Winchester Model 75 serial numbers by year
The Winchester Model 75 was a high-quality, bolt-action .22 caliber rimfire rifle designed as a more affordable alternative to the premium Model 52.
- Produced:
- 1938–1958
- Action:
- bolt-action
What year was your Model 75 made?
Where the serial number is
Right side of the front portion of the receiver.
Why the sources give different years
Nobody kept one official list of which Winchester Model 75 serial numbers were made in which year. The dates come from the original factory record books, now held by the Cody Firearms Museum, and 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 year-start values · Madis year-end · CFM/PR or WACA year-end
Winchester Model 75 serial numbers by year
The full Model 75 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 75 that is true of most of the run, so treat any single year as an estimate and read the notes below the tables.
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-start values
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1938sources differ | 1 – 7,337 |
| 1940sources differ | 7,338 – 29,014 |
| 1942sources differ | 29,015 – 68,652 |
| 1950sources differ | 68,653 – 88,714 |
| 1958sources differ | from 88,715 |
- 1942: The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum instead put serial 45,325 on October 12, 1942, the day numbering stopped for the war. That is the date the receiver was numbered, not the date it was assembled.
- 1958: The regular run of numbers reaches at least 88,715. A few more rifles were assembled from leftover parts in late 1957 and early 1958, with no firm final number. No single official final serial can be pinned down. The most that can be said is at least 88,715, or about 89,338 if you include later numbering and rifles assembled from leftover parts.
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-end
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1938 | 1 – 1,198 |
| 1939sources differ | 1,199 – 7,337 |
| 1940 | 7,338 – 13,256 |
| 1941sources differ | 13,257 – 29,014 |
| 1942 | 29,015 – 35,439 |
| 1943sources differ | 35,440 – 35,484 |
| 1946sources differ | 35,485 – 39,804 |
| 1947sources differ | 39,805 – 46,592 |
| 1948sources differ | 46,593 – 55,913 |
| 1949sources differ | 55,914 – 68,652 |
| 1950 | 68,653 – 76,008 |
| 1951sources differ | 76,009 – 79,479 |
| 1952sources differ | 79,480 – 81,508 |
| 1953sources differ | 81,509 – 82,481 |
| 1954sources differ | 82,482 – 84,295 |
| 1955sources differ | 84,296 – 85,027 |
| 1956sources differ | 85,028 – 87,006 |
| 1957sources differ | 87,007 – 88,714 |
- 1943, 1946–1947: The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum show no receivers numbered in 1943 or 1944 and put these numbers in the 1942 run, which ended at 45,325. See the note on the war years below the tables.
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/PR or WACA year-end
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1938 | 1 – 1,198 |
| 1939sources differ | 1,199 – 7,337 |
| 1940 | 7,338 – 13,256 |
| 1941sources differ | 13,257 – 29,014 |
| 1942sources differ | 29,015 – 45,325 |
| 1945sources differ | 45,326 – 49,097 |
| 1946sources differ | 49,098 – 55,862 |
| 1947sources differ | 55,863 – 58,500 |
| 1948sources differ | 58,501 – 63,500 |
| 1949sources differ | 63,501 – 68,600 |
| 1950 | 68,601 – 75,955 |
| 1951sources differ | 75,956 – 79,425 |
| 1952sources differ | 79,426 – 81,448 |
| 1953sources differ | 81,449 – 82,421 |
| 1954sources differ | 82,422 – 84,235 |
| 1955sources differ | 84,236 – 84,967 |
| 1956sources differ | 84,968 – 86,946 |
| 1957sources differ | 86,947 – 88,654 |
| 1958sources differ | 88,655 – 88,714 |
| 1959sources differ | 88,715 – 89,000 |
| 1960sources differ | 89,001 – 89,300 |
| 1961sources differ | 89,301 – 89,338 |
- 1938, 1940: This figure comes from George Madis's tables.
- 1939, 1941: This figure comes from George Madis's tables.
- 1942, 1945: This figure comes from an original factory record at the Cody Firearms Museum.
- 1946–1949, 1951–1960: This figure is an estimate by the Winchester collectors' association.
- 1950: This figure is an estimate by the Winchester collectors' association.
- 1961: This figure is an estimate by the Winchester collectors' association. Its historian says plainly that most postwar figures are estimates, because the original records for those years are privately held. No single official final serial can be pinned down. The most that can be said is at least 88,715, or about 89,338 if you include later numbering and rifles assembled from leftover parts.
What to know about Model 75 serial numbers
- There is no pre-1899 antique cutoff for this model. Production began in 1938.
- The sources disagree about the war years. The factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum, as read by the Winchester collectors' association, show that numbering stopped at 45,325 on October 12, 1942 and started again in October 1945, reaching 49,097 by December 5, 1945. No receivers were numbered in 1943 or 1944. George Madis's tables instead end 1942 at 35,439, show a small 1943 row (35,440 to 35,484), and do not reach 45,325 until 1947. The factory record is the original. If your serial number is between 35,440 and 45,325, the factory record puts it in 1942, not 1943 to 1947.
- Watch out with wartime receivers. Receivers numbered before or during the 1942 to 1945 break could be assembled much later, and they were not used up in number order.
- The postwar dates in the Winchester collectors' association online lookup are estimates. They are not copied from the ledger in the factory records at the Cody Firearms Museum. Do not treat them as exact factory dates.
- George Madis's tables say a few more rifles were assembled from leftover parts in late 1957 and early 1958, but give no firm final number.
- No single official final serial can be pinned down. The most that can be said is at least 88,715, or about 89,338 if you include later numbering and rifles assembled from leftover parts.
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.
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 75 serial numbers: 36,722–49,097. 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 →