GunSerialsMadis vs. factory dates · why the sources disagree
Madis vs. factory dates
Two sources can give different years for the same Winchester serial number. One may use original factory records while another uses later estimates. They may also describe different steps, such as numbering or assembly. A difference needs an explanation; it does not mean both answers are equally well supported.
What are the two sources?
The factory records. Winchester kept records as serial numbers were stamped and guns were shipped. The surviving books are held in Cody, Wyoming. Numbering records, often called Polishing Room records, track when numbers were stamped. They do not by themselves tell you when a whole gun was finished.
Madis’s tables. Historian George Madis published Winchester reference books. His tables estimate the last serial number reached each year. They were compiled years after production and sometimes differ from original factory records.
Winchester also prepared customer-service lists that combine records and estimates. Who was Madis? What does Cody hold?
Where they disagree, model by model
14 models on this site have serial numbers that Madis and the factory records put in different years. Each row is a real serial number from such a range, with the year each source gives it. For the oldest models the factory record on file is only the pre-1899 cutoff, so it says “1898 or earlier” or “1899 or later.”
| Model | Serial | Madis | Factory records |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model 12 | at94,641 | 1915 | 1914 |
| Model 43 | at3,263 | 1949–1957 | 1948 |
| Model 55 | at11,237 | 1929 | 1924–1928 |
| Model 63 | at52,755 | 1945 | 1942 |
| Model 71 | at13,837 | 1938 | 1937 |
| Model 75 | at35,462 | 1943 | 1942 |
| Model 1887 | at64,849 | 1896–1898 | 1899 |
| Model 1890 | at64,748 | 1899 | 1898 or earlier |
| Model 1892 | at14,963 | 1892 | 1893 |
| Model 1894 | at7,380 | 1894 | 1895 |
| Model 1895 | at144 | 1895 | 1896 |
| Model 1895 Lee Navy | at17,500 | 1908 | 1898 |
| Model 1897 | at395,809 | 1908 | 1907 |
| Model 1906 | at247,273 | 1911 | 1910 |
Look up your own serial on a model page and it shows every source’s answer for your number, side by side. One example per model here; a model’s page flags every range where its tables differ.
12 more models have sources that disagree, though not Madis against the factory records; most often it is Winchester’s own two lists against each other: Model 24, Model 40, Model 42, Model 50, Model 54, Model 61, Model 64, Model 1873, Model 1876, Model 1885, Model 1903, Models 1905 and 1910. Each model page shows every source’s answer.
The famous case: the Model 1894 and the pre-1899 line
US federal law treats guns made before 1899 as antiques, and the two records part ways exactly at the end of 1898. Madis ends the year at serial 147,684; the factory ledgers end it at 53,941. The tables place nearly 94,000 serial numbers on different sides of the 1899 cutoff. The Model 1894 page works through that case, and the pre-1899 cutoff page draws the line for every pre-1900 model.
For a specific gun, a factory letter from the Cody Firearms Records Office can report the dates in any surviving records for that serial number.
Which one should you use?
Start with original factory records where they survive. Use later tables as estimates, especially where records are missing. We show the available answers separately and explain their limits; averaging two dates would hide the difference.
Check the model’s notes to see what its table dates. A table based on numbering records estimates when the serial number was stamped. Shipping could happen much later. Our guide to numbering and shipping dates explains the difference.
Questions
Which is more accurate — Madis's tables or the factory records?
Original factory records usually provide stronger evidence where they survive. Madis's tables are later estimates and remain useful where records are missing. Check what each source dates: numbering, assembly, and shipping are different steps.
Why do the sources disagree by years and not just months?
Madis estimated the last serial number reached each year. Factory numbering records track that work as it happened. A mistaken year-end estimate can shift many serial numbers into the wrong year. For the Model 1894 at the end of 1898, the difference is nearly 94,000 numbers.
How do I check which year applies to my serial number?
Enter your model and serial number. The page shows the sources that cover that number and explains any different answers. If the date matters for a purchase or legal decision, ask the Cody Firearms Records Office whether records for your gun survive.