Headstamp

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A headstamp is the markings on the bottom of a

cartridge case designed for a firearm
. It usually tells who manufactured the case. If it is a civilian case it often also tells the caliber: if it is military, the year of manufacture is often added.

The left cartridge's headstamp says "FC 223 REM" which means that it was made by Federal Cartridge Co. and it is in the caliber ".223 Remington". The cartridge on the right has a headstamp that says "LC 99" with a symbol that consists of a cross in a circle. This cartridge was made in 1999 by the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, in Independence, Missouri, USA. The symbol on this headstamp means it meets NATO specifications.

The headstamp is punched into the base of the cartridge during manufacture. A resource for identifying where the ammunition originated can be found at Cartridge Collectors.

Albania

The government-operated arsenal K.M. Polican marks number "3" at the 6 o'clock position, and the last two digits of the year at 12 o'clock.[1]

Argentina

Military cartridges have the manufacturer's head stamp at 12 o’clock, and can include a two or four digit year. The following list of manufacturer initials is taken verbatim from:[1]

  • Fabrica Militar de Cartuchos San Francisco: FMMAP S.F. (1948); FMCSF (1954); F.M. S.F. (1972)
  • Fabrica Militar de Municiones de Armas Portatiles: F.M.M.A.P. (1939–44); renamed Fabrica Militar de Municiones de Armas Portatiles—Borghi: F.M.M.A.P. B (1944– 50); again renamed Fabrica Militar San Lorenzo: FMC SL (1950–55), F.M. S.L. (1955–61); then renamed again to Fabrica Militar Luis Beltran: F.M. FLB (1961– 75), FLB (post-1958)
  • Industria Metalurgica y Plastica Argentina, Buenos Aires: I.M.P.A.


Australia

  • BB Bertram Bullet Co. Pty. Ltd. (1986–present) – Seymour, Melbourne, Victoria. Bruce Bertram bought Super Cartridge Co.'s machinery and moved it to Seymour, where he began manufacturing brass cases for handloaders. The "BB" is at 12 o'clock and small kangaroos are positioned counter-clockwise at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock. Brass is sold in lots of 20-case cartons and can be made to customer's specifications with personalized headstamps.
  • ICI-ANZ Imperial Chemical Industries – Australia / New Zealand (1940s – 1980s) – Deer Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Manufactured cartridges and shotshells from the 1940s until the late 1970s. They also made brass cases for filling and loading by their parent company in the United Kingdom and produced Australian-gauge shotshells for the local market. The factory now makes commercial explosives under the ORICA brand.
  • RBA or RIVERBRAND Riverbrand Ammunition Company, (1945? – early 1980s) – Hendon, South Australia, Australia.
    7.62mm NATO ammo. "UPDATE 30/11/2020. The above information is totally incorrect. Sid Churches owner operator of Taipan Projectiles Pty Ltd (1946–1980) did not own Riverbrand Ammunition (RBA) at any time. RBA was owned and operated by Ron Holmes. It is true that SOME RBA ammunition was loaded with Taipan Projectiles, including 303 British, 303/270, 303/25 and later 308. ALL Taipan Projectiles supplied to RBA featured a knurled cannellure. No knurled cannelure, not a genuine Taipan Projectile. RBA also used other Projectiles including ICIANZ and CIL, yet claimed the use through advertising as Taipan Projectiles due to that companies high reputation at that time (1950's through to 1970). This continual advertising of RBA ammunition with Taipan Projectiles was a bone of contention with Sid Churches and eventually all supplies of Taipans to RBA ceased in about 1963. A Taipan Projectiles History website has been launched in April 2020. End Update. Early new production (marked "RBA") used Berdan primed brass cases. Full production (marked "RIVERBRAND") used newly manufactured Boxer-primed cases in a variety of service pistol and "wildcat" sporting rifle cartridges, as well as new brass for handloaders. They also made ammo for Sportco
    in Adelaide under the SPORTCO headstamp. Riverbrand was always a small-scale endeavor, as there was too much competition from Super Cartridge Company (their only domestic manufacturing rival) and foreign ammunition manufacturers.
  • SUPER Super Cartridge Co. (? – 1985) – Marybyrnong, Melbourne, Victoria. Manufacturer of cartridges, shotshells, and bullets and brass cases for handloading. They originally sold sporting cartridges made from reloaded Australian-made .303 Imperial brass and sold "wildcat" cartridges made from the base .303 cartridge. (These usually had the original Small Arms Ammunition Factory headstamp on them). They also made proprietary "wildcat" ammunition for the MYRA Sports Store in Broken Hill, New South Wales. They were sued for copyright infringement in the early 1980s by Olin-Winchester for their similar one-piece polymer shotshell design. They were barred from making the shells, gave up manufacturing shotshells altogether, and later went out of business in the mid-1980s.
  • TAIPAN Bullets (late 1980s-2017) – Gympie, Wide Bay–Burnett, Queensland. After Churches' death in the late 1970s, RIVERBRAND's bullet-making machinery was sold and moved to facilities in Queensland, where it was set up as TAIPAN Bullets.[3][self-published source] Owner Malcolm Bone manufactured bullets in small lots for hand loaders. The company's major toolmaker and die-setter died a few years ago.[2] Bone announced in 2017 he was ceasing new production and selling off the remaining stock. UPDATE 30/11/2020. Above information is partly incorrect. Sid Churches owner operator of Taipan Projectiles 1946–1980 DID NOT OWN Riverbrand Ammunition. Sid Churches died in May 1987, not late 1970's as stated above. Taipan Projectiles manufacturing plant was sold to a NSW consortium in 1981 called SAC (Small Arms Company). That company folded in about 1985 and was on sold to a Queensland Operator.

Austria

Cartridge base with a headstamp by Hirtenberger
  • HP, H or P –
    Hirtenberger Patronen-, Zündhütchen-und Metallwarenfabrik A.-G., Hirtenberg
    , Austria

Bangladesh

A common head stamp is BOF (Bangladesh Ordnance Factory). Sometimes a two-digit year and/or a caliber may be included.[1]

Belgium

Bolivia

  • Cartridges made by the Armed Forces National Development Corporation are marked simply with BOLIVIA.[1]

Brazil

Burkina Faso

Cartridges made by Industrial Society Burkina Arms and Ammunition (SIBAM) may be marked SIBAM or CV (Cartoucherie Voltaique (CARVOLT)).[1]

Canada

Arsenals

  • C-I-L or CIL Canadian Industries Ltd. (1955–1976). A corporation formed in 1910 from a merger of five Canadian explosives companies and their assets. It ran the Defence Industries Ltd. munitions plants from 1940 to 1946. It owned the Dominion, Imperial and Canuck commercial ammunition brands. It used the CIL headstamp on its cartridges from 1955(?) until 1976, when IVI bought out its commercial ammunition production.

Civilian contractors

Commercial manufacturers

Colombia

Industria Militar
[Colombian Military Industry], company owned by the Government of Colombia operate the only authorised manufacturing company that produce weapons and munitions for both the military and civilian markets. Makes 9×19mm NATO [8 gram / 124 grain bullet], 9×19mm Luger [115 grain bullet], 9×19mm Subsonic [158 grain], 9×19mm Factor 132, .223 Remington, 5.56×45mm NATO, .32 Smith&Wesson, .38 Special, and .38 Special Factor 132. They also make several shotgun shells in 12Ga, 16Ga and 20Ga. Pistol & Rifle ammunition uses "IM" as headstamp, the last 2 digits of the year of manufacture and 2 digits for the designation. Revolver and Shotgun shells are stamped as "Indumil" and the calibre.

China

NORINCO (North Industries Corporation) – Beijing
, China. Operates several state arsenals that produce weapons and munitions for both the military and civilian markets. Makes the Big Star rimfire and China Sports centerfire ammunition brands. Currently they make 9×18mm Makarov, 9×19mm Parabellum, .45 ACP, .223 Remington [5.56×45mm], 7.62×39mm Soviet, and .308 Winchester [7.62×51mm] ammo.

NORINCO 7.62×39mm Soviet ammunition was banned from importation into the United States in February, 1994. This was due to the fact that the military surplus ammunition couldn't pass the "magnet test". Non-compliant semi-armor-piercing and armor-piercing rounds have steel penetrators or steel cores that will be attracted by a magnet. The NORINCO copper-plated steel-jacketed Full Metal Jacket bullets would be attracted by a magnet – making it hard to distinguish between compliant lead-core and non-compliant steel-cored ammunition.

Arsenals

Ammunition headstamp has the arsenal number and the last 2 digits of the year of manufacture. The following are arsenals known to produce civilian lead-core ammunition.

  • 31 or 031 State Factory 31 – (Commercial ammo is packed in two-tone red-black box with white lettering and the NORINCO and China Sports names in gold lettering.)
  • 71 State Factory 71 – (Commercial ammo is packed in plain light green box with black lettering and the NORINCO name and symbol in red lettering on white backing)
  • 311 State Factory 311 – (Commercial ammo is packed in plain yellow box with black lettering and the NORINCO name and symbol in red lettering.)
  • 351 State Factory 351 – (Commercial ammo is packed in plain gray box with black lettering and the NORINCO name and symbol in red lettering.)

Manufacturers

  • CBCC Commercial ammo is packed in a plain cardboard box stamped with purple ink. Headstamp has the metric designation (e.g., 7.62×39) at 12 o'clock, the "CBCC" at 9 to 6 o'clock, and the two-digit year at 3 o'clock (oriented with the "CBCC" text and facing inward to the center).
  • C J Jing-An Light Industries Corporation (NORINCO-Jinan) – Jinan, Shandong province, People's Republic of China. Makes rimfire and centerfire sporting ammunition and shotshells. (Commercial ammo is packed in plain dark green box with black lettering and the NORINCO name and symbol in red lettering on white backing). Headstamp has the C at 10 o'clock and the J at 2 o'clock.
  • CN China NORINCO.
  • CNIC China Northern Industries Corp.. Headstamp has the metric designation (e.g., 7.62×39) at 12 o'clock and the "CNIC" at 6 o'clock.
  • J E NORINCO
  • L Y NORINCO Headstamp has the L at 9 o'clock and the Y at 3 o'clock.
  • NIC North Industries Corporation.
  • NRC NORINCO – Republic of China.
  • N S NORINCO Sport Ammunition.

Counterfeits

The use of counterfeit ammunition is perplexing, since NORINCO already makes ammunition and sells quite a lot of it. Theories abound: it was made for use by Chinese-backed insurgents, it was designed to get in on the surplus ammo market, or it was designed to make users leery of Western-made surplus ammunition and get them to buy new foreign-made ammo.

  • LC 52 Chinese copies of American .30 Carbine ammo with forged Lake City (headstamp "LC") markings. The ammunition was copper-washed steel-jacketed bullets with copper-washed steel cases. (This makes it magnetic – so it may fail the BATF magnet test used to detect illegal semi-armor-piercing and armor-piercing steel-core penetrators). Some are found in brass cases, and are readily identifiable after firing, as these cases are still Berdan primed. Unlike the USGI ammo, which has non-corrosive Boxer primers, it has corrosive Berdan primers. The cases have longitudinal scratches along the sides, like they have been reloaded. The bullet has a black sealant at its base and the primer has a clear pinkish-red sealant rather than an opaque red sealant. They come packed in 50-round cartons. Unlike US military ammunition, which have glued seams and an arsenal label printed-on or glued-on the box, the boxes' seams are stapled and are crudely stamped 7.62mmLC in blue ink on the top.[6][self-published source] It is reported to have high pressures that are unsafe to use in an M1 carbine, especially a vintage one.
  • RG 60 Chinese copies of British
    7.62mm NATO L2A2 ball ammo with forged Radway Green markings. The lettering on the counterfeit cartridge headstamps are shallow and crude compared to that of Radway Green. The ammunition was copper-washed steel-jacketed bullets with copper-washed steel cases and corrosive primers. It came packed loose in a green-painted 300-round zinc "spam can" with a cloth handle attached to "D-rings" on the sides.[7][self-published source] It also came packed with knockoff 5-round British Mk.3 chargers marked with forged MTY 60 markings (indicating Mettoy, a former British government contractor); these came packed 5 to a can.[8][self-published source] The knockoff chargers can be identified by the fact that the tool stamp is in a smaller typeface than the genuine models.[9][self-published source
    ]

Czech Republic

Resellers

There are companies that do not manufacture or assemble cartridges of their own but import or contract them from another manufacturer.

  • TPZ-KOPP (KOPP-TPZ s.r.o.) (1991–2017)[10] – Pavlice, Znojmo District, South Moravian Region, Czech Republic. KOPP was a reseller that sold Russian-made 9×19mm Parabellum and 7.62×39mm ammunition to avoid an embargo. The Tula Cartridge Plant (Тульский патронный завод – ТПЗ / Tul'skiy Patronnyy Zavod – TPZ) made the cartridges. KOPP repacked them in new packaging and exported them for sale. After 2004 they also sold Tula- and Ulyanovsk-made .22 Long Rifle, 9x18mm Makarov, 9×19mm Parabellum, 7.62×51mm NATO (.308 Winchester), 5.45×39mm M74 Soviet, 7.62×39mm M43 Soviet, and 7.62×54mm M91 Russian ammunition that had TCW, TPZ, and ТПЗ headstamps and 1990s production dates.

Egypt

What appears like "TO" is actually the Arabic letters for Haa (ح) and Mim (م), the first letters of the words for "Military Factory". It is an Egyptian Military property mark, much like the broadshead arrowhead used by the British Government. The larger versions of the symbol has the numbers ٧٢ ("27") inset in the circle split by the vertical line. The "TO" is found on the base of shotgun shells, which Military Factory 27 makes for the civilian hunting market.

  • ٧٢ مح Military Factory 27 (Shubra Company for Engineering Industries) (1953–present) – Shubra, Cairo, Egypt.

Germany

RWS headstamp on an 8×68mm S rifle cartridge
  • GECO Gustav Genschow & Co. (1887–1945; 1951–present) – Berlin, Germany. Produces a wide range of pistol and rifle cartridges, shotshells, and air gun pellets. Formerly part of Dynamit-Nobel since 1946, now part of the RUAG Ammotec group. It makes the GECO Aktion Safety (GAS) brand, a type of hollow-core brass alloy safety bullet. GAS was imported to America in the 1980s by entrepreneur Phil Engeldrum as the "Blitz Action Trauma" (BAT) brand.[11]
  • ME, MEN Metallwerk Elisenhütte Nassau GmbH (1957–present) – Nassau,
    Rheinland-Pfalz
    , Germany. Formed in 1957 to provide ammunition to the West German Bundeswehr. Bought out by vehicle manufacturer Maschinenbau-Actiengesellschaft Nürnberg (MAN) in 1990 and focused on police and military sales in 1996. Bought out by CBC in 2007 and renamed MEN DefenseTec in 2018(?).
  • RWS Rheinisch-Westfälischen Sprengstofffabriken ("Rhenish-Westphalian Explosives Factory") – . Makes rimfire cartridges, centerfire hunting rifle cartridges, and air gun pellets. Owns the Rottweil shotshell brand.

Resellers

There are companies that do not manufacture or assemble cartridges of their own but import or contract them from another manufacturer.

Greece

  • EDP (Olympic Industries S.A.) - Axioupoli, Kilkis, Greece. Very fly-by-night company started by a Mr. Basil Papadopoulos; the headstamp letters E and D are named for his sons Elias and Dimitirus. Used to buy components from other manufacturers like Iran's DIO or the Czech Republic's Sellier & Bellot. Bought old machinery from the Luhansk plant in Ukraine in the 1990s to make their own components; didn’t pay the later installments and got sued. From 2005 to 2009 it was contracted to run Fabryka «Suvenir» for the North Macecdonian government, but no ammunition was manufactured.
    • NPA 99 (National Police Agency, Ministry of the Interior – Taiwan) Headstamp used by Olympic Cartridge Company for a 1999 Taiwanese contract for 9mm Parabellum and 5.56mm NATO SS/109 SAP ammo [Green Tip]. Used their own cases made on Ukrainian machinery; they were notoriously our of specification and sometimes wouldn't pass a gauge test. Headstamp is NPA at 10 o'clock folowed by the two-digit year of manufacture at 2 o'clock (e.g., NPA 99).

Italy

  • Fiocchi Fiocchi Munizioni – Lecco, Italy.
  • HB Enrico Barthe & Cie (1883–1889) – Milan, Italy. A company created as a front for the Società Franco Italiana per la fabbricazione delle Munizioni di caccia, da tiro, da guerra, ed affini (SFIM, "Franco-Italian Corporation for the manufacture of hunting, target-shooting, warfare, and related munitions"). SFIM was the Italian sales division of Société Française des Munitions (SFM, "French Association for Munitions"), the munitions division of the French firm Gevelot. It was an Italian-registered firm created for tax purposes. The president of the firm, Henri Barthe, was an SFM employee that used to be owner of Tarbes Freres before merging with SFM in 1883. French by birth and nationality, they recorded his name as Enrico Barthe in the incorporation papers – although being an Italian citizen or of Italian birth were not prerequisites for the tax law loophole.
  • LBC, LEON BEAUX, BEAUX Leon Beaux & Cie. (1889–1960s?) – Milan, Italy. A company created as a front for SFIM, the Italian sales division of SFM, the munitions division of the French firm Gevelot. It was an Italian-registered firm created for tax purposes. Leon Beaux, an SFIM salesman, took over from Henri Barthe as president of SFIM in 1889 and the front company was renamed after him. In 1932 the company was renamed Società Italiana Munizioni, Léon Beaux & C., Milano (SIM, "Italian Association for Munitions") but was still owned by Gevelot. It was briefly nationalized by Mussolini's government from July 26, 1940, to October 19, 1943. After the war Gevelot had SFM manufacture the cartridge components in France and had SIM assemble them in Italy.
  • PERFECTA Manufactured by Fiocchi Munizioni.

Mexico

Romania

  • SADU UM Sadu (?-2014) – Bumbești-Jiu, Gorj, Romania. Usually found on contract civilian hunting and sporting ammunition like Red Army Standard. The metric caliber is at 12 o'clock, the contractor (SADU) is at 8 o'clock, and the 2-digit year of production is at 4 o'clock.
  • R SD UM Sadu (2015–present) – Bumbești-Jiu, Gorj, Romania. The new headstamp for all ammunition produced by UM Sadu, replacing the plethora of headstamps in use. The contractor (R SD > "Romania, Sadu") is at 10 o'clock, the 2-digit year is at 2 o'clock, and the metric caliber is at 6 o'clock.

Slovakia

South Africa

Sweden

  • NORMA AB Norma Projektilfabrik.

Turkey

  • BPS (Balıkesir Explosives Industry and Trade, Inc.) [2014-Present] - Balıkesir, Turkey. Founded in 2014 by Mehmet Akif Yavaşca and Müşteba Yavaşca. Partnered in 2015 with Sarsilmaz Ammunition Inc. of the Sarsilmaz Group. They have produced shotgun shells since 2016 and 9×19mm Parabellum ammo since 2019.
  • GA Guardian Ammunition – Afton, Virginia. A brand of ZQI (Zenith Quest International), the North American distributors for MKE's civilian-market ammunition. They sell 9×19mm Parabellum, 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO ball ammo.

United Kingdom

United States

  • NR on a headstamp stands for "Non-Reloadable". It indicates that the cartridge cases are made of aluminum and are unsafe to reload.
  • NT on a headstamp stands for "Non-Toxic". It indicates that the primer compound is Diazodinitrophenol (DDNP) rather than Lead styphnate.

Manufacturers

Ammunition Manufacturers' Association (Winchester Repeating Arms Company, US Cartridge Company, Union Metallic Cartridge, and Phoenix Metallic Cartridge Company) [1900-1907]. The 'Big Four' formed a group that cut out any arms companies they saw as a potential threat (like Savage and Western). They refused to make ammunition for them or even sell them the components. It fell apart in 1907 due to internal squabbling. The side-effect is that their methods forced their spurned customers to become rivals who made their own components and assembled their own cartridges. Union Metallic Cartridge got bought out by Remington Arms in 1912, US Cartridge Company was bought out by National Lead Company (who owned Winchester) in 1918, followed by Winchester being bought out by Olin Industries (who owned Western Cartridge) in 1931.

Resellers

There are companies that do not manufacture or assemble cartridges of their own but import or contract them from another manufacturer.

  • Colt Manufacturing Co. (2013–present) –
    9mm Luger
    , .40 S&W, .45 ACP, .223 Remington, .308 Winchester, and .30-06 Springfield. Headstamp has "COLT" at 12 o'clock and the caliber from 9 o'clock to 6 o'clock. Initial imports were nickel-plated steel-cased ammunition by Barnaul; they had their monogram mark on the headstamp at 3 o'clock. They were replaced by American vendors in 2014. Black Hills Ammunition makes rifle ammunition using Sierra Bullet Company bullets. GBW Cartridge of Venice, Florida makes brass-cased pistol ammunition.
  • Hanson's Cartridge Company (a division of Hansen & Hansen Arms and Antiques) (1970s–1995?) –
    Yugoslavian Civil War
    (1991–1999) they had to find new suppliers. They briefly imported ammunition from Israel before closing down in the late 1990s.
  • Herter's – Sidney, Nebraska. Cabela's reseller brand.
  • Liberty Ammunition – Bradenton, Florida. An ammunition reseller who owns the Civil Defense and Civil Trainer pistol ammunition and Animal Instinct rifle ammunition brands. They make lead-free bullets with non-toxic primers. Headstamps indicate they contract with German firms like DAG and RWS.
  • RED ARMY Red Army Standard – Delray Beach, Florida. Century International Arms' ammunition reseller brand. They contract with Russian, Ukrainian (Lugansk Cartridge Works) and Eastern European (Igman Konjic) manufacturers.
  • TulAmmo USA – Round Rock, Texas. Resells Russian ammunition from the Tula and Ulyanovsk plants.
  • White Stores Inc. (1960–1982;1982–1985) – Wichita Falls, Texas. A sporting goods (White Sportster) and auto-parts (White Auto Store) store chain that sold small-caliber ammunition and shotgun shells under their Nimrod brand. The ammunition was made and packaged by C.I.L. It was bought out by Canadian Tires in 1982, but was sold off to new investors in 1985.

Yugoslavia

  • PPU##, PP-YU Prvi Partizanki zavod ad Užice ("First Partisan" Ammunition Plant at Užice) – Užice, Yugoslavia (now Serbia). Headstamps on Communist-era commercial ammunition had the caliber at 12 o'clock and the contractor code (PPU or PP-YU) at 6 o'clock. PPU was followed by the 2-digit production year (e.g., PPU63).

See also

Military Headstamps

Military cartridge headstamps do not usually have the caliber and cartridge name on it. The headstamp may have a 2- or 3-symbol letter, number, or

alphanumeric code indicating the place of manufacture.[14]
This is usually followed by two digits indicating the last two digits of the year of manufacture; they may have additional digits or a letter indicating the month or yearly quarter of manufacture. The packaging usually has the manufacturer code, 2-digit year, and a lot number on it so bad or suspect batches can be removed.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ammunition headstamps.

References

[15]

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4665-0207-9
    .
  2. ^ a b RIVERBRAND
  3. ^ TAIPAN Bullets
  4. ^ a b Cartridge Headstamps Canada
  5. ^ IAA Forums: Gevelot made in Canada catalogue
  6. ^ LORE OF GUNS: Chinese Manufactured .30 Carbine Ammunition with LC52 headstamp by Colin Riley
  7. ^ CHINESE AMMO CANS
  8. ^ CHINESE STRIPPER CLIPS
  9. ^ IAA: Chinese 7.62 x 51 with RG 60 L2A2 headstamp?
  10. ^ penize.cz > KOPP TPZ s.r.o.
  11. ^ The Action Safety Bullet by Wiley Clapp (RSS) - January 27, 2010
  12. ^ Davis, William C. Jr. Handloading (1981) National Rifle Association p.21
  13. ^ a b c The Tell-Tale Dash: James Files and the Dented Cartridge Case by Allan Eaglesham
  14. ^ Sharpe, Philip B. Complete Guide to Handloading (1953) Funk & Wagnalls p.75
  15. ^ "index.html".
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