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The 'Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives' (Permanent International Commission for portable firearms testing) (commonly abbreviated as C.I.P. or CIP) is an European ammunition standards organisation.
CIP safeguards that every civil firearm with a CIP registered chambering (generally these are all non-wildcat chamberings) gets professionally proofed at CIP certified test facilities before it can be sold to consumers in a CIP regulated country. The standard proof test consist of firing an overload cartridge that produces 25% more chamber pressure then the pending CIP specified maximum chamber gas pressure limit for that particular cartridge. Before the year 2006 the standard test consisted of firing an overload cartridge that produced 30% more chamber pressure then the pending CIP specified maximum chamber gas pressure limit for that particular cartridge. Voluntarily testing beyond the currently (2007) legally required 125% standard test benchmark is often also possible for consumers who intend the use their firearms under extreme conditions (hot climates, long strings of shots, etc.). A pass mark is stamped in every successfully tested firearm.
CIP also publishes various industry standards such as ammunition and chamber dimension specifications and maximum allowed chamber pressures that have undisputable legal status in CIP member states.

Contents

Member states

Precepts and aims

Proof Houses of the member states are obliged to perform the tests of firearms and relevant ammunition in accordance with decisions taken by CIP. These decisions apply equally to highly-stressed firearm parts. Proof-Test marks may only be applied when the firearm or the highly stressed parts of it have been tested in accordance with the specified requirements and have satisfactorily passed the test.

The test includes: ★ A check before firing; ★ Proof firing; ★ Inspection after proof firing. The check before firing includes, as well as safety aspects, verification of the following identification marks: ★ Manufacturer’s name, trading name or registered trademark of the manufacturer, or some other mark enabling the firearm to be identified; ★ Firearm serial number; ★ Calibre.

The following details are recorded after completion of the tests: ★ Test number and date; ★ Nature of the test firing; ★ Identifying features of the firearm’s manufacture and or the person requesting the test; ★ Firearm identification details; ★ In the event of rejection, the reason for it, and nature of the fault. The proof-test marks which are to be reciprocally accepted by the various countries.

The commission has its seat at, rue Fond-des-Tawes 45, 4000 Liège, Belgium. Present (2007) director: Mario Centi, Directeur du Bureau Permanent

References

External links

Member states

The current (2007) CIP member states are:

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Precepts and aims

The CIP Convention has the following major precepts:

★ There is reciprocal acceptance of each country’s proof-test marks, certifying the identity of the firearms and the satisfactory performance of the tests performed in accordance with the pre-set regulations;

★ Tests are standardised to guarantee safety and their application methods;

★ At least one state-controlled national Proof House exists in each country;

★ Every member country enacts a law which makes it compulsory to perform the tests according to the methods, limits and procedures established by the Convention.
The main aims of the CIP are as follows:

★ To select test pressure barrels to measure firing pressure and define the measurement procedures for use by official Proof Houses to determine pressure generated by test cartridges and the commercial cartridges fired by hunting, sport and defensive firearms and in machine tools;

★ To establish the kinds of procedures to be followed in the official tests used for firearms and machine tools to guarantee every degree of safety;

★ To adopt the most modern measuring techniques for the arms and ammunition testing procedures;

★ To encourage standardisation of chamber and cartridge dimensions, testing methods and ammunition testing procedures;

★ To examine laws and regulations issued by member states regarding official tests for firearms and ammunition;

★ To declare which countries act in accordance with standard tests and publish a schedule of the proof-test marks applied by the official testing centres of these countries;

★ In accordance with the above, to retract declarations when necessary, and modify the schedule when conditions are no longer valid.
==Proof testing==
Proof Houses of the member states are obliged to perform the tests of firearms and relevant ammunition in accordance with decisions taken by CIP. These decisions apply equally to highly-stressed firearm parts.
Proof-Test marks may only be applied when the firearm or the highly stressed parts of it have been tested in accordance with the specified requirements and have satisfactorily passed the test.

Test

The test includes:

★ A check before firing;

★ Proof firing;

★ Inspection after proof firing.
The check before firing includes, as well as safety aspects, verification of the following identification marks:

★ Manufacturer’s name, trading name or registered trademark of the manufacturer, or some other mark enabling the firearm to be identified;

★ Firearm serial number;

★ Calibre.

Marking and record keeping

The following details are recorded after completion of the tests:

★ Test number and date;

★ Nature of the test firing;

★ Identifying features of the firearm’s manufacture and or the person requesting the test;

★ Firearm identification details;

★ In the event of rejection, the reason for it, and nature of the fault.
The proof-test marks which are to be reciprocally accepted by the various countries.

Seat

The commission has its seat at, rue Fond-des-Tawes 45, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
Present (2007) director: Mario Centi, Directeur du Bureau Permanent

Conflicting industry standards

The American equivalent of CIP is the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (commonly abbreviated as SAAMI).
Despite working together, the two main industry standards organizations SAAMI and CIP have assigned different standards for some cartridges. This leads to officially sanctioned conflicting differences between European and American ammunition and chamber dimensions and maximum allowed chamber pressures.
Some cartridges with possible chamber and ammunition dimensional conflicts, similar to the ''unsafe combinations'' ^[1], are listed in the Delta L problem article.

References

1. Unsafe Arms and Ammunition Combinations at SAAMI web site

External links

★ C.I.P. Homepage

★ C.I.P. - Permanent International Commission for Firearms Testing