GunSerialsWinchester Model 1900 serial numbers — why most have none
The Winchester Model 1900 is a single-shot bolt-action boy's rifle produced from 1899 to 1902, with about 105,000 made.
- Produced:
- 1899–1902
- Action:
- bolt-action
New to gun terms? Start here
- 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.
- 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.
- Receiver:
- The main metal body just behind the barrel. 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 lower tang runs underneath, behind the trigger.
- Stock:
- The part you hold against your shoulder, usually made of wood on older Winchesters.
- Forearm or forend:
- The part under the barrel where your forward hand holds the gun.
- Action:
- The mechanism that loads and removes cartridges. Names such as lever action, pump action, and bolt action describe how it works.
- Caliber or gauge:
- The ammunition size or type a gun is designed to use. This marking is different from the model and serial number.
- Takedown:
- A version designed to separate into major sections for storage. A takedown joint is where those sections meet.
- Proof mark:
- A factory testing mark, such as Winchester's oval WP stamp. It is not a serial number or a date code.
- Peep or aperture sight:
- A rear sight with a small hole to look through. A hooded front sight has a cover around it.
Most Model 1900 guns have no serial number
Winchester never numbered the Model 1900.
These guns usually have model and ammunition markings on the barrel, and may also have patent dates. Those are different from a serial number. The model’s production ended before federal law required serial numbers on rifles and shotguns in 1968. A missing number is normal for this model; it does not by itself show whether the gun has been altered.
About 105,000 were made between 1899 and 1902.
The Model 1900 was Winchester’s first cheap .22 rifle. John Browning designed it. Winchester sold it for five dollars as a boy’s first rifle, for plinking and small game. It was also the first Winchester with a gumwood stock instead of walnut. Gumwood cost less.
It is a single-shot rifle. That means it holds one cartridge at a time and has no magazine. It is a bolt action. You lift the handle and pull it back to open the rifle and load a round. It shoots .22 Short and .22 Long, and both fit the same barrel.
It is a small rifle. The barrel is 18 inches long and round. The whole rifle is a little over 33 inches. The stock is plain gumwood with a straight grip and no buttplate on the end. The sights are simple open sights. One screw in front of the trigger guard holds the metal in the wood. Take that screw out and the barrel and action lift off the stock. Winchester called this a takedown.
Winchester replaced it with the Model 1902 in June 1902, while the last Model 1900s were still being built. The Model 1904 came later as a bigger version for adults. Here is how to tell the three apart. The 1900 has a plain trigger guard and no buttplate. The 1902 has a trigger guard that curves back under your hand, and it has a buttplate. The 1904 has a longer 21-inch barrel and a bigger stock.
A few one-of-a-kind pistols were built on the 1900, 1902, and 1904 actions between about 1900 and 1922. Some of those carried numbers. The rifles did not.
Every Model 1900 is old enough to count as a Curio and Relic under federal law, as long as it is still in its original form. None is a federal antique. That needs a gun made in 1898 or earlier, and the first Model 1900 was made in 1899.
Without a factory serial number, a serial-number search cannot identify this individual gun. The feature clues below may help narrow its age.
If your Model 1900 has a number on it
A number may be an owner’s mark, a store’s inventory number, or an importer’s mark. Some factory stamps identify an inspector or a part. On certain models, a two-digit stamp under the barrel can indicate a year. Patent dates describe patents, not when this particular gun was made. We do not have serial lookup tables for these markings.
How to date a Model 1900 without a serial number
Winchester changed the Model 1900 over its run, and the published references date some of those changes. These clues can help narrow the possible years:
- Look at the top of the barrel. The earliest rifles show only the Winchester address and patent dates, then “22 SHORT LONG”. There is no model name. Later rifles add “MODEL 1900 / 22 SHORT & LONG”. The references do not say what year that changed, so this only tells early from late.
- Look for a small oval mark with the letters WP on the barrel or receiver. That is Winchester’s proof mark. Winchester did not put it on .22 rifles until 1908, and the Model 1900 ended in 1902. A Model 1900 with a WP mark most likely went back to the factory for work, or got a new barrel, after 1908.
- The stock has no buttplate. That is how it left the factory, not a missing part.
Features suggest a range of years. Winchester sometimes used older parts after a design changed, and parts may have been replaced later.