What has made our pens a hit in the USA and now known around the world is our one-of-a-kind design that utilizes two rifle cartridges as the basic structure. But these just aren’t any two cartridges, no sir. The rifle cartridges we use in each and every pen have actually been fired by our own US soldiers. Dating back to almost the beginning of the 20th century, the longer of the two cartridges, officially designated the .30/06 (pronounced “thirty aught six”) was the mainstay of the US military for more than half century. The shorter cartridge used in every pen is a .308 caliber (pronounced “three “O” eight”) and was introduced during the early years of the Viet Nam conflict and is still in use on our front lines today.

    Your examination of the ends of every pen cartridge will reveal what is known as a “head stamp”, nomenclature which indicates the particular US government armory where the cartridge was manufactured. Also present is a numeral or two indicating the last number of the year it was made, for example “44” or “4” represents 1944.

    The most common armory head stamp is that from the Lake City Armory, LC. The Lake City armory is the largest small arms ammunition armory in the US and in the world. Comprised of some 458 buildings, this facility, located at Independence, MO., has long been responsible for the manufacturing of all the small arms ammo for the US military. But, as large as it is, during times of heavy demand, such as during both WWI and WWII, other government as well as commercial armories were called upon to produce .30-06 ammo as well.

     Common US Government Armory Head Stamp for .30-06 cartridges

    The word “Match” on a head stamp indicates the cartridge was made to extra stringent specifications for use by one of the military marksmanship teams and can be especially prized by cartridge collectors.

    Because .308 cartridges are a relatively young design, virtually all will exhibit the LC head stamp. Another symbol sometimes seen with .308 head stamps is a tiny circle surrounding crossed lines. This is commonly referred to as the NATO stamp meaning it was made in accordance with NATO specifications and is therefore eligible for use by that organization.

    In keeping with our desire to utilize only US made components, every ink cartridge used in every pen we make is genuine Cross®. Experience has shown that Cross® cartridges contain the finest quality ink, are the most reliable and are available at virtually every office supply store in the US.

    While our pens are purchased by a wide variety of individuals from teen shooting competitors to hunters to octogenarian military veterans to pen collectors, all are prized as collectibles due to their heritage. Knowing that each pen’s cartridges were made during one of the World Wars, Korea or Viet Nam and, as if that weren’t enough, knowing they were fired by our own military men and women guarantees each pen will be valued as a family heirloom.