browning22lr bar

tone59

July 06, 2011 18:56

can anyone give me the born on date of my browning 22lr semi-auto rifle?i know my dad owned it prior to 1966.it has a wheel adjustable rear sight.the only # i can find anywhere is on the butt plate 53xx without a letter prefix.

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  kimi

  July 06, 2011 19:50

  That might be difficult to answer. Homer Tyler's book on Browning .22 caliber rifles notes that there was an estimated 12000 of them made in 1956, the first year. He also states, as you might know, that those in .22 short had the letter A preceding the serial number, and that the .22 LR had the letter T prefix. Additionally he states that there was some inconsistency in that he had seen a LR serial numbered A7xxx. Given this information, you might have a 1956 production gun.
  
  Added: Tyler also makes note that the serial numbers in 1956 and 1957 had their serial numbers located "...on the buttplate, at the top, and on the front of the receiver and/or the trigger assembly, but not always in this location." The "but not always in this location" is confusing to me. Does he mean that some guns were serial numbered only on the buttplate? I simply don't know.

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