Browning Serial Number Lookup

Enter a Browning serial number to estimate the year it was made — using Browning's own published reference. Browning used two different systems, and this tool handles both: an explicit first–last serial range for the early models (32 documented ranges, 1947–1968), and a two-letter date code inside the serial for everything from 1975 on. Every result shows which system produced the answer.

Look up your Browning serial number

Enter the number exactly as stamped — including any letter prefix.

Open the Browning serial lookup →

How dating a Browning by serial number works

Most serial charts give one number per year. Browning is different, and using the wrong method gives the wrong year — so it is worth knowing which system your gun falls under.

Before 1975 — an explicit serial range per year

For the early models Browning publishes the first and last serial number of each year, for example a bracketed interval per year. That is the most precise form of this data: your serial is not merely compared against a boundary, it falls inside a documented interval. Where two published ranges overlap, the tool gives you the span rather than picking one.

1975 onwards — a two-letter date code inside the serial

From 1975 Browning stopped publishing ranges and encoded the year in the serial itself. The date of manufacture is a two-letter pair, where each letter stands for a digit:

Z = 1
Y = 2
X = 3
W = 4
V = 5
T = 6
R = 7
P = 8
N = 9
M = 0

So NN means 99 → 1999, and RR means 77 → 1977. The pair does not sit in a fixed position — Browning prints serials both as 01001NN131 and as 425RR01001 — so the tool scans for it rather than assuming an offset.

Checked against Browning's own worked examples. Browning's reference pages state the answer for 49 sample serials (e.g. 01001PV217 → 1985). The decoder reproduces 49 of 49 of them, so the code table is verified rather than assumed.
Serial numbers are not a factory letter. Browning notes that records before 1958 are estimates only, and that guns are not always built or shipped in strict serial order. Treat a result sitting on a year boundary as ±1 year.

Which Browning models this covers

Browning's reference library documents 53 models. The date code applies to every one produced from 1975; the published ranges below cover the earlier models.

pistols covered (14)

rifles covered (17)

shotguns covered (22)

If your model is not listed, Browning may not publish a date-code reference for it — the tool will say so rather than guess.

Published Browning serial ranges

32 documented ranges across 5 models, straight from Browning's reference pages. These cover the models built before the date-code system.

ModelYearSerial range
25 Automatic Pistol 1954–1958 1–181000
25 Automatic Pistol 1959 181001–206439
25 Automatic Pistol 1960 206350–230999
25 Automatic Pistol 1961 231000–250999
25 Automatic Pistol 1962 251000–278999
25 Automatic Pistol 1963 279000–286099
25 Automatic Pistol 1964 286100–303499
25 Automatic Pistol 1965 303500–329999
25 Automatic Pistol 1966 330000–367443
25 Automatic Pistol 1967 367444–412999
25 Automatic Pistol 1968 413000–479000
Auto 5 Semi Automatic Shotgun 1947 237001–249000
Auto 5 Semi Automatic Shotgun 1948 249001–270000
Auto 5 Semi Automatic Shotgun 1949 270001–285000
Auto 5 Semi Automatic Shotgun 1950 285001–315000
Auto 5 Semi Automatic Shotgun 1951 315001–346000
Auto 5 Semi Automatic Shotgun 1952 346001–387000
Auto 5 Semi Automatic Shotgun 1953 387000–438000
Hi Power Pistol 1958 80001–85276
Hi Power Pistol 1959 85268–89687
Hi Power Pistol 1960 89688–93027
Hi Power Pistol 1961 93028–109145
Hi Power Pistol 1962 109146–113548
Hi Power Pistol 1963 113549–115822
Hi Power Pistol 1965 T136569–T146372
Hi Power Pistol 1966 T146373–T173285
Hi Power Pistol 1967 T173286–T213999
Hi Power Pistol 1968 T214000–T258000
Model 1955 380 Pistol 1966 550001–598803
Model 1955 380 Pistol 1967 598804–603890
Model 1955 380 Pistol 1968 603891–619474
Superposed Shotgun 1948 17100–17200

Questions

Why does my serial number not give a year?

Two honest reasons. Either it falls in a gap between the published ranges — the tool will show the nearest documented range instead of guessing — or its date code is not unique, in which case the tool refuses to pick one. A public lookup should not invent an answer.

How accurate is this?

The date-code decoder is checked against every worked example Browning publishes. The ranges are reproduced exactly as published. Neither makes the result a factory letter — for a definitive date, Browning offers its own records service.

Where does the data come from?

Browning's official Date Your Firearm reference — nothing else. The tool is built only from manufacturer-published tables, never from third-party transcriptions.

Other makes

Serial-number charts are published for: