How do I find out the date of manufacture for my 870 Express using the serial number? Is there a key for deciphering the serial number to figure this out? Thanks for your help.
Cary

Cary wrote:How do I find out the date of manufacture for my 870 Express using the serial number? Is there a key for deciphering the serial number to figure this out? Thanks for your help.
Cary

Call Remington and give them the serial number, they will tell you when it was born, however keep in mind they due make errors.

Back up what they tell you with this information;
DECODING REMINGTON SERIAL NUMBERS
Model 870 LETTER PREFIX
1950 TO APPROX 1968: NO SERIAL NUMBER PREFIX
1968 TO PRESENT: LETTERS USED (IN SEQUENCE)
S-68, T-74, V-78, W-84, X-90, A-91, B-94, C-97, D-01, AB-05

Model 870 LETTER SUFFIX (DESIGNATES GAUGE)
V 12 GA. (2 3/4”)
M 12 GA. MAGNUM (3”)
A 12 GA. “SUPER” MAGNUM (3 ½”)
W 16 GA. ( 2 ¾” )
X 20 GA. “HEAVY FRAME” (DISCONTINUED)
N 20 GA. “HEAVY FRAME MAGNUM” (DISCONTINUED)
K 20 GA. “LIGHT WEIGHT” (“LW”) (ALSO INCLUDES M/1100 “LT”)
U 20 GA. LW MAGNUM (ALSO INCLUDES M/1100 “LT”)
J 28 GA.
H .410 BORE (2 ½” OR 3”)

Model 1100 LETTER PREFIX
1963 TO APPROX. 1968: NO SERIAL NUMBER PREFIX
1968 TO PRESENT: LETTERS USED (IN SEQUENCE)
L-68, M-74, N-78, P-85, R-90

Model 1100 LETTER SUFFIX
SAME STRUCTURE AS THE Model 870

Model 1187 LETTER PREFIX
1987 TO PRESENT: “PC” 12 GA., 1999 “TL“ 20 GA.,
2000 “SM” SUPER MAG.

LETTER SUFFIX
NO LETTER SUFFIX ON THIS MODEL

Then look on the left side of the barrel near the receiver and look for a two letter date code stamp and follow this chart with the first letter being the month and the second being the year the barrel was made;
Month
B - Jan L - Feb A - Mar C - Apr K - May P - Jun
O - Jul W - Aug D - Sep E - Oct R - Nov X - Dec

Year
M - 1921 N - 1922 P - 1923 R - 1924 S - 1925
T - 1926 U - 1927 W - 1928 X - 1929 Y - 1930
Z - 1931 A - 1932 B - 1933 C - 1934 D - 1935
E - 1936 F - 1937 G - 1938 H - 1939 J - 1940
K - 1941 L - 1942 MM - 1943 NN - 1944 PP - 1945
RR - 1946 SS - 1947 TT - 1948 UU - 1949 WW - 1950
XX - 1951 YY - 1952 ZZ - 1953 A - 1954 B - 1955
C - 1956 D - 1957 E - 1958 F - 1959 G - 1960
H - 1961 J - 1962 K - 1963 L - 1964 M - 1965
N - 1966 P - 1967 R - 1968 S - 1969 T - 1970
U - 1971 W - 1972 X - 1973 Y - 1974 Z - 1975
I - 1976 O - 1977 Q - 1978 V - 1979 A - 1980
B - 1981 C - 1982 D - 1983 E - 1984 F - 1985
G - 1986 H - 1987 I - 1988 J - 1989 K - 1990
L - 1991 M - 1992 N - 1993 O - 1994 P - 1995
Q - 1996 R - 1997 S - 1998 T - 1999 (*) U - 2000 (*)
V - 2001 (*) W - 2002 X - 2003 Y - 2004 Z - 2005
A - 2006 B - 2007 C - 2008 D - 2009 E - 2010
F - 2011 G - 2012 H - 2013

Thanks for that information.

Cary wrote:Thanks for that information.

Your Welcome:)

First, thanks for the forum. After less than 24 hrs, I've already found the "extra" info to help me beyond the the "black powder" and barrel code info.
So, anyway, according to the above info, my PA barrel code and lack of serial # prefix, my Wingmaster has a mfg date of June 1953.

"A" equals 1954 .....ZZ is 1953

TuJays wrote:"A" equals 1954 .....ZZ is 1953

Your right. Good catch. Thanks.

How can I tell if I have a 78 or 96?

jaydaddy1 wrote:How can I tell if I have a 78 or 96?

What is the barrel code and the serial # letter prefix?

I am assuming your second letter in the barrel code is "Q" based on what you say above 1978 or 1996.

If it is a 1978 then the prefix letter in the serial number on the receiver will most likely be "V".

If it is a 1996 then the prefix letter in the serial number on the receiver will most likely be "B" or possible "C"

Please always keep in mind that if you bought your gun used or second hand it may have had the barrels swapped and this can cause much confusion......example is a 1996 barrel will fit just fine on a 1978 receiver or vice versa!!!!!

jaydaddy1 wrote:How can I tell if I have a 78 or 96?

In addition to what TuJays said, the barrel date stamps usually take long enough to repeat that you can get a pretty solid idea of which potential date applies to your gun based on its features. For example, in the mid-1980s, Remington implemented some minor design updates to the action on 12ga 870s, including a "U"-shaped cut-out in the shell carrier that prevented a certain type of malfunction from binding the gun's action.

If your 870 is a 12ga, and you're trying to figure out whether it was made in 1978 or 1996 (which are on opposite sides of the '80s), your shell carrier will give you a strong clue. Other things that help separate 1978 from 1996 are screw-in chokes (introduced in 1986), Express models (1987), and nickel-plated finishes (1992). A decent overview of which models and features were available when can be found here. Keep in mind that barrels can be changed, guns can be refinished, and old parts can be replaced with new ones, so these things won't always reflect a specific date with 100% surety. However, if you can identify several features that line up with one of your date possibilities, you should be able to identify the correct one fairly confidently.

If you want to be absolutely sure, call or email Remington and have them look up your gun's serial number.

TuJays wrote:Model 870 LETTER PREFIX
1950 TO APPROX 1968: NO SERIAL NUMBER PREFIX
1968 TO PRESENT: LETTERS USED (IN SEQUENCE)
S-68, T-74, V-78, W-84, X-90, A-91, B-94, C-97, D-01, AB-05

Newer 870s are using an "RS" serial number prefix. Any idea when Remington switched from "AB" to "RS"? I know RS- serial numbers were going on guns at least as early as 2011, but looking at the date intervals of the preceding prefixes, I'm guessing 2011 wasn't the first year.

I just bought a new in box 870 tactical with a Blackhawk Special Ops II stock and pistol grip from a small independent dealer/sporting goods store. The serial number starts with RS. From several different sources, of which Remington is one of them, that tells me it was manufactured in November 1998, 1969, or 1925. 1998...how can that be?

Remington's dating service accuracy is far from perfect. They told me two of mine did not exist. The last straw for me was when a 1973 Model 1100 Ducks Unlimited gun was listed on GunBroker with a factory letter stating it was a "dinner gun". It absolutely was not. That could cost someone a fair chunk of change. No excuse.

jwtubs wrote:I just bought a new in box 870 tactical with a Blackhawk Special Ops II stock and pistol grip from a small independent dealer/sporting goods store. The serial number starts with RS. From several different sources, of which Remington is one of them, that tells me it was manufactured in November 1998, 1969, or 1925. 1998...how can that be?

It's because you're taking the first two letters from the serial number, and looking them up as if they were a barrel date stamp. These are two different things, but most of the "guides" online don't explain this very well, if they even try. Some even call the barrel date stamp a serial number.

I've been trying to gather enough information to put together a complete, well-explained guide to dating 870s. I'm close, but I'm having trouble finding help with the last few details. Remington of course just stonewalled me when I tried to email them directly about it.

In any case, an "RS-" serial number points to a manufacture date of 2009/2010 (not sure exactly which) or later.

I believe they have gone to an RS serial number prefix for everything, denoting "Remington Shotgun". Going to be harder to figure things out going forward.

I'm aware of that change, but I've been unable to determine exactly what year that happened. If anyone can share their serial number prefixes for 870s with confirmed manufacture dates from 2008 - 2011, it would really help me out with this project.

Anyway, it's not as if the serial number prefixes were ever all that precise anyway. For the time being at least, "RS" can simply be considered the successor prefix to "AB". And at least Remington seems to have changed the serial number prefixes & suffixes at the same time, so we can easily work out whether or not the serial number suffix is indicating a gun's chambering.

I've seen several with RS prefix and no suffix.

Interesting, though the suffix doesn't mean anything in the "RS-" serial numbers anyway. These were 870s?

Yes.