Winchester Model 61 serial numbers by year
The hammerless slide-action .22 introduced in 1932 as a modern companion to the Models 1890 and 1906.
- Produced:
- 1932–1963
- Action:
- pump-action
What year was your Model 61 made?
Winchester Model 61 value: what it sells for at auction
112 Winchester Model 61s sold one gun to a lot at Rock Island Auction Company (76) and Morphy Auctions (36) between Sep 2023 and Sep 2026. The table groups them the way the auction house coded each lot: antique, curio and relic, or modern. Half of the guns in each row sold inside the “most sell between” range; a quarter sold below it and a quarter above. Eight in ten sold inside the wider “nearly all between” range.
Standard guns only. Left out: deluxe and special-order guns (checkered or fancy wood, pistol grips, odd barrel lengths, special sights), engraved, inscribed, presentation, and commemorative pieces, and lots of two or more guns. A deluxe or special-order gun sells for more than these figures, often several times more. Condition and originality drive most of the spread inside a row.
Enter your serial number above and this section picks out the row for your gun’s era and lists the most recent sales like it.
| Era | Sales | Most sell between | Typical | Nearly all between |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curio & Relicat least 50 years old at the time of sale | 112 | $1,432 – $3,231 | $2,256 | $863 – $4,377 |
These are sold prices for standard guns, not an appraisal. Prices realized as published by each house after the sale; both houses' figures include the buyer's premium. A dealer buying for resale will offer less than these figures; a private sale between collectors often lands near the typical price for the gun’s condition. If your gun has factory upgrades, a factory letter that confirms them is what moves it above these numbers. Updated after each major sale. The full picture, model by model →
Where the serial number is
Serial numbers are located on the bottom of the receiver (underside, forward of trigger guard).
Why the sources give different years
Nobody kept one official list of which Winchester Model 61 serial numbers were made in which year. The dates come from the tables in George Madis's Winchester books, compiled decades after the guns were made, a list typed up by Winchester's customer-service desk, which mixes real records with estimates, and other published compilations, each named above its table. For some serial numbers these sources are years apart, so this page shows what each one says instead of picking one.
Madis vs. factory dates lists every model where the sources part ways, with a real serial number from each.
Sources for this model: Madis / Published Legacy Data · Record-based/WACA evidence · Winchester customer-service list (2012)
Winchester Model 61 serial numbers by year
The full Model 61 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 “sources differ” is a serial range that another table on this page dates to a different year. For the Model 61 that is true of most of the run, so treat any single year as an estimate and read the notes below the tables. 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: Madis / Published Legacy Data
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1932sources differ | 1 – 3,532 |
| 1933sources differ | 3,533 – 6,008 |
| 1934sources differ | 6,009 – 8,554 |
| 1935sources differ | 8,555 – 12,379 |
| 1936sources differ | 12,380 – 20,615 |
| 1937sources differ | 20,616 – 30,334 |
| 1938sources differ | 30,335 – 36,326 |
| 1939sources differ | 36,327 – 42,610 |
| 1940sources differ | 42,611 – 49,270 |
| 1941sources differ | 49,271 – 57,493 |
| 1942sources differ | 57,494 – 59,871 |
| 1943sources differ | 59,872 |
| 1944sources differ | 59,873 – 59,879 |
| 1945sources differ | 59,880 – 60,512 |
| 1946sources differ | 60,513 – 71,629 |
| 1947sources differ | 71,630 – 92,297 |
| 1948sources differ | 92,298 – 115,281 |
| 1949approximate | 115,282 – 125,461 |
| 1950sources differ | 125,462 – 135,641 |
| 1951sources differ | 135,642 – 145,821 |
| 1952sources differ | 145,822 – 156,000 |
| 1953sources differ | 156,001 – 171,000 |
| 1954sources differ | 171,001 – 186,000 |
| 1955sources differ | 186,001 – 200,962 |
| 1956sources differ | 200,963 – 215,923 |
| 1957sources differ | 215,924 – 229,457 |
| 1958sources differ | 229,458 – 242,992 |
| 1959approximate | 242,993 – 262,793 |
| 1960sources differ | 262,794 – 282,594 |
| 1961sources differ | 282,595 – 302,395 |
| 1963approximate | 302,396 – 322,196 |
- 1949: The 1949–1963 entries are arithmetic estimates, and Winchester's own list says so. It states that no actual records exist for 1949 through 1963 and that it worked these figures out by taking the total of 342,001, subtracting the last known number of 115,281, and dividing the difference equally across the 15 remaining years. They do not come from the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum. The Winchester collectors' association has record-based evidence that 138,140 was the last number for 1949, which conflicts with the figure shown here.
- 1950–1958, 1960: The 1949–1963 entries are arithmetic estimates, and Winchester's own list says so. It states that no actual records exist for 1949 through 1963 and that it worked these figures out by taking the total of 342,001, subtracting the last known number of 115,281, and dividing the difference equally across the 15 remaining years. They do not come from the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum.
- 1959: The 1949–1963 entries are arithmetic estimates, and Winchester's own list says so. It states that no actual records exist for 1949 through 1963 and that it worked these figures out by taking the total of 342,001, subtracting the last known number of 115,281, and dividing the difference equally across the 15 remaining years. They do not come from the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum. The Winchester collectors' association has record-based evidence that 278,022 was the last number for 1959, which conflicts with the figure shown here.
- 1961: This row is labelled 1961 but printed as 1962 in the source. The 1949–1963 entries are arithmetic estimates, and Winchester's own list says so. It states that no actual records exist for 1949 through 1963 and that it worked these figures out by taking the total of 342,001, subtracting the last known number of 115,281, and dividing the difference equally across the 15 remaining years. They do not come from the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum.
- 1963: The 1949–1963 entries are arithmetic estimates, and Winchester's own list says so. It states that no actual records exist for 1949 through 1963 and that it worked these figures out by taking the total of 342,001, subtracting the last known number of 115,281, and dividing the difference equally across the 15 remaining years. They do not come from the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum.
Winchester collectors' association research
Figures published by the Winchester Arms Collectors Association from the surviving factory records and its own surveys of real guns.
Cited as: Record-based/WACA evidence
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1949sources differ | through 138,140 |
| 1959sources differ | through 278,022 |
- 1949: This is the last number for 1949. It conflicts with the older published estimate of 125,461, which was reached by spreading the numbers evenly across the years.
- 1959: This is the last number for 1959. It conflicts with the older published estimate of 262,793, which was reached by spreading the numbers evenly across the years.
Winchester's own customer-service list (2012)
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: Winchester customer-service list (2012)
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1932sources differ | 1 – 3,532 |
| 1933sources differ | 3,533 – 6,008 |
| 1934sources differ | 6,009 – 8,554 |
| 1935sources differ | 8,555 – 12,379 |
| 1936sources differ | 12,380 – 20,615 |
| 1937sources differ | 20,616 – 30,334 |
| 1938sources differ | 30,335 – 36,326 |
| 1939sources differ | 36,327 – 42,610 |
| 1940sources differ | 42,611 – 49,270 |
| 1941sources differ | 49,271 – 57,493 |
| 1942sources differ | 57,494 – 59,871 |
| 1943sources differ | 59,872 |
| 1944sources differ | 59,873 – 59,879 |
| 1945sources differ | 59,880 – 60,512 |
| 1946sources differ | 60,513 – 71,629 |
| 1947sources differ | 71,630 – 92,297 |
| 1948sources differ | 92,298 – 115,281 |
| 1949 | 115,282 – 125,461 |
| 1950sources differ | 125,462 – 135,641 |
| 1951sources differ | 135,642 – 145,821 |
| 1952sources differ | 145,822 – 156,000 |
| 1953sources differ | 156,001 – 171,000 |
| 1954sources differ | 171,001 – 186,000 |
| 1955sources differ | 186,001 – 200,962 |
| 1956sources differ | 200,963 – 215,923 |
| 1957sources differ | 215,924 – 229,457 |
| 1958sources differ | 229,458 – 242,992 |
| 1959 | 242,993 – 262,793 |
| 1960sources differ | 262,794 – 282,594 |
| 1962sources differ | 282,595 – 302,395 |
| 1963 | 302,396 – 322,196 |
| 1964 | 322,197 – 342,001 |
- 1949, 1959, 1963: The list itself marks this figure as an estimate or a calculated number, not a record.
- 1950–1958, 1960, 1962: The list itself marks this figure as an estimate or a calculated number, not a record.
What to know about Model 61 serial numbers
- The 1949–1963 figures in the older published tables are arithmetic estimates, and Winchester's own list labels them that way. They do not come from the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum.
- The Winchester collectors' association works from records and gives 138,140 as the last number for 1949 and 278,022 as the last number for 1959. Both conflict with the older published estimates, which simply spread the numbers evenly across the years.
- 342,001 is the last number allocated, not a confirmed end of production. The exact final serial number has never been verified.
- The surviving records at the Cody Firearms Museum for the date the serial number was stamped do not cover every rifle.
- Winchester's own customer-service list is a retyped compilation, not the original records. The list itself says that no complete original serial record from 1866 onward is known to exist, and that some of its figures are estimates.
- Winchester's own customer-service list says the model was dropped in 1963 and that no real records exist for 1949 through 1963. It worked out the figures for those years by taking the total production of 342,001, subtracting the last known number of 115,281, and splitting the difference evenly across the 15 remaining years.
Other Winchester pump & slide action
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 Model 61 serial numbers: 62,775–68,758. 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 →