Quite a few questions arise during the identification of an unknown cartridge:

• What calibre has the cartridge?
• What is the meaning of the colour code on the bullet tip?
• What does the head stamp tell us?
• Who made it?
• When was it made?
• Where is it coming from?
• What type of ammuniton is it? ....... and more

To answer those and all the other questions usually takes time and requires detailed literature. The determination of the specific caliber is also a difficult task if the cartridge in question is not in one of the obvious calibers. Literature about the color codes is rare and spread across many books and publications. There are a multitude of headstamps that require also detailed literature and finally we need a database of ammunition and components manufacturers.

CartWinPro unites all these tasks into a single software and
researches your query in its following databases:
(number of record as of 5/2004)

Caliber database (~ 1000 records and 3.300 synonyms)

with the measurements of the cartridge by lenght and diameter,
synonym names for this calibres,
its intention,
information about the history, availability,
firearms used in this caliber

Color code database (~ 1500 record)

with information of the tip, mouth, base and
annulus colors, shapes and the meaning of them
in conjunction with the caliber.
(.50 Spotter)

Headstamp database (~ 4.400 record)

with graphical correctly displayed headstamps,
their origin, the manufacturer, the meaning
of the individual codes and a picture of the headstamp

Manufacturer database (~ 1400 record)

with the address, homepage, e-mail, phone and information
about the company, the type of manufacturer
and a picture of the companies logo

Collection database (~ 2800 record)

this database contains complete cartridges with headstamp,
color codes, manufacturer, caliber information
and additional information about the cartridge like its properties
(weights, material, color of components ….) plus pictures of the
headstamp, the complete cartridge, the packing and the label
or another interesting detail.

.

In a printed format our databases would fill a book with over 10.000 pages!

All databases can be searched on every field and information displayed. The search fields can easily be combined by the user to his specific needs.

• Searches for the physical length or a diameter will be conducted with a user defined tolerance.
• Synonym name searches for 9 mm Para, 9 x 19 or even the Swedish name 9 mm sk ptr m/39 B or even parts of it (i.e." Para") will find up 9 mm Luger.
• Colors can be searched by the specific color (defined as RAL) or by color groups (i.e. red color group).
• Text fields can be searched for contained text strings (i.e. for "Bellot" in Sellier & Bellot).
• Dimensions can be switched to mm or inches.

(example for a color code search)

Once the record has been found it needs one click to see if other records are related (i.e. see all the cartridges of the searched manufacturer or all cartridges of a selected caliber, headstamp or color code).

The answer to your question appears on the screen within the part of a second!

Source information

To give credit to sources a literature database is also included.

Books or publications from which information was retrieved are listed by title, information type and page.

As we have time related information (i.e. availability) every record has a log book to see when it was last edited.

Languages

The software is multilingual and can currently be switched to
English, French, Dutch and German.
Czech, Portuguese, Italian and Spanish are in preparation.

All five databases can be extended with own input. If desired the own cartridge collection can be entered and searched with CartWinPro as well. The input windows are very comfortable to use. The definition of a caliber, the colors of the complete cartridges or the headstamp is very easy to do.

Five different font sets are enclosed with the program so other characters and symbols can be entered

(Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, Cyrillic and symbols)

Update policy

All databases are regularly updated. Database updates are currently available every 4 weeks via www.cartwinpro.com. On request the updates are available on other storage media i.e. CD every 6 month. CartWinPro comes with a 2 year free update service on the databases and the software.

In addition we offer our forensic CartWinPro users a closed forum/ bulletin board where they can contact other forensic CartWinPro users from around the world on ammunition topic.

For more information and a detailed description of CartWinPro please see our presentation on this CD-ROM.

Impressum / Contact with Manthei Mess Systeme

Trigger Scan - CartWinPro - Universal Headspace Gauge - Chamber Cast System - Rifle and Pistol Proof Fixtures

Axel Manthei

Albrecht-Nützel-Weg 29
D-86916 Kaufering
Deutschland

Tel +49 (0)8191 66704
Fax +49 (0)8191 973326

E-Mail
info@MANTHEI-MESS-SYSTEME.COM