Winchester Model 20 serial numbers by year
A single-shot, break-action .410 bore shotgun made from 1919 to 1924, with parts cleanup continuing to 1927.
- Produced:
- 1919–1924 (parts cleanup to 1927)
- Action:
- single-shot
What year was your Model 20 made?
Where these dates come from
Winchester's original factory records do not cover every model. For the Model 20, the dates come from one published source, George Madis's published tables. It was typed up long after production, so treat any year as a close estimate rather than a factory record.
Source for this model: Madis published partial table
Winchester Model 20 serial numbers by year
The full Model 20 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.
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 published partial table
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1919 | 1 – 2,796 |
| 1920 | 2,797 – 4,873 |
| 1921 | 4,874 – 6,896 |
| 1922 | 6,897 – 8,903 |
| 1923 | 8,904 – 11,190 |
| 1925 | 11,191 – 11,248 |
| 1926 | 11,249 – 11,252 |
| 1927 | 11,253 – 11,257 |
- 1923: The table lists no start serial and no number made for 1924.
- 1927: The published table ends at 11,257. About 23,616 Model 20s were made, so roughly half of production has no published dating.
What to know about Model 20 serial numbers
- The partial serial number table covers only about half of reported production. Do not treat 11,257 as the last Model 20 serial number.
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 20
The Cody Firearms Museum, which holds Winchester’s surviving factory records and issues factory letters, does not list the Model 20 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 →