The 73 ledgers shows September of 1873 as the month of a the first gun entered into the warehouse.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
Bert H. said
Model 1886 = May 1886
Model 1892 = April 1892
Model 1894 = September 1894
Model 1895 = November 1895
Bert
Bert,
When establishing these dates, are they the polishing room stamping dates or are some warehouse receiving dates ?
Also, do you have the Henry & 1866 ?
Bill
Bert H. said
Factory records show that it was May 1886.
Bert
I stand corrected. Maybe they were not shipped until September or October, although this would be rather strange. I know of a 2 digit 1886 that wasn’t shipped until October of 1886. This obviously doesn’t mean that others, even with a much higher serial number, were not shipped earlier.
November 7, 2015
Blueliner said
Great factoid !! Thanks.
Bill
Bert’s being modest. Up until several years ago George Madis’ production dates were accepted as gospel for Winchester build dates. Problem is we don’t know where George got his data. Several years ago Bert et al discovered what are now known as the polishing room books. As I understand it the polishing room is where the serial number is applied to the receiver. Life (for a firearm) begins when a serial number is applied to the receiver.
The collector community (for the most part ) and BATFE have come around to the PRB way of thinking and it is now the accepted production date for most Winchesters.
TXGunNut said
Life (for a firearm) begins when a serial number is applied to the receiver.
I always get a great chuckle at such statements. I suppose all those firearms out there that don’t have serial numbers are lifeless dead things that never found a beginning. I truly wonder how many millions of firearms made without serial numbers magically evaporated after the 64 gun act just because the government said a firearm isn’t a firearm until it has a serial number.
It would be like someone telling my grandfather he was never born because he didn’t have a birth certificate. There is at least some 77,000 Model 99 Thumb Trigger model rifles, some 600,000 Model 1902s, some 100,000 Model 60 & 60-As, some 300,000 Model 69s, some 100,000 Model 72s, AND some 300,000 Model 1904s that weren’t serialized by the Winchester Factory.
Sincerely,
Maverick
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