According to Gortz and Bryans, German Small Arms Markings. as earlier noted by Dwight Gruber, king of the witness marks, the witness mark is chisel mark applied after proof firing and sighting in. It would seem to serve to verify barrel alignment in case of barrel removal or a sudden loss in accuracy or whatever. A similar mark is used on muzzle loading rifles to insure alignment after breech removal. That mark is also applied with a chisel after breech instalation.
We should be very careful about theories on how a Luger is assembled in the absence of verified instructions or data.
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