Log In
February 1, 2013
Offline
Did the 1885 ever come without a serial number?
April 15, 2005
Online
No, they did not. Serial numbers ran from 1 to 140000.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
May 23, 2009
Offline
*Yes.
*Asterisk being for it depends highly on the situation. At this point I imagine it has been well documented that for all the models that have removable lower tangs. That the factory did repair guns with replacement lower tangs that were unmarked. In other very rare instances a gun may have been purposely made without a serial, in example usually a factory experimental rifle or test fire gun.
Most likely though, depending on condition the serial number has worn off from use. Been buffed off during a refinish or some other plausible reason for it to not have a serial number.
Sincerely,
Maverick
WACA #8783 - Checkout my Reloading Tool Survey!
https://winchestercollector.org/forum/winchester-research-surveys/winchester-reloading-tool-survey/
February 1, 2013
Offline
Maverick, how do you know if the lower tang has been replaced by the factory?
April 15, 2005
Online
pine_worker said
Maverick, how do you know if the lower tang has been replaced by the factory?
If the factory replaced the lower tang (super rare) they replaced it with another serialized piece. Blank lower tangs were sold as mail order parts, typically to convert from a plain trigger to a set trigger.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
