What do these SIG products have in common?

As it turns out, not a lot...

This is a blog series that compares and contrasts two or more similar parts or accessories on commonly encountered weapon systems to highlight the nuances of various products you may encounter and raise your awareness to their respective pros and cons.

In this series you may find comparisons to original factory parts versus their license-built counterparts, competing items from two manufacturers that aim to solve the same problems, and more.

Today, we are going to launch this series by briefly examining what truly sets apart a few seemingly identical looking bolt heads made for the HK MP5.

One of the changes implemented immediately after the new federal law was enacted was a high-capacity magazine ban. Essentially, a restriction on the creation and circulation of new magazines that contained more than 10 rounds for American civilians went into effect. As a result, many companies began to add new markings on their magazines to make distinctions on which people, or what organizations, were supposed to be allowed to access them. HK was one of these companies and their approach to these new federal restrictions can be seen today with the “Restricted Law Enforcement / Government Use Only 10-94” marking on many of their magazines.

One of the top reasons we love collecting HK firearms so much is the uniquely Teutonic attention to detail that HK inserts into virtually all aspects of their products. Their special attention to detail is exemplified through the diverse array of markings that they add to their parts to denote things such as the parts' unique traits or the date and location of their manufacture.

Unfortunately, HK doesn’t provide the public with a decoder ring for clarifying the meanings behind all of their markings, so we’re now beginning an ongoing series on the GSC blog titled “Name That Marking” to help you identify the history of the parts on your favorite guns (or your future favorite guns).

We will launch this series by exploring HK’s “178” barrels...

Here at Gatewood Supply Company we realize how important it is to be actively engaged with our customers and the firearm enthusiast community at large. Therefore, we have decided to launch a blog on our site so we can start highlighting and discussing the things that not only interest us but also interest those who have helped to make us a strong and successful company.