Winchester Model 62 and 62A serial numbers by year
The exposed-hammer slide-action .22 that modernized the Model 1890 and 1906 gallery guns; the 62A designation arrived with 1940 changes.
- Produced:
- 1932–1958
- Action:
- pump-action
What year was your Model 62 or 62A made?
Where the serial number is
Serial numbers are located on the bottom of the receiver (underside, forward of trigger guard) and on the lower tang.
Why the sources give different years
Nobody kept one official list of which Winchester Model 62 and 62A 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. 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/legacy Winchester approximate year-end table · Published Madis combined Model 62/62A table
Winchester Model 62 and 62A serial numbers by year
The full Model 62 and 62A 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. 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/legacy Winchester approximate year-end table
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1932 | 1 – 7,643 |
| 1933 | 7,644 – 10,695 |
| 1934 | 10,696 – 14,090 |
| 1935 | 14,091 – 23,924 |
| 1936 | 23,925 – 42,759 |
| 1937 | 42,760 – 66,059 |
| 1938 | 66,060 – 80,205 |
| 1939 | 80,206 – 96,534 |
| 1940 | 96,535 – 116,393 |
| 1941 | 116,394 – 137,379 |
| 1942 | 137,380 – 158,374 |
| 1943 | 158,375 – 158,644 |
| 1945sources differ | 158,645 |
| 1946 | 158,646 – 183,756 |
| 1947 | 183,757 – 219,085 |
| 1948 | 219,086 – 252,298 |
| 1949 | 252,299 – 262,473 |
| 1950 | 262,474 – 272,648 |
| 1951 | 272,649 – 282,823 |
| 1952 | 282,824 – 293,000 |
| 1953 | 293,001 – 310,500 |
| 1954 | 310,501 – 328,000 |
| 1955 | 328,001 – 342,776 |
| 1956 | 342,777 – 357,551 |
| 1957 | 357,552 – 383,513 |
| 1958 | 383,514 – 409,475 |
- 1940: This is the region near 99,200 where the Model 62 and the Model 62A overlap.
- 1943: A dash in the source means no separate figure is published for 1944.
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 combined Model 62/62A table
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1932approximate | 1 – 7,643 |
| 1933approximate | 7,644 – 10,696 |
| 1934approximate | 10,697 – 14,092 |
| 1935approximate | 14,093 – 23,926 |
| 1936approximate | 23,927 – 42,762 |
| 1937approximate | 42,763 – 66,063 |
| 1938approximate | 66,064 – 80,210 |
| 1939approximate | 80,211 – 96,540 |
| 1940approximate | 96,541 – 116,400 |
| 1941approximate | 116,401 – 137,387 |
| 1942approximate | 137,388 – 158,374 |
| 1943approximate | 158,375 – 158,645 |
| 1946approximate | 158,646 – 183,756 |
| 1947approximate | 183,757 – 219,085 |
| 1948approximate | 219,086 – 252,298 |
| 1949approximate | 252,299 – 262,472 |
| 1950approximate | 262,473 – 272,648 |
| 1951approximate | 272,649 – 282,823 |
| 1952approximate | 282,824 – 293,000 |
| 1953approximate | 293,001 – 310,500 |
| 1954approximate | 310,501 – 328,000 |
| 1955approximate | 328,001 – 342,776 |
| 1956approximate | 342,777 – 357,551 |
| 1957approximate | 357,552 – 383,513 |
| 1958approximate | 383,514 – 409,475 |
| 1959approximate | 409,476 – 410,456 |
- 1932–1939, 1941–1942, 1946–1958: This row comes from George Madis's published table, which combines the Model 62 and the Model 62A. Do not read it as Model 62A-only data. The two models share one continuous main serial sequence.
- 1940: This row comes from George Madis's published table, which combines the Model 62 and the Model 62A. Do not read it as Model 62A-only data. The two models overlap during the design changeover.
- 1943: This row comes from George Madis's published table, which combines the Model 62 and the Model 62A. Do not read it as Model 62A-only data. No combined start-of-year figure is published for 1944 or 1945. The next one published is 158,646 for 1946.
- 1959: These are leftover parts assembled in 1959 after regular production ended. George Madis's tables run the combined Model 62 and 62A sequence to about 410,456. That conflicts with Schwing's figure of 412,022 as the last Model 62A number, which is disputed.
What to know about Model 62 and 62A serial numbers
- Treat about serial number 99,200 in early 1940 as a changeover zone, not a sharp cutoff. The Model 62 and the Model 62A share one continuous serial sequence and overlap there.
- How to tell a Model 62 from a Model 62A. The barrel is marked MODEL 62 or MODEL 62A, and that is the first thing to check, but the two overlapped in 1939 and 1940, so the marking alone is not final. According to the published references, the 62A changes of 1940 replaced the flat mainspring with a coil hammer spring, lengthened the slide handle from about 5 3/4 inches with 10 grooves to about 8 inches with 17 grooves, and changed the hammer thumbpiece from checkered to grooved. The serial number tables on this page cover both models in one sequence, so the year is the same either way.
- That total covers both models together. It is not a count of Model 62As alone.
- Schwing published 412,022 as the last Model 62A number, but the Winchester collectors' association notes that no one has independently confirmed it.
- George Madis's tables give a family total of 410,456. Schwing gives a final number of 412,022. The two differ by 1,566 serial numbers, and which one is right is disputed.
- Some rifles were built from leftover parts assembled after regular production ended. They use older Model 90 and 06 series receivers numbered about 846,023–854,757. Some carry an A or B after the number. These are not a continuation of the ordinary 410,000 series.
- Known rifles have receivers that were numbered years before their barrels were made and the rifle was put together. One receiver recorded in 1942 was later fitted with a 1953 barrel.
- The approximate last serial number of each year was worked out from published start-of-year numbers and the number made. A dash means no separate figure is published for that 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 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 62 and 62A serial numbers: 151,251–167,688. 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 →