Why do gun companies do this?

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It is possible that the app to read it is ffl and or manufacturer dependent. We may not have access to the encryption to read it.
 
skeeterfogger said:
It is possible that the app to read it is ffl and or manufacturer dependent. We may not have access to the encryption to read it.
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Yeah this thread has me curious though... While I do own a gun with a QR code on it (M45A1) I am 9000 miles away from that gun for the next few weeks so cannot test if my phone would read it or not.
 
I wonder if there are any issues involved if someone were to just polish it out?

Bad juju if you remove the serial number but the QR code?
 
With this silly branding, I think Colt just created two general categories for their pistols: it's a COLT CLASSIC ...or one of those that came after.
 
BSA1 said:
What app do I need to be able to scan and read the code?
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The last new phone I used was an iPhone XR and it could recognise QR codes automatically via the camera.
My old Samsung S4 Android does not but I just downloaded a free QR reader which works fine.

I don't have access to a gun with a QR code but there is potential to link any web-based info to a QR code. If I was the manufacturer that code would link straight to a page specific to that model gun and have easy links or buttons for:

1) Safety and recall info
2) Owner's manual
3) Upgrades and accessories
4) Retail contacts
5) External reviews and galleries
 
Damn!

If Ruger's commandments are known as *billboards* (and, rightly so) I call this nonsense *the mark of the beast* regardless the real-world inventory simplification it may actually represent.

Todd.
 
I have one of the first ones that came out. Never having noticed this, um, "feature", I just went to look. Sure enough, there it was. Maybe I should chalk up not noticing to my sadly failing eyesight. Being that I bought it for functionality and unlike the S&W lock there is no chance of this impeding that, I'm not really bothered by it. But I can see how a collector might be.
 
Odd Job said:
I like it and see why they do it. If you see a gun at the range you like, you can just do a quick scan of the QR code and get the info. Nice for the manufacturer and potential buyer.
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Scanning that particular code with your phone wouldn't do anything. It's missing the 3 solid black locating squares that QR codes have.
upload_2020-1-24_12-19-54.png

The information contained in Colt's code, called a Data Matrix or 2D barcode, is known only to Colt and is only readable with their scanners hooked up to their internal database.
 
Old Shooter said:
I wonder if there are any issues involved if someone were to just polish it out?

Bad juju if you remove the serial number but the QR code?
Click to expand...
If the pertinent info is included in it it would seem removing it will be tampering. At very least voided warranty.
 
DM~ said:
Perhaps the REAL question is, why do you think, EVERYONE thinks it's ugly???

Perhaps, some don't mind it at all, or even like it, so it's left there for the "average" person who doesn't mine it...
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I think we all have our own ideas of what looks visually appealing and what doesn't. My neighbor rides motorcycle and has a Harley. We spent hours a few summers back putting all sorts of LED accent lighting on his bike. Once done it did come out pretty nice and he was like OK, let's order another kit and do your bike. Nope, not going to happen. While nice on his bike simply not my taste on my bike.Our individual taste extends to things like motorcycles, trucks and of course our guns. Heck, I never cared for the composition Ruger places on their guns and while it won't stop me from owning a fine Ruger revolver I find all that print distracting. So I just see it as a matter of personal taste.

Ron
 
The information contained in Colt's code, called a Data Matrix or 2D barcode, is known only to Colt and is only readable with their scanners hooked up to their internal database.
Click to expand...

Ah, so it isn't a QR code at all?
 
I see something like that on the side of my S&W M&P's. It's fairly discreet and easy for me to ignore. I can see where it could be an eyesore on a nice stainless finished revolver.
 
Reloadron said:
I think we all have our own ideas of what looks visually appealing and what doesn't. My neighbor rides motorcycle and has a Harley. We spent hours a few summers back putting all sorts of LED accent lighting on his bike. Once done it did come out pretty nice and he was like OK, let's order another kit and do your bike. Nope, not going to happen. While nice on his bike simply not my taste on my bike.Our individual taste extends to things like motorcycles, trucks and of course our guns. Heck, I never cared for the composition Ruger places on their guns and while it won't stop me from owning a fine Ruger revolver I find all that print distracting. So I just see it as a matter of personal taste.

Ron
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While I agree on your taste with LED lights. I don't notice the writing on the barrel while aiming, so I couldn't care less.
Same goes for the QR code. It's kind of like the hunting scenes engraved into shotguns.
 
I hear you. It’s also irritating when you buy a surplus gun and the importer plasters information on the side of the slide or frame instead of an inconspicuous location (front of pistol grip, under the barrel, etc.
 
Has anyone scanned a QR code on a firearm to see what information it pulls up? QR readers are pretty common on app stores for cell phones.
 
On the Colt, it's just a 2D barcode. A QR code is a specific type of 2D barcode that is usually encoded with an Internet URL, a website, where additional information is published. 2D barcodes can be used to make all kinds of markings that are machine-readable. The type of 2D code Colt is using here is called "Data Matrix." The data on the barcode is doubtfully "encrypted" in a way that it's not readable by standard protocols, but it is more likely a SKU and serial number.

LMT puts Rubee tags on their firearms. This is another type of machine-readable device, similar to RFID but using long-wave magnetic signals instead of shorter-wave radio signals that are more easily blocked in a machine and metal-intensive environment.

As far as aesthetics are concerned, I greatly prefer austerity and minimal or no markings on my classicly styled and elegant-design firearms. On a polymer pistol, I don't really care. Even though I don't especially appreciate most decorative engraving, if it is the kind of gun that is suitable for such decoration, I really don't appreciate names, logos, warning labels, barcodes, and other junk. If it's a beautiful single-action revolver, a falling-block single-shot, a double-rifle, an elegantly-styled over-under, then I think tacky barcodes, warning labels, big company logos, and model names are out of place.

That barcode on the Colt, however, looks like it would be easily buffed off. It's much less grievous than a deep roll stamping.
 
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