Yes, Another Rem. 870 Ser. No. Question

[CDH]

I know, this gets old, but I'd like to do a quick check with someone who knows about Remington 870 serial numbers.

I just inherited what looks to be a 99% condition 870 from an uncle who was in his late 80's when he died.
The thing is, the serial number doesn't allow me much information with a web search.

I know it's an older one because it has the "old style" standard forearm like they had when they were first introduced in '51.

Can anyone help with a close (if not exact) year of manufacture of this Remington 870 with serial number: 300147V ?

 

[Fred Fuller]

Remington can. Give them a call during business hours at 1-800-243-9700 and go through the phone tree.

There's no published list of serial numbers/mfg dates, you have to go through the factory to get the info. And barrel date codes are not necessarily reliable, but serial numbers pretty well are.

lpl

 

[jmr40]

You can try www.remingtonsociety.com and check the barrel codes. While not perfect, if it has the factory barrel it should be pretty close.

 

[CDH]

Well, his wife (my aunt) is the one who gave me the 870, and she tells me that he bought it "a long time ago", used it maybe a half dozen times, and then it sat in his closet for decades.
So I'm confident that the barrel is the original one that came on this 870.

All I can figure from the RemingtonSociety site is the "ZZ" part that might indicate it was made in '53, but I wouldn't think that it's that old considering the (like new) condition it is in (although it does have the small, round forearm that they were originally introduced with).

I admit that I'm a bit lazy and was hoping for a quick reply with an answer, but since Remington doesn't offer any serial number production information, I'll have to get off my dead butt and send them the actually serial number.

The pic below is an enhanced (aka, "crappy") pic of the barrel code, and I have no idea what the very first character is supposed to be. It looks like a sideways semi-colon, and I don't see any reference to it anywhere.

By the way, a correction for the serial number because I looked at it again more carefully: It's 300149V (not 300147V).

 

[jmr40]

1953 sounds possible with the small foreend. The date codes are not perfect because there are just enough exceptions to the rule to confuse things. Also a lot of 870's have several barrels and many have been bought and sold after purchase. Call Remington to be sure.

 

[hometheaterman]

Yea should only take a few minutes to call Remington. I've called them before and it was quick and they were helpful.

 

[Virginian]

1953 is about right with that serial number, and it's pretty hard for 'ZZ' to be anything else, too.