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SAVAGE / STEVENS DATE CODES

91K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  Charles 1954  
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Stevens / Savage 24 date codes.

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A 1949 B 1950 C 1951 D 1952 E 1953 F 1954 G 1955 H 1956 I 1957


J 1958 K 1959 L 1960 M 1961 N 1962 P 1963 R 1964 S 1965 T 1966


U 1967 V 1968 W 1969 X1970

You will find a date code stamped on every shotgun & rifle/shotgun in the Savage/Stevens brands produced between March 1949 and December 1968. Usually, it is behind the hinge pin on the barrel(s) or ahead of the trigger guard on the bottom of the frame.
It will sometimes appear as a small circle containing a number and a letter. The letters correspond to the years shown in the above table. The significance of the numbers is not known. Sometimes the letter code will stand alone, without being encircled.
This code with or without a circle/oval, containing one or two numbers plus a single letter, has been found just about anywhere and everywhere on the frame, but only on the outside of the frame, never inside.
It has also been found with letters and numbers on the barrel clusters, on the shot barrel, or on the barrel assembly lug block.
While the letter within the circle always matches on the factory matching barrel and frame, the numbers never match.
The marks on the inside of the frame, where the lower barrel seats when closed, are what one would call assembly stampings, and match frame to barrel, found on the underside of the shot barrel near the forend lug, and also sometimes found on the butt stock under the butt plate.