Maglite Serial Number Age

Summary: In 1990 Maglite started to modernize their lights. This marked the end of the vintage Maglite era and the lights started to look more like the ones produced today.
Since 1979 Mag Instrument has been dedicated to finding ways to cut costs through manufacturing efficiencies instead of raising prices on their lights. Throughout the 1980s Maglites remained largely unchanged except for minor cosmetic differences. That changed in 1990. By 1992 the light's design was completely overhauled into the flashlight that's currently available today. In this post I'll discuss the 1990 and 1991 model lights. Most collectors refer to these as 'transitional' models. Before I start it should be noted at all parts interchange between the 1991 and prior models even though the aesthetics changed slightly. This is not the case with 1992 and later lights where most parts will not interchange. Shown below is a 1991 Red Transitional 5D and a 1983 Black Vintage 5D. I'll discuss the differences shortly.

I've never seen a KE serial though and I'm thinking they may have skipped E so it could be 5,000,000. Interestingly enough this is on par with the Maglite D cell sales. By 1990 Maglite had sold about 7,000,000 D cell lights. Maglite would go on to sell 7,000,000 lights a year in the mid to late 90s, a huge increase in sales.
Magnalite cookware has been around since 1934. Another name for the original design is WagnerWare. It is very durable and is made so from the casting process of magnesium/aluminum alloy.
Maglite (also spelled Mag-Lite, stylized as MAG-LITE) is a brand of flashlight manufactured in the United States by Mag Instrument, Inc. Located in Ontario, California, and founded by Anthony Maglica. It was introduced in 1979. Constructed principally of anodized 6061 aluminum, they have a variable-focus beam.
Here's a simplified view of how the process works: You purchase the silencer at the gun dealer and get a serial number for it. You'll need that number when you fill out ATF Form 4, 'Application for Tax Paid Transfer and Registration of Firearm.' You'll pay the $200 tax required by the National Firearms Act, and also attach a passport photo.

With a large number of baffles, yes. There is a point of diminishing returns with 22lr on a long barrel though. There is a reason why most 22lr can on the market are 22oz or less, even made out of SS. The SS sparrow is a monocore design with clamshells and an outer tube and its still well under 10oz.

One of the changes that started in early 1990 was that the light's grip size was reduced. The grip size was reduced due to the fact that the grip near the end of the flashlight went largely unused as most users held the light near the switch or in the middle for a better balance point. The decision to reduce the grip saved on production time and tooling costs. Grip sizes were reduced according to the table below and the grip length was standardized to it's currently available length. Also shown below is a picture comparing two 3Ds. The top one is a vintage light that is an example of the 1989 and prior models and the bottom one is a 1990 that is a good example of 1990 and 1991 transitional lights. This picture show the overall reduced grip length. This change makes it very easy to spot the older lights on everyone's favorite auction site or in photos. Along with the bezel style it is a very useful tool in determining the age of a Maglite without knowing the serial number.

Maglite Serial Number Search

The bezel also changed. Like the Mini Maglites I covered earlier the bezel on the original models was stamped and the stamping was then filled in with white paint. Over time the white paint would sometimes wear away and the bezel stamping sometimes produced quality control issues. The laser etching, like the grip size change, reduced production time and although it was a large capital investment at the time the overall production cost was again reduced. Shown below is a picture of the difference between a stamped bezel on the pre 1990 models and a laser etched bezel of a 1990 light. The light on the left in both pictures is a laser etched bezel and the light on the right in both pictures is a stamped bezel. It's much easier to tell these apart in person because the laser etched bezels are smooth whereas the stamped bezels are indented and there is a groove for each letter.
In addition the switch style was also changed. Up until 1989 the switches used an aluminum retaining ring that screwed into the inside diameter of the light and held the switch in place. Starting in 1990 Mag Instrument changed this to a plastic retaining ring and it is now the only style available when ordering replacement switches for older style lights. I've detailed the benefits of this change in my post on removing stuck retaining rings. I do have a large collection of NOS (new old stock) metal retaining ring switches that I use for restorations so I can use the correct switch for the light being restored though. Shown below is a picture from that thread showing the difference between the switches. The older style switch is on the left and the newer style switch is on the right.
These 'transitional' lights kept the same barrel size and non-letter serials as the pre 1990 lights. In 1992 the Maglite was completely re-designed into the model that's available today. Details on those changes can be found here. Most collectors regard the 1991 models as the last year of vintage Maglites and some even regard 1989 as the last year. I have several 'transitional' Maglites but they are not as collectible as earlier lights. In fact most folks confuse these with the 1992+ 'Panther' Maglites because they look so similar. I enjoy these lights because they still have the larger barrel even though they may be some of the least collectible Maglites.
Colors were very limited on these lights. This was mainly due to the fact that Mag Instrument was starting to modernize their facility and starting to build new tooling and assembly lines for the switch over to the redesigned lights in 1992. I've only seen these in black, red, blue, and silver. Serial numbers are going to be around the values listed in the table below as I have examples of each D cell transitional model and they were only produced for 2 years.

It is interesting to note that these serial numbers are also the production numbers of each model D cell up until 1991. So, in around a decade 4,000,000 3D Cells were produced. This is a good example of how popular, or unpopular, certain models are. I've always been curious as to why Maglite produces a 5D seeing how close in length they are to a 6D and 4D and how unpopular they are. I posted a D Cell Quick Dating Guide that shows round about serial numbers for each model and the above table can also be used to guesstimate the age of your light. Production numbers were low in 1979 and 1980 but were pretty constant throughout the rest of the 80s. Of course, Maglite can tell you the exact date your light was manufactured if you send them an info request on their web site. It's also interesting to note that in the 90s some model Maglites sold in these numbers in a single year. For example 3Ds would easily sell 2,000,000 a year or more in the late 90s. This puts into perspective how rare the 1991 and prior lights really are.
As always I'm looking to buy Vari-Beams and Vintage/Rare Mags. Please let me know if you have any, top dollar paid.

A person tries out a Remington 1911 equipped with a silencer at Blue Ridge Arsenal in Chantilly, Va., USA on Jan. 9, 2015 Matthew Palmer/Getty Images

As decades of Hollywood action movies have taught us, a silencer slowly screwed onto the end of a pistol is shorthand for 'somebody's about to get murdered.' But as The Washington Post reported recently, the gun industry is trying to clean up the silencer's image by arguing that silencers are a health issue. Hunters can suffer noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) from repeated exposure, and none other than President Donald Trump's oldest son, Donald Trump, Jr., has joined the cause to #fightthenoise.

If you're not a gun owner, you might be surprised to learn that silencers are legal or that most people in the gun industry don't call them 'silencers.' More surprises below.

1. Silencers Don't 'Silence' Guns

Gunshots are loud because superheated gases expand rapidly and produce shockwaves as they escape the gun's chamber. Silencers contain a series of expansion chambers that cool and dissipate the gases before they leave the barrel.

A silencer is a lot like the muffler on your car (in fact, both were invented by the same guy). Screwing a silencer onto the barrel of a gun doesn't 'silence' the explosive bang, it just muffles the noise. That's why folks in the gun industry call them suppressors instead of silencers.

The decibel level of an un-suppressed 12-gauge shotgun is 160 decibels, louder than standing on the runway when a jet is taking off (150 decibels). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets 140 decibels as the threshold of pain, although it takes far less than 140 decibels to inflict long-term hearing damage with repeated exposure.

According to a fact sheet from SilencerCo, a Utah-based silencer manufacturer, a 12-gauge shotgun equipped with a silencer registers 137 decibels and a silenced .22 rifle is muffled to 116 decibels, slightly louder than an ambulance siren. Still loud, just not eardrum-busting loud.

That may explain why, contrary to popular belief, silencers are seldom used in criminal acts. One study looked at federal court cases involving silencers reported in the Lexis/Westlaw database between 1995 and 2005. Of the 153 cases reported, just two cases involved a silencer being used in a murder case, and overall, only 12 involved the use of a silencer in the commission of a crime. Gun control advocates, however, point out that silencers have been used in some high-profile crimes.

Gun silencers are used in crimes far more in Hollywood (like in this still from the TV show 'Chicago P.D.') than in real-life.

Matt Dinerstein/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

2. Silencers Are Perfectly Legal — Almost Everywhere in the U.S.

There are currently 42 states in the U.S. where it's legal to own a silencer, and 40 of these states have legalized silencers for hunting. The main states where silencers are illegal to own or use for any purpose are California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Silencers are regulated under a 1934 law called the National Firearms Act (NFA). Although many people think that silencers were banned in the 1930s to fight a rash of Mafia-style killings, The Washington Post reports that authorities were more afraid that poachers would use silencers during Depression-era food shortages to hunt out of season.

In fact, the NFA never made silencers illegal. It simply included them among other exotic firearms and accessories — machine guns, most notably — that require a special tax to purchase. If you want to buy a silencer in any of those 42 states today, you have to pay a $200 tax to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

3. Silencers Are a Pain to Purchase Legally

Maglite Serial Numbers

Even though silencers are legal in dozens of states, that doesn't mean they're easy to buy. There are thousands of gun shops nationwide selling popular brands like SilencerCo and Liberty Suppressors, but the only way you're going to walk out of the store with a new silencer is if you pass the ATF background check. And that can take up to nine months.

Here's a simplified view of how the process works: You purchase the silencer at the gun dealer and get a serial number for it. You'll need that number when you fill out ATF Form 4, 'Application for Tax Paid Transfer and Registration of Firearm.' You'll pay the $200 tax required by the National Firearms Act, and also attach a passport photo, fingerprint cards and answer a bunch of background questions — are you a fugitive of justice? are you addicted to marijuana or other controlled substance? — that could disqualify you from purchasing a silencer. After the ATF approves your application, you can collect your silencer. If you do buy online, the silencer is shipped to a dealer after you're approved. You can read more about the whole process here.

The American Suppressor Association, a silencer industry advocacy group, estimates that an ATF background check typically takes between four and nine months. This is the main obstacle to legal ownership that the silencer industry wants to see abolished.

4. A Silenced Gun May Be a Safer Gun

The gun industry is positioning silencers as a health issue. In fact, the bill that would eliminate the $200 tax and ATF background check for buying a silencer is called the Hearing Protection Act. There's no doubt that repeated short-range exposure to gun blasts will inflict lasting hearing damage. But why can't hunters and other sportsman simply wear ear plugs?

The American Suppressor Association argues that many hunters don't wear ear protection because they want to be aware of their surroundings. It's hard to hear the call of a migrating duck or the sound of a buck moving stealthily through the underbrush if you're wearing earplugs or noise-reducing earmuffs. With silencers, gun advocates argue, hunters don't have to sacrifice awareness for safety.

Another safety benefit touted by the silencer industry is accuracy. The anticipation of a loud blast causes some shooters to flinch as they pull the trigger. This may lead to inaccurate shots, which could endanger other hunters or result in an injury to the animal.

5. You Can Make Your Own Silencers

A shotgun silencer from SilencerCo retails for $1,440 and even its smallest products, like the 6.5-ounce Rimfire, sell for more than $500. For that price, you can see why some gun enthusiasts prefer to make their own silencers out of common household objects like oil filters and flashlights.

First, it should be said that the only way to legally make and use your own silencer is to fill out ATF Form 1, 'Application to Make and Register a Firearm.' Again, that comes with a $200 tax and a months-long waiting period.

The Maglite suppressor, made from the industrial-strength flashlight, is one of the most popular DIY silencers on the internet. The key to all DIY silencers is getting an adapter with the right threading to attach to the barrel and whatever you are using as a makeshift suppressor.

Another popular option is to use an oil filter or a fuel filter for a car, otherwise known as a 'Tennessee silencer.' You can find any number of detailed video tutorials online for assembling a filter-based silencer that won't cost you more than $20 in parts, plus that $200 tax, of course.

One word of warning: If you're determined to make a silencer a DIY project, be sure to stay on the right side of the law and be careful not to physically endanger yourself in the process.