Winchester Model 56 serial numbers by year
The Winchester Model 56 is a bolt-action .22 caliber sporting rifle introduced in 1926 and discontinued in 1929 according to Gun Digest; the Madis/ProofHouse table allocates parts-cleanup assembly to 1930 (1,817 rifles) and 1931 (18 rifles).
- Produced:
- 1926–1929 (parts cleanup 1930–1931)
- Action:
- bolt-action
What year was your Model 56 made?
Where the serial number is
On the receiver.
Where these dates come from
Winchester's original factory records do not cover every model. For the Model 56, 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: Published Madis shared-series accounting
Winchester Model 56 serial numbers by year
The full Model 56 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 “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: Published Madis shared-series accounting
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1926approximate | 1 – 3,193 |
| 1927approximate | 3,194 – 9,001 |
| 1928approximate | 9,002 – 13,739 |
| 1929approximate | 13,740 – 17,065 |
| 1930approximate | 17,066 – 21,468 |
| 1931approximate | 21,469 – 24,299 |
| 1932approximate | 24,300 – 25,435 |
| 1933approximate | 25,436 – 25,828 |
| 1934approximate | 25,829 – 26,489 |
| 1935approximate | 26,490 – 26,830 |
| 1936approximate | 26,831 – 27,401 |
| 1937approximate | 27,402 – 27,439 |
| 1938approximate | 27,440 – 27,878 |
- 1926–1928, 1930–1931: The totals and the year-by-year dating for the shared sequence come from the published tables of George Madis.
- 1929: The totals and the year-by-year dating for the shared sequence come from the published tables of George Madis. A private copy of the factory records is reported to show no new receivers numbered in 1929. Spare receivers numbered in 1928 supplied much of the 1929 production.
- 1932–1937: The totals and the year-by-year dating for the shared sequence come from the published tables of George Madis. Rows after 1931 are Model 57 only.
- 1938: The totals and the year-by-year dating for the shared sequence come from the published tables of George Madis. Rows after 1931 are Model 57 only. Madis's tables report the shared sequence ending around serial 27,878. Research in private records points to more than 30,000 rifles across the two models. No exact final total was published.
What to know about Model 56 serial numbers
- The Model 56 and the Model 57 share one receiver serial sequence that starts at 1. The number alone does not tell you which model was built.
- These rows show how the shared sequence was split up by year of assembly. They are not the dates the receivers were numbered.
- The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum cover the stamping of serial numbers on shared receivers. They do not necessarily say whether the gun ended up a Model 56 or a Model 57, or what year it was assembled.
- A private copy of the factory records is reported to show no new receivers numbered in 1929. Spare receivers numbered in 1928 supplied much of the 1929 production. So do not read the year-of-assembly split in George Madis's tables as a table of when receivers were numbered.
- Model 56 production stopped before the shared receiver sequence ran out. Later serials are mostly or entirely Model 57s.
- The totals and the year-by-year dating for the shared sequence come from the published tables of George Madis.
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 bolt-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.
No factory letter is available for the Model 56
The Cody Firearms Museum, which holds Winchester’s surviving factory records and issues factory letters, does not list the Model 56 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 →