Witness mark on my DWM 1917

sheepherder · 11-08-2009, 09:03 AM

What opinions are you looking for??? Why the barrel mark is deeper than the receiver mark??? That it "protrudes" into the receiver??? That the receiver marks don't quite line up???

I have read the many discussions on witness marks here, and the best I can deduce from the many other opinions is that the "witness mark" is a helpful aid to aligning the barrel to the receiver but is not a definitive alignment mark. For me, when I'm rebarreling a Luger, or Mauser, or Lahti, it serves as a means of incrementally tuning the horizontal strike of the bullet...without moving the front sight...(center the front sight, twitch the barrel to center the bullet strike, then move the front sight to correct individual users shooting habits)...

Whether the armorers/manufacturers of the pistol intended it for that use is open to conjecture...

It could just be a quick & dirty way to get a 90º placement of the front sight to the receiver...

For me, I don't buy the theory that it was intended to re-align the barrel if it was ever removed...Simply because I can not imagine a reason to re-attach a barrel after it is removed...There is no maintenance that would require removal...so why remove it in the first place??? Only reason to remove a barrel is to replace it...with another one...with another witness mark...

11-08-2009, 09:03 AM	#5
sheepherder Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: ...on the 'ol Erie Canal... Posts: 8,197 Thanks: 1,416 Thanked 4,462 Times in 2,336 Posts	What opinions are you looking for??? Why the barrel mark is deeper than the receiver mark??? That it "protrudes" into the receiver??? That the receiver marks don't quite line up??? I have read the many discussions on witness marks here, and the best I can deduce from the many other opinions is that the "witness mark" is a helpful aid to aligning the barrel to the receiver but is not a definitive alignment mark. For me, when I'm rebarreling a Luger, or Mauser, or Lahti, it serves as a means of incrementally tuning the horizontal strike of the bullet...without moving the front sight...(center the front sight, twitch the barrel to center the bullet strike, then move the front sight to correct individual users shooting habits)... Whether the armorers/manufacturers of the pistol intended it for that use is open to conjecture... It could just be a quick & dirty way to get a 90º placement of the front sight to the receiver... For me, I don't buy the theory that it was intended to re-align the barrel if it was ever removed...Simply because I can not imagine a reason to re-attach a barrel after it is removed...There is no maintenance that would require removal...so why remove it in the first place??? Only reason to remove a barrel is to replace it...with another one...with another witness mark...