Firearms and ammunition

Firearms were and are part of our society. A person uses them for self-defense, hunting and for entertainment, but they can also be extremely dangerous even for their user. This is why every handgun on the market should be approved.

This is the task of the Czech Proof House for Firearms and Ammunition in Prague. Within the framework of services for producers and consumers of firearms the Proof House approves all new and used firearms. The verification takes place on the request of the submitter. The receiver controls the personal data of the submitter and the firearm data and makes the preliminary check. The test technician starts the approval with a control of the firearm before test firing takes place. Part of this task is the detailed disassembly of the firearm and measurement of dimensions important in terms of safety. The information obtained by the technician is added to the test report. After the control and measurement the firearm is subjected to firing with test ammunition. The re-measuring of important components follows. If no changes in the characteristics influencing the safety are registered, then it is marked with an official proof mark, which is recorded in the test report, that is finally drawn up and given to the owner.

It happens however, that some older and used firearms do not withstand the loading and the arm is destroyed. This precedes injury of the firearm’s owner. The Czech Proof House is also concerned with the individual approval of historical pieces.

Branch laboratories of the Proof House have been established directly at the plants of significant Czech producers of firearms. New manufactured firearms must be tested before they are dispatched to the domestic and international markets. Part of the test is thorough control and measurement of important dimension in terms of the safety of the firearm including the verification of individual mechanism’s functions. The test technician loads the firearm with test ammunition and attaches it to a device used for the firing of a larger amount of pieces of the same type. He fires the individual test cartridges than. After the control of the removable parts a control of important dimensions in terms of safety follows, then a full check of the firearm and then a marking by an official proof mark.

The Czech Proof House also performs firearm homologation. On the basis of a request the submitter receives the conditions of homologation and after the tests and approval the Proof House provides a test report. The Proof House issues a certificate on the homologation which entitles the submitter to mark the firearm with a number and proof mark of homologation.

The Czech Proof House in Prague approves also ammunition. To ensure the client’s safety type control of his ammunition is carried out directly at the plant. The control begins with the random selection of samples in the product line, than the verification of data on the packaging follows. A necessary part of this process is the control of the design, caliber and manufacturer markings on the bottom of each cartridge and then further verification of the dimensions using special instruments. One of the tests for the legalization of ammunition is also a measuring of the powder gas pressure using the electro-mechanical sensor method. The evaluation results are then presented in the test report.