Winchester 88

[nukeantz]

I have a chance to purchase a Winchester model 88, the serial number is 127420A. The way I see it it was made in 1961, but the suffix A bothers me. In other guns I have this means that the numbers have gone around and started over again with a letter being added at the end of the number. If this is not the case why was the A added to the serial number and will it effect the price if I ever go to resell it?

Thanks,
Ken

[Regolith]

I don't know about that particular type of rifle, but often letters are used to designate variants of a model. For instance, on Remington 870 shotguns, an M at the end of the serial number indicates that it's a magnum receiver, and can handle 2 3/4" or 3" shells, where as (IIRC) an SM indicates a super magnum that can also handle 3 1/2" shells.

Also, according to my very quick research, no more than 285,000 or so of those rifles were ever made, so I doubt that they ran out of numbers.


Edit: After a little more research, I found this page: http://www.wisnersinc.com/additional_info/winchesterl_88_100.htm

It appears that the A may indicate a replaced or duplicated receiver.