Remington has been producing rifles for almost 200 years. The company is known for the consistent quality of its work. Many of its weapons are used in law enforcement and the armed forces, as well as by civilians. Fortunately for collectors, it is not difficult to determine a rifle's age, as beginning in 1921, Remington began imprinting serial numbers on the barrel of each rifle it produced. These numbers – along with some basic knowledge about the rifle model itself – is all that the collector needs in order to determine the age of his rifle.
Rifles made before 1921 are significantly harder--if not outright impossible--to date accurately, as few records exist on guns manufactured before 1921. A link has been provided for you in the Resources section with a list of all of Remington's discontinued rifles, which will give you a general idea of when the rifle was made. More accuracy than "a general estimate," unfortunately, is not possible as of May, 2010.
Locate the serial letters on the left-hand side of the barrel. The numbers are printed near where the barrel connects to the rifle frame.
Compare the letters to the chart provided in the link in References 1. The first letter represents the month it was manufactured, and the second and third letters – if there is a third letter – is the year in which it was manufactured.
Determine when the specific model of your rifle went into production and when it went out of production, if applicable. (See References 1) Because Remington repeated letters for several of its model years, you will need to compare this information against the chart. For example, a rifle could have a model year of either 1930 or 1956. However, if you know that Remington began producing this model in 1940, you can determine that the "made-on" date is 1956.
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Writer Bio
Joshua Benjamin began as a professional freelance writer in 2009. He has successfully published numerous articles spanning a broad range of topics. Benjamin's areas of expertise include auto repair, computer hardware and software, firearms operation and maintenance, and home repair and maintenance. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration from California State University, Fresno.
