Winchester_73
New member
I recently purchased a Belgian Browning FN Safari grade rifle. I was told that the rifle was from 1968, making it one of the salt wood guns. However, the metal is very clean and so I bought it. When I took the action out of the stock, it was very clean underneath. I surmised that apparently this was one of the Safari rifles that was sent back for a new stock with metal refinishing.
That was until last night. I went to proofhouse to look up the serial numbers, just for the heck of it.
http://proofhouse.com/browning/58_dating_sys.htm
The site mentions that "L" denotes safari grade, which the rifle is. Ok, no problem there. Then it says that the "8" to begin the SN was used for 1958 and 1968. I can find nothing conclusive to say whether the gun was 1958 or 1968. If its 1958, that would explain why the metal is so clean. On the other hand, many places list 1959 as the introduction date for these rifles.
This site adds to the confusion:
http://proofhouse.com/browning/index.html
It lists "L" for Safari grade, Mauser action beginning in 1959 but also starting in 68/69 "Z" denoted the Safari grade for Sako actions with "L" for Olympian grade and Medallion grade. Does this mean that for each year range, that the letters were ADDED as new model options or that the newer letters replaced the old ones? I can't tell.
There is very little info on these on the net, and it is scattered. I also tried googling "1968 FN Browning rifle" to see if my SN was close to that one, and there were very few results. Then I tried "1958 FN browning rifle" and found 1 result with a SN that started with "L", it was LXXXX with 4 numbers.
The blue book 28th edition states this model came out in 1958, and only had a letter prefix for the first few years dependent on the grade of rifle. This would mean that "8LXXXXX" would be 1968. For 1969, it states that the last 2 numbers for year of the DOM were used.
If I had to guess, being a 45XXX SN range (after the "8L" which refer to year produced and rifle grade) I believe my Browning to be a 1968 gun, assuming that they started with SN "1" and likely did not make 45k rifles in 1958, esp since most sources (not all) state that this model debuted in 1959.
Anyways, here is the rifle. It looks just as good as my pre 64 Winchesters or anything else I've had or have. Great trigger, quality in all regards. I really like the monte carlo stock it has. The bluing is magnificent as well. I have since placed a Weaver V9 on the gun but have yet to shoot it. I've had it less than a month. Here are some pics.
That was until last night. I went to proofhouse to look up the serial numbers, just for the heck of it.
http://proofhouse.com/browning/58_dating_sys.htm
The site mentions that "L" denotes safari grade, which the rifle is. Ok, no problem there. Then it says that the "8" to begin the SN was used for 1958 and 1968. I can find nothing conclusive to say whether the gun was 1958 or 1968. If its 1958, that would explain why the metal is so clean. On the other hand, many places list 1959 as the introduction date for these rifles.
This site adds to the confusion:
http://proofhouse.com/browning/index.html
It lists "L" for Safari grade, Mauser action beginning in 1959 but also starting in 68/69 "Z" denoted the Safari grade for Sako actions with "L" for Olympian grade and Medallion grade. Does this mean that for each year range, that the letters were ADDED as new model options or that the newer letters replaced the old ones? I can't tell.
There is very little info on these on the net, and it is scattered. I also tried googling "1968 FN Browning rifle" to see if my SN was close to that one, and there were very few results. Then I tried "1958 FN browning rifle" and found 1 result with a SN that started with "L", it was LXXXX with 4 numbers.
The blue book 28th edition states this model came out in 1958, and only had a letter prefix for the first few years dependent on the grade of rifle. This would mean that "8LXXXXX" would be 1968. For 1969, it states that the last 2 numbers for year of the DOM were used.
If I had to guess, being a 45XXX SN range (after the "8L" which refer to year produced and rifle grade) I believe my Browning to be a 1968 gun, assuming that they started with SN "1" and likely did not make 45k rifles in 1958, esp since most sources (not all) state that this model debuted in 1959.
Anyways, here is the rifle. It looks just as good as my pre 64 Winchesters or anything else I've had or have. Great trigger, quality in all regards. I really like the monte carlo stock it has. The bluing is magnificent as well. I have since placed a Weaver V9 on the gun but have yet to shoot it. I've had it less than a month. Here are some pics.