Bullet test

Broken barrel of a muzzle loading pistol, which was shot at with nitrocellulose powder instead of black powder and which could not withstand the increased loads

In the proof test of firearms is to check whether the most stressed parts of the firearm of the withstand stress, which they in the use of approved ammunition are exposed (durability). The bullet test is a process and part of the bullet system .

execution

For this purpose, ammunition is usually fired with a propellant charge increased by 30% . The complaint rates are, depending on the type of weapon, 0.8% to 8%.

In principle, bullet tests are carried out on each individual weapon, but type approvals are also possible. If the proof test is successful, the responsible proof office assigns a proof mark (also proof mark ).

Proof mark on a handgun

Airsoft gun with F in the pentagon and Suhl proof mark from November 2008

Proof mark

Proof mark Nitrobeschuss with the location of the Ulm Proof Office

Legal norms and national regulations

All firearms are subject to mandatory fire . Bullet tests are monitored in twelve European countries, the United Arab Emirates and Chile by the Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives CIP. The respective proof marks of the CIP countries are mutually recognized by all members.

Germany

The tests are regulated in the law on the testing and approval of firearms, firearms, devices that use ammunition for propulsion, as well as ammunition and other weapons (BeschG) and in particular by the General Ordinance on the Shooting Act (Shooting Ordinance - ShootingV) . The more than 300,000 tests annually are carried out in the German fire protection offices or their branch offices.

There are the

normal fire test (marking of the barrel with "N" for nitrocellulose )
Reinforced fire test for the use of Magnum ammunition in shotguns (barrel marked with "V" for reinforced fire)
Steel shot test for shotguns (the barrel is marked with a lily)
Gunpowder bullet test for muzzle loaders and the like similar weapons
Repair fire test (e.g. after repair, replacement of parts)
Voluntary fire test (e.g. to test an old weapon for damage)

Further tests are those of the

Marking according to §24 Weapons Act
Functional reliability
Dimensional accuracy

Austria

In Austria, the bullet tests are carried out by the two Austrian bulletproof offices in Vienna and Ferlach. The basics for the bullet test are:

the federal law on the compulsory testing of small arms and cartridges ( Beschussgesetz 1951, BGBl. 151/1951 as amended )

as well as the associated implementing regulations :

In addition, the Weapons Act and War Material Act are also relevant.

literature

William Greener: Gunnery in 1858 , Chapter VI, The Proof of Gun Barrels , Smith, Elder and Co., London, 1858, P. 243 ff. ( Online at archive.org )
Edoardo Mori: Guida alla identificazione dei marchi ufficiali sulle armi da fuoco (identification of proof marks and other markings on firearms), edition 2, earmi.it, 2015, (multilingual, 101 pages, 550 images), online PDF 3.5 MB .
Tom Warlow: Firearms, the Law, and Forensic Ballistics 3rd Edition, CRC Press, 2016, ISBN 978-1-4398-1828-2 . (available online: Proof Marks and the Proof of Firearms )
Robert E. Walker: Cartridges and Firearm Identification , CRC Press, 2013, ISBN 978-1-4665-8881-3 ( online book preview )
John Walker: '' The Nepalese gun marks '' (historical gun marks from Nepal) archive.org

Web links

Commons : Proof marks - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikisource: Announcement concerning the execution of the law on the testing of barrels and breeches of handguns of May 19, 1891. June 22, 1892. (German Reich) - Sources and full texts