Charter Arms Serial Numbers By Year

Makarov 8mm Pistol Serial Numbers and Date of Manufacture; Manhattan Fire Arms Co.31 Pocket,.36 Navy,22 Pocket; Marlin Model 39 Serial number prefixes; Marlin- The Collector's GUide to Serial Numbers and Technical Information; Marlin Firearms; Mossberg did not put serial numbers on most long guns until 1968 (GCA 1968 required them).

If you’ve heard someone mention proof marks or date codes when discussing a SIG Sauer pistol, but weren’t quite sure what those were, then the goal of this article is to bring you up to speed. And even if you’re already familiar with proof marks, maybe this article can broaden your knowledge and teach you something new.

What are Proof Marks?

Proof marks are stamps embedded in certain parts of a firearm following (and sometimes during, depending on the firearm type) its manufacturing to indicate that the firearm has been “proven” to be able to handle the specific type of ammunition for which it was designed. In modern years, they truly do serve that purpose. But like many government regulations, their origins have more to do with self-interest than safety.

The first proof marks started appearing in 15th century France, and by the 17th century, European firearms guildsmen were heavily promoting their use — and lobbying their governments for laws requiring them — primarily to dissuade competition from non-guildsmen and scare potential purchasers away from un-proofed guns.

In 1637, after heavy lobbying from the London Gunmakers Company, a London-area firearms guild, King Charles I issued a Royal Charter setting firearms safety standards. The London Gunmakers Company set up a “proof house” in London, and not surprisingly… firearms makers who were not part of a guild tended to fail testing more often than the guild members. Guns that passed testing were stamped with a mark representing the proof house. Over the next few decades, other countries established their own safety standards and proof houses, along with their own unique marks. Much like reciprocity of modern concealed carry permits between states, some European countries began to recognize each others’ proof marks as a high enough testing standard for foreign countries’ firearms to be legally imported.

Fast forward to 1914, when a number of European countries formed the CIP (Commission Internationale Permanente pour l’Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives) as a formal standards group to ensure consistent testing among member countries. As of 2015, the CIP includes 14 member states. In order for a civilian firearm produced in a CIP member state to be legally imported to another CIP country, it must bear the proof mark of a CIP member state (military testing standards are, predictably, different than civilian ones). The United States does not participate in CIP, but instead formed its own standards group named SAAMI (Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute). While the CIP and SAAMI do share information and cooperate, neither has a requirement regarding selling in each other’s countries. Because the US is not a CIP member state, foreign guns do not need a CIP proof mark to be sold in the US, nor do US guns need a US proof mark to be sold in CIP member countries. This is an important fact that will become relevant again later in this article.

Examples of German Proof Marks

Here’s an assortment of mid 20th century proof marks used through Germany’s (and West Germany’s) history:

The top row (a) indicates the German (or East/West German, depending on the year) city in which the proof house is located. The column marked (b) shows varios German/West German proof marks after 1945, while the column marked (c) shows German proof marks used from 1939-1945.

Here’s another image showing the marks of German/West German proof houses, along with the approximate year they were first in use:

Proof Marks on SIG Sauer Pistols

Depending on it’s vintage and model, you might see proof marks on a German / West German SIG’s frame:

Proof mark on a West German P220 frame

Or on its barrel:On the slide chin (the underside of the slide near the muzzle end), which is the most common location for West German and German SIG Sauers:

Proof marks on the slide chin of a West German SIG Sauer pistol

To make sense of these proof marks, let’s look at those on the above slide chin.

Kiel Proof House Mark

The top proof mark indicates the Kiel Proof House. Since Kiel is only 17 miles from SIG Sauer’s manufacturing facility in Eckernförde, that’s the proof mark you should expect to see on a proofed SIG Sauer. Many refer to the Kiel mark as a “squashed bug,” while others have claimed it’s an oak leaf. Actually, the proof mark is based on the city of Kiel’s coat of arms:

…which in turn is based on the district of Schaumburg’s coat of arms:

Coat of arms of Schaumburg

The shape represents a Nesselblatt, or nettle leaf. Tradition held that the leaves of the nettle were symbolic of the nails used to crucify Christ, so the three larger leaves represent the nails of the crucifixion.

All true German and West German SIGs were test fired at the Kiel proof house, so the Nesselblatt proof mark is an indicator of a true German or West German SIG. I’ve also heard one report of the Ulm proof house’s stag antler mark appearing on a the frame and slide of a 1993 SIG P226 (in addition to the Kiel mark on the slide), which would imply that the firearm required repair and re-proofing… and presumably the repair took place at a location that was closer to Ulm than Kiel. Normally, you’d expect to see the Ulm proof mark on a Walther or H&K firearm.

The German Definitive Mark and Nitro Testing

Underneath the Kiel Nesselblatt (though the order of the marks is not important), we find the image of an eagle with the letter “N” underneath. Some incorrectly believe that the eagle mark is a remnant of Nazi-era Germany, particularly since Germany’s firearms proof mark was a previously crown, and was changed to an eagle in 1939.

In actuality, the German Reichsadler (literally “Eagle of the Realm”) dates back to the eagle on the standard of the Roman Empire, and was used as a symbol of the Second German Empire as early as 1871… long before the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. The same eagle design has continued its use in West Germany since 1945, but under a new name of Bundesadler, or “Union Eagle.”

The Eagle-N mark signifies that the firearm was proofed in Germany (or West Germany, depending on when the firearm was proofed), while the “N” indicates that the firearm was proofed using a Nitro Beschuss load. “Beschuss” translates as “bombardment,” “shelling,” or “firing” depending on context, and “nitro” is short for “nitrocellulose,” a highly flammable compound used to creates pressures inside the firearm higher than standard gun powder.

Charter Arms Serial Number Dates

Pistols are delivered to the proof houses in their fully assembled form for proofing. For pistols, CIP standards require cartridges that generate pressure 30% higher than the standard ammunition for which the pistol is designed, so the two high pressure nitro rounds are fired through the pistol. Technicians then disassemble the pistol and examine it in a dark room using a fluoroscopic lamp, looking for magnetic flux leakage. Provided everything looks good, the pistol is re-assembled and receives the country’s CIP proof mark indicating what type of test it passed (the Eagle-N or “definitive” mark in the case of a German gun), the mark of the proof house, and marks indicating the date of the tests. The firearms is then returned to the manufacturer who can legally sell the firearm domestically or export it to another CIP country.

The “nitro” proof mark is also referred to as the “definitive” (or final) mark of the proof house, as opposed to a “provisional” mark which would generally only apply to shotgun barrels in an early stage of manufacture, which are tested at proof houses to prevent the manufacturer from continuing work on defective tubes.

Date Codes

Looking back at our photo, the “JK” under the definitive proof mark is the date code. Date codes are two-letter indicators of the year that a firearm was proofed. Major German firearms companies such as Heckler and Koch, Walther, and SIG Sauer all used a similar date code format:

German gun manufacturers used these letters in place of numbers for date codes

Just to keep things interesting, SIG Sauer chose not to use the letter “I” because it looked too much like the numeral “1,” so J = 8 in SIG speak. The proof house in Koln (Cologne), Germany also follows this format. Walther and Heckler & Koch chose to use “I” for 8 but skip “J,” except that you will see a “J” on an H&K magazine’s date code. Gotta love German logic. 🙂

Using the above table, we can determine that the “JK” date code in the photo stands for “89” — meaning this firearm was proofed in 1989… which coincidentally happened to be the year the Berlin Wall came down. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the pistol was manufactured in 1989. It’s quite possible the barrel was made in 1986, the frame in 1987, and the slide in 1988… but that all the parts weren’t assembled together into a firearm and delivered to a proof house until 1989. Or it’s possible that all the parts were actually made in 1989, and then assembled and proofed that same year. There’s no way to know. A true German / West German firearm isn’t technically “born” until it’s been proofed.

Note that a gun’s date code is different than its serial number. It’s impossible to decode a SIG serial number to determine when it was proofed, although you can try to locate the range of your SIG’s serial number in this list to approximate when it was made, or call SIG Sauer with the serial number and see if they have any info in their system. Serial numbers aren’t always truly representative of the chronological order of a firearm, but they can sometimes get you close. Only a date code can tell you the year of proofing.

Proofed vs. Non-Proofed “Made in Germany” Guns

If you’ve read my article on West German vs. German vs. Other SIGs, you’ll know that proof marks are one of the primary indicators or whether a SIG Sauer (or any other firearm) is truly “made” in Germany (or West Germany) as opposed to assembled in the US using German-made parts… even though the parts might be stamped “Made in Germany.” Because the US is not a CIP country, guns marked “Made in Germany” do not need to be proofed in order to be sold here, as long as they are assembled in the US.

In my opinion, a gun without German proof marks (with very few exceptions) is not truly a German gun. Whether that actually affects the desirability or quality of the gun is for you to decide. But you should at least be aware that for most SIG purists, the existence of proof marks is what determines whether a gun is correctly referred to as “Made in Germany.”

Putting it All Together

Now that you know how to decode proof marks and date codes, see if you can figure out where and when the following firearms were proofed. Most are SIGs, but I threw some other German guns in there just for fun. 🙂

Normally, the proof house mark is above the definitive mark on a SIG, but this is a very early SIG P220

Charter Arms Serial Numbers By Year Numbers

Walther P99

I welcome your corrections, questions, comments, & feedback below.

Charter Arms
Private
Industry
Founded	1964; 56 years ago
Founder	Douglas McClenahan
Headquarters	,
Products	Revolvers
Website	charterfirearms.com

History[edit]

Douglas McClenahan, a young gun designer who had previously worked for Colt, High Standard, and Sturm, Ruger founded Charter Arms in 1964 to produce handguns. His first pistol was a five-shot revolver called 'The Undercover' chambered for .38 Special. McClenahan's innovation was to avoid using the side plate designs manufactured by other revolver makers for a one-piece frame, giving the new revolver a strength that allowed it to safely shoot high loads.^[1] McClenahan also reduced the number of moving parts used in the gun and created a safety device for the firing pin.

The company, then located in Stratford, Connecticut, went bankrupt in 1996, but the Charter design and mark were resurrected by Charter 2000, which was founded by the Ecker family. The new company capitalized on the fame of the old Charter Arms revolvers. Operations were moved to Shelton, Connecticut.

Basing their new line of weapons on the basic Charter Arms design, the new company has made a few improvements such as the use of a one-piece barrel and front sight. The one-piece barrels of the new models are machined with eight grooves instead of six for higher velocity, flatter trajectory and better accuracy. The new models feature a completely blocked hammer system so that the gun cannot fire unless the trigger is held in full rear position.

In addition to reintroducing the .38 Special Undercover and the .44 Special Bulldog, Charter 2000 produces revolvers chambered for .22 Long Rifle/.22 Magnum (the Pathfinder), .357 magnum (the Mag Pug) and .38 Special (the Off-Duty and the Police Bulldog).

In 2005, Charter 2000 announced that it would be filing for bankruptcy, blaming the costs associated with nuisance lawsuits for their financial trouble.

In September 2005, MKS Supply entered into an agreement with Charter Arms where MKS Supply would handle the sales, marketing and distribution for Charter Arms.^[2]

In 2008, Charter Arms brought the new Patriot revolvers to the market.^[3] The Patriot revolvers were chambered for the .327 Federal Magnum, and were available in 2.2' or 4' stainless steel models. The Charter Arms web site as of August 2011 no longer lists this model under the products category.

Also in 2008, Charter Arms announced a new revolver: the Charter Arms Rimless Revolver. The new revolver would be able to load and fire rimless cartridges such as the 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP without the need for moon clips. Initially, the revolver was to ship in early spring, however, reported problems with the patents delayed the introduction.^[4] Charter Arms set a release date of April 2009 for the CARR. However, Charter Arms missed this deadline, and company representatives have suggested the release date may not be until 'late July' of 2009. The CARR which was subsequently called the Pitbull finally reached production in August 2011 and the first Pitbull models had a 2.3' barrel and were chambered for the .40 S&W cartridge as this is the most popular U.S. law enforcement round and would enable the Pitbull to be used as a back-up gun to the .40 service pistol.^[5]

In October 2010 MKS discontinued the sales and marketing of Charter Arms. Charter now has taken over the sales and marketing function.

At SHOT Show 2018 Charter introduced the .41 Remington Magnum Mag Pug and the .45 Colt Bulldog XL.

Historical and cultural significance[edit]

The .44 SpecialBulldog revolver gained notoriety after it was used by Son of Sam serial killer David Berkowitz in his murder spree.^[6]
A Charter Arms 'Undercover' .38 Special model was used by Arthur Bremer to attempt to assassinate George Wallace in 1972.
A Charter Arms 'Undercover' .38 Special model was used by Mark David Chapman to murder John Lennon in 1980.^[7]^[8]
A Charter Arms .38 Special was used in the murder of Police Officer Daniel Faulkner December 9,1981

Products[edit]

Charter Arms Bulldog .44 Special

Charter Arms Target Bulldog .357 Magnum

The Bulldog: .44 Special
The Bulldog XL: .45 Colt
The Target Bulldog: .357 Magnum
The Undercover: .38 Special
The Undercoverette: .32 H&R Magnum
The Mag Pug: .357 Magnum and .41 Remington Magnum
The Patriot: .327 Federal Magnum
The Pathfinder: .22 LR and .22 Magnum
The Off Duty: .38 Special (similar to the Undercover but with a bobbed hammer and weighing 12 oz (340 g))
The Dixie Derringer: .22 LR and .22 Magnum
The Pitbull: .45 ACP, .40 S&W, and 9×19mm Luger (same frame as Bulldog and Pug)
The Southpaw: .38 Special (similar to Undercover, but made for left-handed shooters)^[9]^{[citation needed]}

References[edit]

^Charter Arms FAQArchived August 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^'MKS Supply Partners With Charter Firearms'. AmmoLand.com Shooting Sports News.
^'Charter Arms .327 Fed. Mag. Snub Nose Revolver Is A Real Hot Rod!'. AmmoLand.com Shooting Sports News.
^'Charter Arms' New Revolutionary Rimless Revolver'. AmmoLand.com Shooting Sports News.
^Charter Arms websiteArchived June 25, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
^http://www.vpc.org/studies/wgun7677.htm
^http://www.vpc.org/studies/wgun801208.htm
^'The Gun that Killed John Lennon - Unearthing a Relic - Nymag'. New York Magazine. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
^'Southpaw'. Charter Arms.

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