— GoBallistic Blog
Firearm Identification Guides
Visual identification, history, and buying guidance from the GoBallistic team. Built for collectors, enthusiasts, and anyone who's ever pointed at a gun in a movie and asked, what was that?
How to Identify a Luger P08 (Real, Reproduction, or Reworked)
The chamber code that proves real wartime production, the matching numbers that make or break its value, and how to spot the reproductions and "tourist" rebuilds that flood the market.
How to Identify a Mauser K98k (and Tell It From a Yugoslav M48)
No surplus rifle gets misidentified more often — the receiver-ring code that proves real WWII German production, and the crest that means you actually have a postwar Yugoslav M48 instead.
How to Date a Smith & Wesson Revolver (and What It's Worth)
No single serial sequence, decades of guns with names instead of numbers, and a cost-cutting change that vanished by 1982 — four checks that date almost any S&W revolver in under a minute.
The Top 5 Firearms in No Country for Old Men (2007)
From Anton Chigurh's suppressed Ithaca 37 and Steyr TMP to the captive bolt pistol that isn't a firearm at all — the weapons behind the Coen Brothers' most quietly terrifying film.
The Top 5 Firearms in Saving Private Ryan (1998)
From the MG42's buzzsaw roar on Omaha Beach to the StG 44 in the ruins of Ramelle — the rifle that fathered the AK-47 — a countdown of the weapons behind the most technically accurate war film ever made.
How to Identify Your Shotgun: Remington 870, Mossberg 500 & More
Pump, semi-auto, or grandpa's old double-barrel — how to read the gauge stamp, tell the two most common pumps apart by where the safety sits, and why an old Damascus-barrel double needs a gunsmith's eyes before anyone fires it.
Ruger 10/22: Every Variant, and Which One You Actually Have
Seven million sold and a bigger aftermarket than almost any rifle alive — the 10/22 is the gun most likely to have had every part swapped at least once. Here's how to read the one part that can't be: the receiver.
Grandpa's War Trophy: Identifying a Bring-Back Firearm
A foreign pistol in a footlocker, a rifle with characters stamped on it — "grandpa brought that home from the war." Here's how to tell a real bring-back from a later import, read the ground chrysanthemum and torch-cut barrel on a Japanese rifle, and know when not to pull the trigger.
How to Read the Markings on a Military Surplus Rifle
Two near-identical Mosins, a 10x price gap — and it's all in the stamps. Decode the arsenal crest, the year, matching serial numbers, proof marks, and the import stamp, and learn where a surplus rifle's value really hides.
How to Identify a Winchester Model 94 (and the Pre-'64 Value Cliff)
America's deer rifle — more than 7 million built — and the year 1964 can mean a 3-5x swing in what yours is worth. Decode the serial to a year, spot the pre-'64 cliff, tell top-eject from Angle Eject, and skip the commemorative hype.
Inherited a Gun From Your Dad? How to Identify It and What It's Worth
A rifle in the closet, a revolver in a drawer, and no one left to ask. A safety-first, step-by-step guide to identifying an inherited firearm — type, markings, caliber, age, condition — and finding out what it's actually worth.
M1 Garand vs. M1 Carbine: How to Tell Them Apart
Same name, same war, two completely different rifles — and the most common ID mix-up in American gun safes. The magazine, the cartridge (.30-06 vs .30 Carbine), and the weight tell you which "M1" you actually have in seconds.
How to Identify Your M1 Garand: Springfield, Winchester, H&R, and IHC
Patton called it "the greatest battle implement ever devised." Four makers built 5.4 million across two decades, and the one in your safe is probably not what the previous owner thought. Receiver heel stamp, serial-number-to-year decode, drawing numbers on the op rod and bolt, and CMP paperwork — how to tell a $1,400 mixmaster from a $4,000 Winchester.
How to Identify Your SKS: Chinese, Yugoslav, Russian Variants
Seven countries built the SKS and the difference between a $450 surplus rifle and a $2,500 collectible is in the receiver stamp, the bayonet, and the factory code. Chinese Type 56 codes, Yugoslav M59/66 grenade launcher, Russian Tula vs Izhevsk, and what yours is worth in 2026.
The Top 5 Firearms in Heat (1995)
From McCauley's Colt Model 733 in the LA bank shootout to the IMI Galil ARM in Val Kilmer's hands — a countdown of the iconic weapons that made Heat the gold standard of gun cinema, with handling so accurate it's still taught in marksmanship courses thirty years on.
The Top 5 Firearms in John Wick (Chapters 1-4)
A countdown of the franchise-defining guns — from the HK P30L that launched it all to the TTI Combat Master Glock that became the most-Googled handgun customization of the late 2010s. Plus honorable mentions and why the Wick films matter for anyone who identifies firearms.
How to Identify a Mosin-Nagant (and What It's Worth)
37 million made, half are sitting in U.S. closets — and the difference between $200 and $2,000 is in the receiver shape, arsenal stamp, and refurb marks. Plus Finnish captures and sniper variants.
How to Identify Your AR-15: Manufacturer, Variant & Era
Decoding any AR-15 from the lower receiver markings, upper type, barrel profile, handguard, and manufacturer-specific tells. Colt, Daniel Defense, BCM, Aero Precision, S&W, PSA, Sig — covered.
AK-47 vs AKM: How to Tell Them Apart
Both fire 7.62×39 and look similar at a glance. The receiver tells you everything: milled = AK-47, stamped (with rivets) = AKM. Plus muzzle, weight, and country variants compared.
Top 5 Firearms in Pulp Fiction (1994)
From Vincent and Jules's Star Model B to the infamous MAC-10 in the car — the five most iconic guns in Tarantino's masterpiece, identified, with the cultural context for each.
How to Identify Your Glock Generation (Gen 1-5)
Glocks all kind of look alike — they're not. Tell every generation apart in five seconds by checking finger grooves, backstrap, and slide markings. Plus the gen-specific parts that actually matter.
How to Identify a Colt 1911 (and Spot the Replicas)
The 1911 is one of the most-cloned handguns ever made. Here's how to tell a real Colt from a Springfield, Kimber, or surplus rebuild — using slide profile, mainspring housing, and roll marks.