Winchester 1200 serial number date? |Winchester Shotguns|Forum|Winchester Collector

Hello Mark,

Production of the Model 1200 began in the year 1964, starting with serial number 100000.  It is not documented how many were produced per year, and there are no known serialization tables for the early production years (1964 – 1971).  Serial number L739716 is listed as the last serial number manufactured in the year 1972.  That indicates that Winchester had manufactured 639,716 Model 1200 shotguns in the first 9-years of production (approximately 71,000 per year).  If we assume a relatively linear production rate, that would indicate that your gun with serial number 398083 was manufactured early in the year 1968.  In November of 1968, the Gun Control Act (GCA) of 1968 was enacted into law, and as a result of that law, Winchester added the “L” prefix to the Model 1200 serial numbers.  Your Model 1200 was manufactured before Winchester made that required change.

Bert