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Gun terms in plain English
Gun descriptions use old shop words. This page gives short meanings for the terms used on this site, with Winchester examples. Keep it open while you read a model page or an auction listing.
Markings and numbers
- Model
- The name of the gun design, such as Model 94. A model name that looks like a year does not tell you when your gun was made. Winchester sold the Model 1894 for most of a century, so a Model 94 could be from 1895 or 1975.
- Serial number
- The number stamped on an individual gun. Include letters that are part of the number. A separate letter stamped above it, like the Model 97's C, D or E, is a different marking. Why won't my serial number work? →
- Prefix and suffix
- A letter before the digits is a prefix; after them, a suffix. These letters are part of the serial number. On a later Model 70, G120000 and 120000 belong to different number series, so dropping the G points at the wrong rifle. What the letters beside a number mean →
- Caliber or gauge
- The ammunition size or type a gun is designed to use. Rifles use caliber, such as .30-30; shotguns use gauge, such as 12 gauge. This marking is different from the model and serial number.
- Proof mark
- A factory testing mark, such as Winchester's oval WP stamp. It shows the barrel passed a firing test. It is not a serial number or a date code.
Parts of the gun
- Receiver
- The main metal body just behind the barrel. The serial number is usually stamped here. The receiver ring is its front section, where the barrel joins it.
- Tang
- A strip of metal extending from the receiver into the stock. The upper tang runs along the top, behind the hammer; the lower tang runs underneath, behind the trigger. Many older Winchesters carry markings on a tang.
- Stock
- The part you hold against your shoulder, usually made of wood on older Winchesters. The plate on its end is the buttplate; a deeply curved one is called a crescent buttplate.
- Forearm or forend
- The part under the barrel where your forward hand holds the gun.
- Magazine
- The part that holds extra cartridges. On most old Winchester rifles it is a tube under the barrel. A full magazine runs the barrel's length; a half magazine stops partway and was a special order on many models. See the special-order features →
- Peep or aperture sight
- A rear sight with a small hole to look through. A hooded front sight has a cover around it. A tang sight is a peep sight mounted on the upper tang.
Kinds of guns and features
- Action
- The mechanism that loads and removes cartridges. Names such as lever action, pump action, and bolt action describe how it works. The Model 94 is a lever action; the Model 12 is a pump action; the Model 70 is a bolt action.
- Takedown
- A version designed to separate into major sections for storage. A takedown joint is where those sections meet. Winchester sold takedown versions of several models as a factory option. See the special-order features →
- Octagon barrel
- A barrel with eight flat sides instead of a round outside. Standard on some early models, and a factory option on many others.
- Pre-64
- Made before Winchester changed its production methods in 1964. Collectors pay more for pre-64 Model 70 and Model 94 guns, so the cutoff matters when dating and pricing them. Is it pre-64? →
- Reissue or reproduction
- A modern gun built to an old design. Winchester-brand reissues were made in Japan from the 1990s on, and Italian makers sell copies of old models. Their serial numbers are not in the original factory tables. Is it an original or a reissue? →
- Factory letter
- A report from the Cody Firearms Records Office giving what the surviving Winchester records say about one serial number, such as dates and original features. What is a factory letter? →