Winchester Model 1911 SL serial numbers by year
The Model 1911 SL (“Self-Loading”) was Winchester’s first semi-automatic shotgun, regularly produced from 1911 until 1925, with parts-cleanup assembly continuing through 1928.
- Produced:
- 1911–1925 (parts cleanup to 1928)
- Action:
- semi-automatic
What year was your Model 1911 SL made?
Where these dates come from
Winchester's original factory records do not cover every model. For the Model 1911 SL, the dates come from one published source, Winchester's own customer-service list. It was typed up long after production, so treat any year as a close estimate rather than a factory record.
Sources for this model: Published factory/customer-service table · Madis
Winchester Model 1911 SL serial numbers by year
The full Model 1911 SL 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.
The tables agree with each other for every serial range. A row marked “approximate” comes from a table whose figures are estimates rather than factory records.
Winchester's own customer-service list
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: Published factory/customer-service table
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1911 | 1 – 3,819 |
| 1912 | 3,820 – 27,659 |
| 1913 | 27,660 – 36,677 |
| 1914 | 36,678 – 40,105 |
| 1915 | 40,106 – 43,284 |
| 1916 | 43,285 – 45,391 |
| 1917 | 45,392 – 49,893 |
| 1918 | 49,894 – 52,895 |
| 1919 | 52,896 – 57,337 |
| 1920 | 57,338 – 60,719 |
| 1921 | 60,720 – 64,109 |
| 1922 | 64,110 – 69,132 |
| 1923 | 69,133 – 73,186 |
| 1924 | 73,187 – 76,199 |
| 1925 | 76,200 – 78,611 |
| 1926–1928 | 78,612 – 82,774 |
- 1911: The last serial number for this year is approximate. Numbering began at 1.
- 1912–1924: The last serial number for this year is approximate.
- 1925: The last serial number for this year is approximate. Regular production ended in 1925.
- 1926–1928: These are leftover parts assembled from 1926 to 1928 after regular production ended. The final total is about 82,774. The source does not break this span into single years, so you cannot narrow the date past 1926–1928.
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
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1928approximate | from 103,213 |
- 1928: George Madis's tables extend the serial number table to 103,213 at the start of 1928 and say many numbers were skipped after about 82,774. The Winchester collectors' association reports 82,774 with no skipped numbers, which directly contradicts Madis.
What to know about Model 1911 SL serial numbers
- "Discontinued in 1925" does not mean every gun was assembled by 1925. Leftover parts were assembled through 1928.
- The first finished guns reached warehouse stock on October 7, 1911. That is a warehouse date, not necessarily the date the serial number was stamped on the receiver.
- George Madis's tables say many numbers were skipped after about 82,774. The Winchester collectors' association reports 82,774 with no skipped numbers, which directly contradicts Madis.
- No Model 1911 factory ledger survives, so every date worked out from a serial number is approximate.
Other Winchester shotguns
Winchester shotguns 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.
No factory letter is available for the Model 1911 SL
The Cody Firearms Museum, which holds Winchester’s surviving factory records and issues factory letters, does not list the Model 1911 SL among the models it can search. The published tables on this page are the best evidence available for dating one.
Which Winchester models can be lettered, and what a letter shows →