Winchester Model 77 serial number range — what the records say
The Winchester Model 77 is a semi-automatic .22 LR rifle produced from 1955 to 1963, with approximately 217,000 manufactured.
- Produced:
- 1955–1963
- Action:
- semi-automatic
Which years could your Model 77 be from?
Where the serial number is
On the receiver of rifles made through 1959; Winchester used several positions, and rifles made after 1959 were generally not numbered.
Where these dates come from
No year-by-year serial number table has been published for the Winchester Model 77. The references give one serial range for the whole run (Proofhouse / oldguns.net table), so a serial number can be placed within those years but not to a single year.
Source for this model: Published serial range (oldguns.net / Proofhouse / NRA)
Winchester Model 77 serial number range
The published serial range for the Model 77. Each row gives the serial numbers that source assigns to a year. Find the row your number falls in.
Proofhouse / oldguns.net table
An online compilation of approximate figures, most of them traced back to Madis.
Cited as: Published serial range (oldguns.net / Proofhouse / NRA)
| Year | Serial numbers |
|---|---|
| 1955–1963 | 1,001 – 217,180 |
- 1955–1963: Numbering began at 1,001, according to the NRA and oldguns.net. Proofhouse gives regular production ending near 217,180, plus about 900 guns assembled from leftover parts. Rifles made after 1959 were generally not numbered, so a numbered rifle most likely dates from 1955 to 1959.
What to know about Model 77 serial numbers
- Model 77 serial numbers began at 1,001 and were only applied to early production. oldguns.net and a specialist at the Winchester collectors' association agree that rifles made after 1959 were generally not numbered. A Model 77 with no serial number is normal for 1960 to 1963 production, not a sign of tampering.
- There is no year-by-year table. oldguns.net publishes only the overall years and quantity, and Proofhouse only the starting and near-ending figures. Early numbered rifles can be dated roughly through specialist research. Unnumbered ones can only be dated by their features.
- Production ran from 1955 to 1963 and about 217,000 were made. Proofhouse gives regular production up to about 217,180, plus about 900 guns assembled from leftover parts after regular production ended.
- On rifles that carry a number, the number is on the receiver. Winchester used several positions on the receiver over the years.
- Late rifles, made from 1960 to 1963, may have a hand-operated bolt-hold-open pin on the right side of the barrel just ahead of the receiver, and birch stocks rather than walnut.
- Auction databases mix in Ruger 77/17, 77/22 and RSI listings. Those are not Winchester Model 77 variants.
Other Winchester semi-automatic 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 77
The Cody Firearms Museum, which holds Winchester’s surviving factory records and issues factory letters, does not list the Model 77 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 →