Browning Date of Manufacture Stamps
by Peter Cash
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The two letters are the date code in any Browning product made after 1975; you can tell date of manufacture by this code. Here's how to interpret it:
Z = 1
Y = 2
X = 3
W = 4
V = 5
T = 6
R = 7
P = 8
N = 9
M = 10
Thus, the gun above was made in 85. 245 is the product code, and the digits following the date code are the actual serial numbers. I believe guns made for other than US consumption have the order of the product code and serial number reversed (that is, the serial # is before the date code, not after it).
Source: BROWNING DATES OF MANUFACTURE, by George Madis.
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