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US import marks

Export, import and country-of-origin stamps · From 1968, under the Gun Control Act; the practice long predates it.
What it looks like
A stamp, usually on the barrel or frame, naming the importer and often a city and state, sometimes with the calibre and the country of origin.
Where it is on the gun
Barrel, frame or slide, in a position that is visible without disassembly.
Date range
From 1968, under the Gun Control Act; the practice long predates it.

What it tells you

What this mark authorises you to say

The gun was imported into the United States and by whom. On a military surplus rifle this is the mark that explains an otherwise puzzling addition: import marks are a different class of marking from proof-house marks, maker’s banners and country-of-origin stamps, and confusing the four is the commonest misreading of an old rifle.

What it does not tell you

What this mark does NOT say

It says nothing about the gun’s manufacture, its proof history or its quality, and it is not a proof mark. On a collectible military rifle an import mark is also a value factor in the opposite direction from what sellers sometimes claim: it confirms the rifle came in as surplus, after which its history is documented only from the importer forward.

Sources for this page

Every claim above is attributed. The class of source is shown with each one, because a national proof house and an anonymous forum table are not the same evidence — and on proof marks the difference matters.

Related on this site

Makers whose guns carry marks like this:

Reading marks to identify and date a gun

Proof marks name the test and the era. The serial number, where a maker published a browsable chart, can name the year. The lookup cites the threshold behind every result.

Open the serial number lookup

Other export, import and country-of-origin stamps

Mark descriptions observed and verified 2026-10-14. Proof marks are stamped by hand on guns up to a century old; a photographed stamp and a description in a book are not the same evidence. If a mark on your gun does not match anything here, that is a real answer — see the notes on unidentified marks.