Obman, moshennichestvo, naduvatel'stvo; 'rozygrysh' _Ex: nothing but a do formennoe naduvatel'stvo _Ex: the scheme was a do from the start plan s samogo nachala byl sploshnoi lipoi 2> _razg. Razvlechenie, vesel'e; vecher _Ex: we've got a do tonight u nas segodnya vecher _Ex: to take part in a big do provesti vecher v bol'shoi veseloi kompanii 3> _razg. Sdelka 4> _razg. Narechiya: v Avstraliyu; v Novuyu Zelandiyu downing Street 1> Dauning-strit (ulica v Londone, gde nahoditsya rezidenciya prem'era) 2> angliiskoe pravitel'stvo do 1> _razg. Avstraliya; Novaya Zelandiya 2> v gram. Krasivaya tablichka vashe dezhurstvo wound.

Nibbs G&G Newbie. I just received a Savage 99c in a 308. Its serial number is 1167838 and due to the wide manufacturing dates was hoping someone had access to year that this was manufactured. Was my dads and now going to my son. He sure enjoyed this on many sucessful deer hunts over the years.

I have just bought a Stevens Model 311 double for my collection. Other Stevens-made doubles I own have ‘plain’ serial numbers, none over five digits, on the frame, barrels and fore end. This one has a capital letter C prefix ahead of a six digit number and it appears only on the left side of the frame. Do you know the significance of this C letter prefix? Can I determine the date of manufacture from this letter? Do letter prefixes occur on other versions of the Stevens 311?

I have seen Stevens 311s with no serial numbers at all. Can you make some sense out of Savage/Stevens/Fox/Springfield serial number usage that will help me to date my doubles and clue me in on important variations? Can you tell me what the letter prefixes mean? Does it give me a clue to the correct Model designation?

I am confused. The short answer is yes, but it would take more space than Gun Digest can give us for this Q&A column to give you complete answers. For now I can tell you, sticking to doubles only, that: 1. Stevens used plain numbers from their first double in 1878 until 1913. From October 1968 to March 1988 Savage/Stevens/Fox B doubles are serial numbered in a completely new serial number range beginning at A000001.

The six digit (always) numbers, stamped only on the left side of the frame, not on the barrels or fore end or on the wood, are preceded by capital letters from A to E. The letters do not correlate to production years. The letter prefix accompanied the Savage/Stevens/FoxB/Springfield serial number on every gun they made from 1968 on. Beginning about 1978 numbers 1 to 20 were also stamped on the three major components, frame,barrels and fore end iron, to enable the factory to keep 20 guns of like model together in a group for packing in the standard 20 gun shipping carton.

Yours is one of these. Since I am interested only in double guns I stopped looking for numbers on Savage’Stevens doubles after 1988 because that’s the year they shipped their last ‘Stevens Model 311′. The highest number I have seen was on 20 gauge Stevens Model 311 Series H serial number E957971. The Savage branded imported doubles, over and unders or side by sides, are numbered differently. Each model is numbered in the range created by its manufacturer.

As you probably have heard, Savage/Stevens’ production records on their older models were destroyed in a sprinkler accident about 35 years ago, according to officers of the company. To calculate an approximate number of ‘Stevens Model 311s’ that were made from 1968 to 1988 you could do this math exercise. Since Savage used 5 letters (A to E), each on 999,999 guns, they must have made about 5 million guns. Perhaps 40% were doubles in the various Savage Brands and Private Brands. That makes 2 million doubles of which I estimate 80% were Stevens 311’s.

And that’s not counting production before 1968. No wonder the “311” in its various variations is the all time favorite American made double. And think how many Stevens 311s ( and Stevens made doubles that looked like Stevens 311s but carried private brands) had already been produced in the years between 1940 (first year of the ‘true’ Stevens Model 311) and 1968, during which time they weren’t serial numbered at all! There must be at least 4 million Stevens Model 311s, in one form or another, out there!

• If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the by clicking the link above. You will have to before you will be permitted to post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

• Are you one of the 400+ Guests frequenting this site on a daily basis? Have you considered registering so you can participate in the discussions rather than just look on as a bystander? Are you already registered but have forgotten your username and/or password? If so, use the link at the bottom of any page and let us know and we'll get you squared away! All Savage firearms manufactured after December 1968 have a serial number which will have a letter prefix. This was done to clearly identify which firearms were manufactured after the Gun Control Act of 1968 went into effect.

The graphic below outlines the starting and ending serial number for each year of production from 1969 thru the beginning of 2012 (the most recent we have data for). Since this information is readily offered here we will not respond to any requests to date Savage firearms whose serial number has a letter prefix. If it's newer than what's listed in the table below you can get a general idea of when it was made by visiting, but if you want something more specific you will have to contact Savage.