Winchester Model 53 serial number range — what the records say
A Model 1892 variant introduced in 1924 in .25-20, .32-20 and .44-40. Its serial numbers fall within the Model 1892 sequence, which the table reflects.
- Produced:
- 1924–1932
- Action:
- lever-action
Which years could your Model 53 be from?
Where the serial number is
Bottom front of the receiver, as on the parent Model 1892.
Where these dates come from
No year-by-year serial number table has been published for the Winchester Model 53. The references give one serial range for the whole run (Factory records (Cody Firearms Museum)), so a serial number can be placed within those years but not to a single year.
Sources for this model: CFM/Polishing Room · Madis
Winchester Model 53 serial number range
The published serial range for the Model 53. 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.
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
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1924–1927 | 1 – 10,874 |
| 1927–1932 | 962,189 – 1,007,405 |
- 1924–1927: This range belongs to the Model 53 alone. The first 10,874 Model 53s used their own serial sequence.
- 1927–1932: This range is shared with the Model 92. The final 4,244 were numbered somewhere within approximately 962,189 to 1,007,405.
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 |
|---|---|
| 1924–1932approximate | 1 – 15,118 |
- 1924–1932: George Madis's tables print an unbroken Model 53 sequence through 15,118. Numbers 10,875 to 15,118 never existed as a separate Model 53 table.
What to know about Model 53 serial numbers
- Above serial 10,874 there is no Model 53 only sequence to date or identify the gun from. You have to use the Model 92 ledger instead.
- Official production ended in 1932, but the older published yearly counts report 486 more guns over the following nine years. The year a receiver was made, the year the gun was assembled, and the year it shipped can all be different.
- 15,118 is the highest number set aside for this model. It is not a confirmed count of guns shipped.
- Winchester's published yearly production list is not a table of the last serial number of each year.
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 lever-action rifles
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 these Model 53 serial numbers: 1–10,874; later rifles numbered in the Model 92 sequence. 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 →