Winchester Model 490 serial numbers — what the records say

What to know about Model 490 serial numbers

• Watch the prefix. J is reported as the Model 490 prefix. Very early numbers may have five or six digits after the prefix. Numbers said to be JX1 and JX2 prototypes do not tell you where the production numbering began.
• Watch out for the recall mark. The asterisk applied during the 1976 recall campaign is not a reliable year code, and it does not give a firm serial number cutoff between before and after the recall.

Other Winchester semi-automatic rifles

• Model 771955–1963
• Model 1001961–1973
• Model 1901967–1980
• Model 2901963–1976
• Model 19071907–1957
• Models 1905 and 19101905–1936

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.

• Model 471949–1954
• Model 581928–1934
• Model 601930–1939
• Model 60A1932–1939
• Model 671934–1963
• Model 681934–1945
• Model 691935–1963
• Model 72A1949–1959
• Model 19001899–1902
• Model 19021902–1931
• Model 19041904–1931
• Thumb Trigger1904–1923