly. The sign is required;

19 - final powder test of barrels after assembly,

20 - inspection of the barrels after the final powder test. Placed next to the sign of the final test;

21 - the barrel was tested with nitro powder. The mark may or may not be accompanied by the word "nitro";

22 - sign means that the barrel has a choke drill;

23 - the barrel passed the powder test after the repair of the gun,

24 - powder tests and control were carried out in the city of Suhl,

25 - time of testing. In this case - June 1960,

26 - a sign of excellent quality of the gun;

27 - a sign of a good quality gun;

28 is a sign of acceptable quality of the gun. Markings adopted in Germany in 1951:

29 - preliminary testing of barrels before their assembly with black powder,

30 - final test of the assembled barrels with smokeless powder,

31 - testing of barrels for shooting with Magnum cartridges. The sign was introduced in 1973 and can replace signs 29 and 30;

32 - Barrel testing and inspection carried out at Eckernford.

34 - shotguns made in Suhl - in the category of first-class products - 1 Qualitat.

37 - Seal of quality, meaning "special quality".

38 - Mark of secondary and final tests of the barrel or gun with black powder.

Branded Zaurovsky and other common hallmarks:

39 - the heron-stamp - the stork company Sauer put on cheap trigger guns.

40- Sauer branded cheap hammerless guns with a hawk-shaped stamp.

41-42 - J.P. Sauer & Sohn, Suhl put on the rails of their guns.

44 - similarly, it was more often put on pistols.

45 - Tests of weapons for shooting, which are intended for firing with ordinary cartridges since 1974, or the stigma of the enhanced (special) test of the gun with smokeless (nitro) gunpowder 1945-50.

46- The stigma is affixed to the weapon, which is intended for firing ammunition with increased gas pressure. (magnum), since 1974

47 - Tests after the repair of important parts and assemblies, since 1974

48- The stigma of the artisanal partnership of gunsmiths "Bühag" in Zula.

49- People's Enterprise "Telman-Werk" in Suhl.

51) Engraved inscription: DRGM is an abbreviation, used between 1891 and 1945.
It stands for D.R.G.M. - Deutsche Reichs Gebrauchs Muster as - German State Trademark.

For example - DRGM patent number 130243 = Deutsche Reich Gebrauchmuster 1900-1906gg - The rib axis acts as a platoon indicator.

Additionally:

According to the laws of 1891 and 1939, the tolerances for the dimensions of the bore of the barrels of the same caliber were determined. The deviation from the average size of the bore size is marked on each barrel of German rifles, but this is beyond the scope of our topic.
The time of manufacture of the gun can be designated by the numbers 9.12, 10/29, 660. In all cases, the first figure (or the first two figures) means the month, the last two - the year of the gunpowder test of the gun.

Let us now deal with the inscriptions, brand names and trade marks on the barrels, the receiver block, the butt plate. Over the entire period of production of Sauer guns, the inscriptions on the outer parts of the guns have been modified many times both in the shape of the outline and in the place of their location. It is simply impossible to list all of them. Usually on the trunks in different places there is an inscription “I. P. Sauer and Son "or simply" Sauer ". The same inscriptions are repeated in various places on the receiver. On the inside of the stock and barrels, as well as on the butt plate, a sign of two intertwined Latin letters S and a small Latin u is usually stamped, which also means "Sauer and Son". On the sighting bar near the government cut, the Sauer trademark sign was stamped - "a man with a baton." But the company did not put this sign on its expensive guns, so as not to identify them with mass-produced guns. On the trunks, from below, you can see such a designation as "12/70 mm". This means that the caliber of the gun is 12 and the chamber length is 70 mm. As for the three intertwined rings, they represent only the brand name of certain grades of Krupp steels. Before the Second World War, Sauer used the following Krupp steels for the manufacture of barrels: barrel steel, special barrel steel, and nirosta (stainless steel). Barrels made of "special barrel steel" and of steel "nirosta" were usually accompanied by the sign of three intertwined rings. But, as many authors have already written, the Krupp steel did not represent anything special, and the "three rings" sign had no effect on the fight of the gun. Sauer shotguns with barrels made of steel that did not have the "three rings" mark have the same action as guns with barrels made of "special barrel steel" and steel "Nirosta", but the latter are more resistant to corrosion. After the Second World War, and the first years of the existence of the GDR, “four rings” steel was placed on Sauer rifles. As already mentioned in our magazine ("Okhota i okhotcheskoe khozyaystvo", 1972, No. 10, p. 33), this is 50A steel supplied from the USSR to the GDR.

And the "three rings" and "the man with the club" disappeared from the Sauer rifles. In the GDR, the trademark of the guns made in the city of Suhl became "a man at the anvil", in the Federal Republic of Germany - a circle with three intertwined Latin letters S.

Some hunters believe that the "three rings" can be seen when looking into the well-worn barrels of Sauer rifles. Well, if you wish, you can see three, and four, and five rings in a clean barrel, but these rings have nothing to do with the brand of Krupp steel, and they can be seen in clean barrels of any gun.

Let us dwell briefly on the quality of the Sauer rifles. In pre-war catalogs, Sauer wrote: "Due to their high quality and excellent design, our guns can at least be put alongside the best guns in the world." Not a single expert agreed with this assessment. The long list of first-class shotguns, which also includes some of our MC rifles and the German Merkel, does not include the Sauer.

Does this mean that Sauer guns or other guns not on the list are bad? In no case. Sauer shotguns are mass-produced shotguns designed for the mass consumer. These guns (both the cheapest and the most expensive) are made at a high level. The labor of a highly qualified and conscientious worker is invested in them. In a word, Sauer guns are well made, good working guns.

It is often asked whether the modern Sauer rifles are better or worse than the pre-war ones. Without a shadow of a doubt, we can say: modern guns have become much better. Improved technology has made it possible to use stronger steels and to machine parts with greater precision. The experience of gunsmiths has grown, a new generation of excellent craftsmen has grown up. All this taken together makes it possible to produce guns that are more durable, more reliable, safer and more beautiful.

Based on materials from D. Polyakov, weapons expert"Hunting and hunting economy No. 05 - 1986"

Best regards, V. Vasiliev, Nizhny Novgorod region

Italy, Belgium, Germany and France initiated the conclusion of an international agreement, which would establish uniform rules for the mutual recognition of marks and hallmarks of tests of hand-held firearms. The signing of the convention was preceded by the work of an international technical commission, which defined the test conditions, measuring equipment and test pressures.

In Italy, the activities of the test center resumed only in 1920, and testing of hand-held firearms became mandatory in 1923. Test centers are located in the cities of Brescia and Gardone, and each of them has its own brand. The year of issue of the weapon and the place where the weapon was tested can be determined by the stigma. Since 1924, the brand has included the image of the crown, and since 1951, the image of a five-pointed star has appeared instead of the crown.

We hope that our answers will help you to determine the year of manufacture of your shotgun.

List of brands of Italian hunting weapons from 1954 to 2005

X - 1954XIX - 1963XX8 - 1972AH - 1981AZ - 1990BM - 1999

XI - 1955XX - 1964XX9 - 1973AI - 1982BA - 1991BN - 2000

XII - 1956XXI - 1965XXX - 1974AL - 1983BB - 1992BP - 2001

XIII - 1957 XXII - 1966AA - 1975AM - 1984BC - 1993BS - 2002

XIV - 1958XXIII - 1967AB - 1976AN - 1985BD - 1994BT - 2003

XV - 1959XXIV - 1968AC - 1977AP - 1986BF - 1995BU - 2004

XVI - 1960XXV - 1969AD - 1978AS - 1987BH - 1996BZ - 2005

XVII - 1961XXVI - 1970AE - 1979AT - 1988BI - 1997

XVIII - 1962XX7 - 1971AF - 1980AU - 1989BL - 1998

Nowadays, many people have weapons, some need it by profession, others for hunting. Also, there are amateur collectors who collect different types of weapons. Each of them wants to know how to determine the year of the gun. After all, there are guns that have neither registration nor documents. It is very difficult to determine the year of release if there is no relevant knowledge. And there are such guns, the release date of which is disputed even between specialists in this matter.

There are several ways to find out the year the gun was made. In some countries, weapons have been tested for safety. After such a check, a stamp was put on the gun, by which it was determined what year this gun was produced. It was only after 1922 that the popular Izh guns were stamped with four numbers. They also indicated the year of release.

After 1954, the gun was stamped with Roman numbers. Since 1971, Arabic numbers have been used. And in 1975, Arabic numerals were no longer used. Instead of numbers, they began to use an alphabetic code. But in 1985-1988 the letters were missing. Therefore, in order to find out exactly the date of manufacture, you need to look at the catalog of stamps.

If you have a gun without documents, then you can determine the date of manufacture of this gun by the marks on the gun. From 1972 to 1986, there were no registrations for the gun. The date of issue can be determined only by the passport of the gun. If the passport is lost, then identify it by the serial number. There is no definite rule for determining the year of production of all types of guns. We must consider each separately.

There are different models of guns, and they have been branded in different ways. This can be taken into account when answering the question of how to determine the year of manufacture of the gun. On Markel's model, the month and year are stamped on the barrel. On the Sauer gun, you need to look at the numbers that are next to the brands. The first digits represent the month, and the next two the year. The Sauer always has a stamp, and on the bar the brand of the company is a man with a stick.

Hunting rifles have: marks that were put after testing the gun for safety, marks with information, working marks and brand marks. In working marks - the number of the gun parts was indicated. Branded marks - denoted the names of the manufacturer's plant.

Tula hammer guns began to be produced back in 1885. But the documents for them began to be issued in 1902, and the letter B was knocked out. In 1957, the Tulok marking began, the letter B was replaced by "BM". In 1960, they delivered the TOZ-63 brand, then TOZ-66, in 1974 TOZ-54, 1988 TOZ-80. And in 1990, the production was closed.

German guns had the mark of the state emblem, that is, "eagle". Then next to the orlos they put the letter "U" with a crown, under the crown "Nitro" and "N". After the test, they put a stamp from the letters "U" and "B". Each gun from Germany, after testing, is minted with the letter "V" with a crown, as well as "W" and "S" with crowns above them. On rifled barrels there is the letter "G", and under the letter a crown. If the gun has been repaired, then a stamp with the letter "R" is put, and a crown above it.

There are many brands on Belgian guns: factory brands, steel grades, choke sizes, company inscriptions. For all these guns, there are special decoding tables. If you could not determine the release date for any of the above signs, then you need to contact the professionals who can help you determine the year of manufacture of the gun. There are guns, the release date of which even professionals can only determine approximately.

In order to determine the date of manufacture of the gun, you need to take into account all the little things: inscriptions, numbers, signs, letters and company inscriptions. And even when comparing the inscriptions, it will not be so difficult to find out the release code. But the main thing is not what year the gun was made, but whether it is suitable for use without a threat to life.

Hunting rifle to determine the year of issue. How to determine the year of manufacture of a gun

1. Mandatory marking

2. Obligatory acceptance marks.

3. Technological marking and hallmarks, which carry the information necessary for the organization of production.

4. Other inscriptions and signs.

Brands of guns! Videoohota

BRANDS AND MARKINGS FOR GUNS OF IZHEVSK MECHANICAL PLANT

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