Winchester Model 1906 serial numbers by year
The takedown slide-action .22 that succeeded the Model 1890, chambering .22 Short, Long and Long Rifle interchangeably from 1908 — the classic boy’s rifle.
- Produced:
- 1906–1932
- Action:
- pump-action
What year was your Model 1906 made?
Where the serial number is
On the receiver; late-production guns also carry it on the lower tang.
Why the sources give different years
Nobody kept one official list of which Winchester Model 1906 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 year-end table · CFM/Polishing Room SNA records · Winchester customer-service list (2012)
Winchester Model 1906 serial numbers by year
The full Model 1906 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. For the Model 1906 that is true of most of the run, so treat any single year as an estimate and read the notes below the tables. 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 year-end table
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1906 | through 52,278 |
| 1907 | 52,279 – 89,147 |
| 1908sources differ | 89,148 – 114,138 |
| 1909sources differ | 114,139 – 165,068 |
| 1910sources differ | 165,069 – 221,189 |
| 1911sources differ | 221,190 – 273,355 |
| 1912sources differ | 273,356 – 327,955 |
| 1913sources differ | 327,956 – 381,922 |
| 1914sources differ | 381,923 – 422,734 |
| 1915sources differ | 422,735 – 453,880 |
| 1916sources differ | 453,881 – 483,805 |
| 1917sources differ | 483,806 – 517,743 |
| 1918sources differ | 517,744 – 535,540 |
| 1919 | 535,541 – 593,917 |
| 1920–1921sources differ | 593,918 – 598,691 |
| 1922sources differ | 598,692 – 608,011 |
| 1923sources differ | 608,012 – 622,601 |
| 1924sources differ | 622,602 – 636,163 |
| 1925sources differ | 636,164 – 649,952 |
| 1926sources differ | 649,953 – 665,484 |
| 1927sources differ | 665,485 – 679,892 |
| 1928sources differ | 679,893 – 695,915 |
| 1929 | 695,916 – 711,202 |
| 1930 | 711,203 – 720,116 |
| 1931 | 720,117 – 725,978 |
| 1932approximate | 725,979 – 727,353 |
- 1920–1921: George Madis's tables give no figure for 1920, so this row covers both 1920 and 1921 and cannot be narrowed further.
- 1932: The sources give different final serials. George Madis's tables give 727,353 for the Model 1906-only timeline. The Winchester collectors' association gives 846,022 for the end of regular production in the shared range. The two figures count different things.
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 SNA records
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1906 | through 55,911 |
| 1907 | 55,912 – 96,820 |
| 1908sources differ | 96,821 – 134,258 |
| 1909sources differ | 134,259 – 187,450 |
| 1910sources differ | 187,451 – 250,850 |
| 1911sources differ | 250,851 – 304,600 |
| 1912sources differ | 304,601 – 355,400 |
| 1913sources differ | 355,401 – 422,600 |
| 1914sources differ | 422,601 – 458,300 |
| 1915sources differ | 458,301 – 497,200 |
| 1916sources differ | 497,201 – 500,700 |
| 1917 | 500,701 – 523,127 |
| 1918 | 523,128 – 538,247 |
| 1919 | 538,248 – 604,917 |
| 1920sources differ | 604,918 – 652,563 |
| 1921sources differ | 652,564 – 652,584 |
| 1922sources differ | 652,585 – 652,780 |
| 1923sources differ | 652,781 – 663,549 |
| 1924sources differ | 663,550 – 670,684 |
| 1925sources differ | 670,685 – 683,119 |
| 1926sources differ | 683,120 – 685,999 |
- 1926: The ledger has no Model 1906 entries after 1926. Its 1927 row reads "No further entries".
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 |
|---|---|
| 1906 | 1 – 52,278 |
| 1907 | 52,279 – 89,147 |
| 1908sources differ | 89,148 – 114,138 |
| 1909sources differ | 114,139 – 165,068 |
| 1910sources differ | 165,069 – 221,189 |
| 1911sources differ | 221,190 – 273,355 |
| 1912sources differ | 273,356 – 327,955 |
| 1913sources differ | 327,956 – 381,922 |
| 1914sources differ | 381,923 – 422,734 |
| 1915sources differ | 422,735 – 453,880 |
| 1916sources differ | 453,881 – 483,805 |
| 1917sources differ | 483,806 – 517,743 |
| 1918sources differ | 517,744 – 535,540 |
| 1919 | 535,541 – 593,917 |
| 1921sources differ | 593,918 – 598,691 |
| 1922sources differ | 598,692 – 608,011 |
| 1923sources differ | 608,012 – 622,601 |
| 1924sources differ | 622,602 – 636,163 |
| 1925sources differ | 636,164 – 649,952 |
| 1926sources differ | 649,953 – 665,484 |
| 1927sources differ | 665,485 – 679,892 |
| 1928sources differ | 679,893 – 695,915 |
| 1929 | 695,916 – 711,202 |
| 1930 | 711,203 – 720,116 |
| 1931 | 720,117 – 725,978 |
| 1932 | 725,979 – 727,353 |
What to know about Model 1906 serial numbers
- Serial number 113,000 or thereabouts marks the change in caliber and forearm. It is not the last serial number of a year.
- These dates record when the serial number was stamped, not necessarily when the gun was assembled or shipped.
- The column from George Madis's tables follows a Model 1906-only timeline. The 1932 figure from the Winchester collectors' association belongs to the run of numbers shared by the Model 90 and the Model 06.
- The Model 1906 ledger in the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum stops at 685,999. It has no entries after 1926.
- In March 1926 Winchester began numbering Model 06 rifles in the Model 1890/90 run of numbers, starting around 713,200. The high last serial number is not an unbroken count of Model 1906 rifles.
- The older published tables carry leftover parts assembled after regular production ended into about 1932 to 1937. No surviving Model 1906 ledger of stamping dates supports those dates.
- Letters next to a serial number are not included when the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum are searched.
- Model 1906 rifles still in their original configuration qualify as curio and relic (C&R) firearms. None of them are antiques.
- 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 notes that leftover parts were assembled over the following years, and that recorded production reached about 729,305.
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 pump & slide action
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 Model 1906 serial numbers: 1–685,999. 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 →