From October 1968 to March 1988 Savage/Stevens/Fox B doubles are serial numbered in a completely new serial number range beginning at A000001. This was a date code which you will find illustrated in the Savage-Stevens-Fox pages of your Standard Catalog of Firearms.ĥ. From 1948 to 1968 the letter symbols under the frame were changed to a ‘Capital letter with a one or two digit number' in a 1/4″ circle. From 1940 to 1948 no serial numbers were used on doubles, only capital letters, usually in groups of three or four, the letter(s) sometimes enclosed in a circle, along with an inspector's symbol ( a heart, a diamond, a spade or some such ‘shape', on the bottom of the frame behind the hinge pin.Ĥ. They always signified a change in mechanical design or manufacturing process which resulted in an interesting variant.ģ.

Letter prefixes crept in on the serial numbers used on both hammer and hammerless doubles from 1913 to 1939. Stevens used plain numbers from their first double in 1878 until 1913.Ģ.

For now I can tell you, sticking to doubles only, that:ġ.

The short answer is yes, but it would take more space than Gun Digest can give us for this Q&A column to give you complete answers. Can you make some sense out of Savage/Stevens/Fox/Springfield serial number usage that will help me to date my doubles and clue me in on important variations? Can you tell me what the letter prefixes mean? Does it give me a clue to the correct Model designation? I am confused. This one has a capital letter C prefix ahead of a six digit number and it appears only on the left side of the frame.ĭo you know the significance of this C letter prefix? Can I determine the date of manufacture from this letter? Do letter prefixes occur on other versions of the Stevens 311? I have seen Stevens 311s with no serial numbers at all. Other Stevens-made doubles I own have ‘plain' serial numbers, none over five digits, on the frame, barrels and fore end. I have just bought a Stevens Model 311 double for my collection.

Boito Shotgun Serial Numbers