Sig p226 serial number lookup manufacture date

#Sig p226 serial number lookup manufacture date code

Serial numbers arenвЂ™t always truly representative of the chronological order of a firearm, but they can sometimes get you close.В Only aВ date code can tell you the year of proofing. ItвЂ™s impossible to decode a SIG serial number to determine when it was proofed, although you can try to locate the range of your SIGвЂ™s serial number to approximate when it was made, or call SIG Sauer with the serial number and see if they have any info in their system. Note that a gunвЂ™sВ date code is different than itsВ serial number. A true German / West German firearm isnвЂ™t technically вЂњbornвЂќ until itвЂ™s been proofed. Major German firearms companies such as Heckler and Koch, Walther, and SIG Sauer all usedВ a similar date codeВ format. Date Codes Looking back at our photo, the вЂњJKвЂќ under the definitive proof mark is the date code.В Date codes are two-letter indicators of the year that a firearm was proofed. The вЂњnitroвЂќ proof mark is also referred to as the вЂњdefinitiveвЂќ (or final) mark of the proof house, as opposed to a вЂњprovisionalвЂќ 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 fromВ continuing work on defective tubes. The firearms is then returned to the manufacturer who can legally sell the firearm domestically or export it toВ another CIP country. Provided everything looks good, the pistol is re-assembled and receives the countryвЂ™s CIP proof mark indicating what type of test it passed (the Eagle-N or вЂњdefinitiveвЂќ mark in the case of a German gun), the mark of the proof house, and marks indicating the date of the tests. Technicians then disassemble the pistol and examine it in a dark room using a fluoroscopic lamp, looking for magnetic flux leakage. For pistols, CIPВ standards require cartridges that generateВ pressureВ 30% higher than the standard ammunition for which the pistol is designed,В so the two high pressureВ nitro roundsВ are fired throughВ the pistol. PistolsВ are delivered to the proof houses in their fully assembled form for proofing. As вЂњbombardment,вЂќ вЂњshelling,вЂќ or вЂњfiringвЂќ depending on context, and вЂњnitroвЂќ is short for вЂњ,вЂќ a highly flammable compound used toВ creates pressures inside the firearm higher than standard gun powder. The same eagle design has continued its useВ inВ West Germany since 1945, but underВ a new name of Bundesadler, or вЂњUnion Eagle.вЂќ The Eagle-N markВ signifies that the firearm was proofed in Germany (or West Germany, depending on when the firearm was proofed), while the вЂњNвЂќВ indicates that the firearm was proofed using a Nitro BeschussВ load. In actuality, the German ReichsadlerВ (literally вЂњEagle of the RealmвЂќ) dates back to the eagle on the standard of the Roman Empire, and was used as a symbol ofВ the Second German Empire as early as 1871 long before the National Socialist German WorkersвЂ™ Party. Some incorrectly believe that the eagle mark is a remnant of Nazi-era Germany, particularly since GermanyвЂ™s firearms proof mark was a previously crown, and wasВ changed to an eagle in 1939. IвЂ™ve also heard one report of theВ Ulm proof houseвЂ™s stag antler mark appearing on a theВ frame and slide of a 1993 SIG P226 (in addition to the Kiel mark on the slide),В 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. All true German and West German SIGs wereВ test fired at theВ Kiel proof house, so the NesselblattВ proof mark is an indicator of a true German or West German SIG. 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. Coat of arms of SchaumburgThe shapeВ represents a Nesselblatt, or nettle leaf. HereвЂ™s another image showing the marks of German/West German proof houses, along with the approximate year they were first in use. 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.

Sig p226 serial number lookup manufacture date