PK Series Manual (English, 2005) - Forgotten Weapons

M1908 7.62 x 54R-mm Ammunition Headstamps.
The stamped markings that appear on a cartridge case base are termed the
headstamp. The only general statement that can be made regarding cartridge
headstamps is that the range of data that they can present is extremely varied. At a
minimum, military cartridge headstamps normally identify the producer and the year of
production. Either or both of these elements may consist of an abbreviation, a letter
code, a numeric code, or an arbitrary symbol that is significant only to the producer.
The term “producer” is to be interpreted broadly; it may identify the plant that produced
the ammunition, or it may identify the country by which (or for which) the ammunition
was made, with a separate mark to identify the factory. Other markings may identify the
month, quarter, or lot number of production; cartridge caliber; cartridge case material or
case construction; or functional bullet type. Marks that appear to serve merely design
or decorative purposes, such as stars, dots, or arcs, frequently have a specific meaning
for the producer or the intended user.
The term “design element” indicates bits of information that may be found together in a
headstamp. If only one element, such as “7.62-mm” is present, this is termed a singleelement
headstamp; if two elements, such as “7.62-mm” and “3-94” are present, this is
termed a two-element headstamp, and so on.
The location of the design elements can be indicated in either of two ways, depending
on which is most convenient for the cartridge case at hand: either by its clock-face
orientation, in which 12 o’clock is at the top, 3 o’clock is to the right, and so on, or by the
angular orientation. For example, a two-element headstamp with one element at 12
o’clock and the other at 6 o’clock or on at 3 o’clock and the other at 9 o’clock would be
termed a 2 x 180 pattern; if three elements were distributed equidistantly, it would be
termed a 3 x 120 pattern (see figures 8-4 8-12).
Some headstamp designs include one or two segment lines that divide the cartridge
base into either two or four equal parts or fields in which marking may or may not
appear. Segment lines are a design feature that was relatively popular in Europe up to
the 1920s, but has since gradually gone out of use; very few producers still follow this
practice.
UNCLASSIFIED
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