Winchester Model 1886 (Model 86) serial numbers by year
Browning’s lever action for heavy cartridges — the .45-70 and .50-110 among them — and the rifle that replaced the Model 1876.
- Produced:
- 1886–1935
- Action:
- lever-action
What year was your Model 86 made?
Winchester Model 86 value: what it sells for at auction
284 Winchester Model 1886s sold one gun to a lot at Rock Island Auction Company (214) and Morphy Auctions (70) between Sep 2023 and Sep 2026. The table groups them the way the auction house coded each lot: antique, curio and relic, or modern. Half of the guns in each row sold inside the “most sell between” range; a quarter sold below it and a quarter above. Eight in ten sold inside the wider “nearly all between” range.
Standard guns only. Left out: deluxe and special-order guns (checkered or fancy wood, pistol grips, odd barrel lengths, special sights), engraved, inscribed, presentation, and commemorative pieces, and lots of two or more guns. A deluxe or special-order gun sells for more than these figures, often several times more. Condition and originality drive most of the spread inside a row.
Enter your serial number above and this section picks out the row for your gun’s era and lists the most recent sales like it.
| Era | Sales | Most sell between | Typical | Nearly all between |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antiquemade before 1899 | 205 | $2,115 – $5,760 | $2,938 | $1,845 – $15,000 |
| Curio & Relicat least 50 years old at the time of sale | 79 | $1,642 – $5,338 | $2,214 | $1,292 – $11,210 |
By configuration
The same sales split by what the lot title called the gun, all eras together.
| Configuration | Sales | Most sell between | Typical | Nearly all between |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle | 268 | $1,920 – $4,994 | $2,644 | $1,528 – $11,098 |
| Carbine | 14 | $5,466 – $17,625 | $9,781 | $4,346 – $28,890 |
These are sold prices for standard guns, not an appraisal. Prices realized as published by each house after the sale; both houses' figures include the buyer's premium. A dealer buying for resale will offer less than these figures; a private sale between collectors often lands near the typical price for the gun’s condition. If your gun has factory upgrades, a factory letter that confirms them is what moves it above these numbers. Updated after each major sale. The full picture, model by model →
Where the serial number is
Lower tang (bottom of receiver, forward of trigger guard).
Why the sources give different years
Nobody kept one official list of which Winchester Model 1886 serial numbers were made in which year. The dates come from the original factory record books, now held by the Cody Firearms Museum, the tables in George Madis's Winchester books, compiled decades after the guns were made, and a list typed up by Winchester's customer-service desk, which mixes real records with estimates. For some serial numbers these sources are years apart, so this page shows what each one says instead of picking one.
Madis vs. factory dates lists every model where the sources part ways, with a real serial number from each.
Sources for this model: Madis/legacy annual table · CFM/Polishing Room antique cutoff · Winchester customer-service list (2012)
How accurate are these tables?
A factory letter from the Cody Firearms Museum gives the exact date a serial number was stamped. We collected Model 1886 letters that have been published in auction catalogs and checked each one against the tables on this page. A table is checked only against the letters whose serials it covers, so the counts differ from table to table. A table earns trust when the letters land in the year it gives:
- George Madis's published tables and Winchester's own customer-service list (2012) (they print the same year-end figures): 84 of 106 letters land in the year they assign (105 within a year).
Winchester did not always stamp serial numbers in order, so an occasional one-year miss is normal even for a table built from the original factory books. Consistent misses are not.
Winchester Model 1886 serial numbers by year
The full Model 1886 serial number chart, one table for each published source. Each row gives the serial numbers that source assigns to a year. Find the row your number falls in.
A row marked “sources differ” is a serial range that another table on this page dates to a different year. A row marked “approximate” comes from a table whose figures are estimates rather than factory records.
George Madis's published tables
From George Madis's Winchester books, a collector reference compiled decades after production. The figures are year-end estimates, not counts from the factory books.
Cited as: Madis/legacy annual table
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1886sources differ | 1 – 3,211 |
| 1887sources differ | 3,212 – 14,728 |
| 1888sources differ | 14,729 – 28,577 |
| 1889sources differ | 28,578 – 38,401 |
| 1890sources differ | 38,402 – 49,723 |
| 1891sources differ | 49,724 – 63,601 |
| 1892sources differ | 63,602 – 73,816 |
| 1893sources differ | 73,817 – 83,261 |
| 1894sources differ | 83,262 – 94,543 |
| 1895sources differ | 94,544 – 103,708 |
| 1896sources differ | 103,709 – 109,670 |
| 1897sources differ | 109,671 – 113,997 |
| 1898approximate | 113,998 – 119,192 |
| 1899approximate | 119,193 – 120,571 |
| 1900 | 120,572 – 122,834 |
| 1901 | 122,835 – 125,630 |
| 1902 | 125,631 – 128,942 |
| 1903 | 128,943 – 132,213 |
| 1904 | 132,214 – 135,524 |
| 1905 | 135,525 – 138,838 |
| 1906 | 138,839 – 142,249 |
| 1907 | 142,250 – 145,119 |
| 1908 | 145,120 – 147,322 |
| 1909 | 147,323 – 148,237 |
| 1910 | 148,238 – 150,129 |
| 1911 | 150,130 – 151,622 |
| 1912 | 151,623 – 152,943 |
| 1913 | 152,944 – 152,947 |
| 1914 | 152,948 – 153,859 |
| 1915 | 153,860 – 154,452 |
| 1916 | 154,453 – 154,979 |
| 1917 | 154,980 – 155,387 |
| 1918 | 155,388 – 156,219 |
| 1919 | 156,220 – 156,930 |
| 1920 | 156,931 – 158,716 |
| 1921 | 158,717 – 159,108 |
| 1922 | 159,109 – 159,337 |
| 1923 | 159,338 – 159,360 |
| 1924 | 159,361 – 159,408 |
| 1925 | 159,409 – 159,412 |
| 1926 | 159,413 – 159,420 |
| 1927 | 159,421 – 159,440 |
| 1928 | 159,441 |
- 1898: The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum give 118,646 as the last receiver numbered in 1898. George Madis's tables give 119,192. The 546-number gap comes from two different record systems.
- 1899: This 1898 to 1899 boundary conflicts with the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum, which give 118,646 as the last receiver numbered in 1898 rather than 119,192.
- 1923–1928: Winchester's own customer-service list agrees through 1922, but it leaves out the small entries for 1923 to 1928.
Factory records (Cody Firearms Museum)
The original Winchester factory ledgers, now held at the Cody Firearms Museum. They record the day each serial number was stamped, which is usually close to when the gun was finished.
Cited as: CFM/Polishing Room antique cutoff
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1898sources differ | through 118,646 |
- 1898: George Madis's tables give 119,192. The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum give 118,646, which is 546 serials lower.
Winchester's own customer-service list (2012)
A year-by-year list Winchester's customer-service desk typed up to answer owners' letters. Partly real records and partly estimates, as the list itself says.
Cited as: Winchester customer-service list (2012)
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1886sources differ | 1 – 3,211 |
| 1887sources differ | 3,212 – 14,728 |
| 1888sources differ | 14,729 – 28,577 |
| 1889sources differ | 28,578 – 38,401 |
| 1890sources differ | 38,402 – 49,723 |
| 1891sources differ | 49,724 – 63,601 |
| 1892sources differ | 63,602 – 73,816 |
| 1893sources differ | 73,817 – 83,261 |
| 1894sources differ | 83,262 – 94,543 |
| 1895sources differ | 94,544 – 103,708 |
| 1896sources differ | 103,709 – 109,670 |
| 1897sources differ | 109,671 – 113,997 |
| 1898 | 113,998 – 119,192 |
| 1899 | 119,193 – 120,571 |
| 1900 | 120,572 – 122,834 |
| 1901 | 122,835 – 125,630 |
| 1902 | 125,631 – 128,942 |
| 1903 | 128,943 – 132,213 |
| 1904 | 132,214 – 135,524 |
| 1905 | 135,525 – 138,838 |
| 1906 | 138,839 – 142,249 |
| 1907 | 142,250 – 145,119 |
| 1908 | 145,120 – 147,322 |
| 1909 | 147,323 – 148,237 |
| 1910 | 148,238 – 150,129 |
| 1911 | 150,130 – 151,622 |
| 1912 | 151,623 – 152,943 |
| 1913 | 152,944 – 152,947 |
| 1914 | 152,948 – 153,859 |
| 1915 | 153,860 – 154,452 |
| 1916 | 154,453 – 154,979 |
| 1917 | 154,980 – 155,387 |
| 1918 | 155,388 – 156,219 |
| 1919 | 156,220 – 156,930 |
| 1920 | 156,931 – 158,716 |
| 1921 | 158,717 – 159,108 |
| 1922 | 159,109 – 159,337 |
What to know about Model 1886 serial numbers
- For the pre-1899 antique cutoff, the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum give 118,646 as the last receiver numbered in 1898. George Madis's tables give 119,192. The 546-number gap comes from two different record systems. Federal antique status depends on the gun being made in or before 1898.
- Serial 118,646 and below are supported as pre-1899 by the original numbering records. If your serial is 118,647 to 119,192, get a factory record from the Cody Firearms Museum rather than relying on George Madis's year table alone.
- Regular numbering ended in 1932. The model was stated as discontinued in 1935, and guns stayed in inventory until 1936. Do not read those later dates as regular production continuing.
- Do not treat these two figures as the same thing. The factory records count 156,599 guns for this model, while the older published tables end at serial 159,994. Records are missing, so the two do not match.
- Winchester's own customer-service list is a retyped compilation, not the original records. The list itself says that no complete original serial record from 1866 onward is known to exist, and that some of its figures are estimates.
- Winchester's own customer-service list records no more serial numbers until the model was discontinued in 1935, at 159,994.
Related models, and why
Shared serial sequences, successors, and look-alikes — each link says why it is here, straight from the record notes.
Other Winchester lever-action rifles
Winchester rifles that never had a serial number
These have no serial number to look up. Their pages explain why, and how to date one from its features.
Want proof on paper? Order a factory letter
The Cody Firearms Museum holds Winchester’s original records and, for a fee, will search them for your serial number and send you a letter with the recorded dates and details. It is the closest thing to the original factory entry you can own, and it is what auction houses and appraisers accept.
Its records cover these Model 1886 serial numbers: 1–145,999; 150,800–156,599. A number outside that coverage cannot be lettered.
Order a factory letter from the Cody Firearms Museum →What a factory letter shows, and when one is worth ordering →