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Looking for Manufacturing Dates

ricklwilson
I've got a Winchester 30-30 Model 94 with serial number 1580538 and a Marlin 30-30 Model 336 with serial number 20092356. Does anybody know where I can find out when the were made?[8D]
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • snickers
    www.armscollectors.com

    MONEY TALKS mine says good-bye
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  • Bert H.
    quote:Originally posted by snickers
    www.armscollectors.com

    MONEY TALKS mine says good-bye


    The listed dates on that website are NOT accurate for Winchester made firearms[V]. I keep saying this over, and over, and over... NONE of the published serial number to date of manufacture lists (or websites) are accurate for Winchester firearms!!! The were all based on George Madis' flawed published works[V][:(][V].

    The ONLY accurate source of information for Winchester DOMs is the Cody Firearms Museum (which has sole possession of the surviving original factory ledgers).

    The only accurate thing that can be said about Winchester Model 94 serial number 1580538, is that it most likely left the factory warehouse sometime in the 1948-1952 timeframe. Unfortunately, it is not possible to pin it down to a specific month and year.

    Bert H.

    Real Men use a WINCHESTER Single-Shot!
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  • glabray
    Hmmmmm. I'm not so sure about the dates of manufacture and other data from the Cody museum. I've had several factory letters from them that just don't make any sense. For example, a recent request for a letter on a Model 1895 came back saying the caliber was .38-55, a caliber that model was never made in. Obviously the data was recorded, or looked up, in error. Also, one needs to decide what one means by the date of manufacture. Is it the date the receiver was made, or is it the date the finished gun arrived in the warehouse. Or maybe the date the barrel was made. With early Model 1894s in .30WCF there can be quite a gap between when the receiver was made and when the gun was finished due to the problems with barrels for smokeless powder. It would seem, from a federal gun laws point of view at least, that since the "gun" is pretty much defined as the receiver, the DOM to use is when the receiver was made.
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  • 11b6r
    Bert- just curious- there is a link over on cruffler.com to dates of mfg. Also in error??[?]
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  • Bert H.
    quote:Originally posted by 11b6r
    Bert- just curious- there is a link over on cruffler.com to dates of mfg. Also in error??[?]


    Hello,

    Yes, it too is in error (it is an exact copy of the information contained in George Madis' Winchester Dates of Manufacture pocket book).

    Bert H.

    Real Men use a WINCHESTER Single-Shot!
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  • Bert H.
    quote:Originally posted by glabray
    Hmmmmm. I'm not so sure about the dates of manufacture and other data from the Cody museum. I've had several factory letters from them that just don't make any sense. For example, a recent request for a letter on a Model 1895 came back saying the caliber was .38-55, a caliber that model was never made in. Obviously the data was recorded, or looked up, in error. Also, one needs to decide what one means by the date of manufacture. Is it the date the receiver was made, or is it the date the finished gun arrived in the warehouse. Or maybe the date the barrel was made. With early Model 1894s in .30WCF there can be quite a gap between when the receiver was made and when the gun was finished due to the problems with barrels for smokeless powder. It would seem, from a federal gun laws point of view at least, that since the "gun" is pretty much defined as the receiver, the DOM to use is when the receiver was made.


    Hello,

    I have NO such doubts what-so-ever. As a long time member of the Cody Firearms Museum, I have obtained factory letters or yellow sheets, or now, the new style Faxed information sheet on over 4,000 Winchester serial numbers, and I have never run into the problem you describe. However, being that it is a human being looking up the information, I am sure that occasionally an error is made when researching the ledgers.

    That said, Cody has the only surviving original factory ledgers, and the information contained therein is indisputable. I am curious to know who specifically signed your Cody Factory letter on the Model 1895? If it were me, I would contact them and have it double checked (they will do that free of charge if a mistake was made). I suspect that they accidently looked up the Model 1894 with the same serial number as your 1895.

    Concerning "when" a specific Winchester was "officially" manufactured, it is always the date that the finished gun was received in the warehouse, and that is what the BATF uses. Winchester never did record the date when a specific receiver was made. On many of the models, the receiver itself is not serialized. The DOM has nothing to do with when the barrel was made either. Very very few of the Winchester barrels have a date code on them.

    As for some of your factory letters not making sense, that is to be expected when you compare the information on the letter to a written reference like those George Madis wrote. If you would like to expound further on those oddities the do not make sense, please post them here... I am sure that I can provide you with an accurate reason for the oddity.

    Bert H.

    Real Men use a WINCHESTER Single-Shot!
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  • Cornflk1
    Sorry can't help with your question, but am not sure I would post complete serial numbers on the web for my fire-arms. Can never too careful, but that's just me.
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  • Bert H.
    quote:Originally posted by Cornflk1
    Sorry can't help with your question, but am not sure I would post complete serial numbers on the web for my fire-arms. Can never too careful, but that's just me.


    You are displaying both ignorance and paranoia with that statement![V] There is absolutley nothing wrong with posting the complete serial number for an old Winchester, Colt, Remington, etc... unless it is stolen. In that case, you shouldn't have it anyway! Give me one credible reason not to post a serial number.

    Bert H.

    Real Men use a WINCHESTER Single-Shot!
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  • He Dog
    Cornflake, what could anyone one possible do with a serial number that could be a detriment to you, if you legally own the firearm? At very worst someone could add the serial number/DOM to a data base making for more complete records. How could that hurt you? I am with Bert on this, it is silly to think serial numbers must be kept secret if the firearm is legally acquired.
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  • snickers
    Bert and He Dog could not be more correct on this serial number issue. You are not the first and I am sure not the last but unless "YOU" obtained this gun under questionable circumstances what can possibly be the reason to hide a serial #?

    MONEY TALKS mine says good-bye
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