Savage 110 Serial Number Production Dates

How to Date Your Savage 110 Rifle by Serial Number

If you own a Savage 110 rifle and want to know when it was made, you can use the serial number to find out. The serial number is usually located on the left side of the receiver, behind the bolt handle. The serial number may have a letter prefix that indicates the year of manufacture, or it may have no prefix at all.

The letter prefix system was introduced by Savage in October 1968 to comply with the Gun Control Act of 1968, which required firearms manufacturers to include a serial number on every gun. The letter prefix signifies the approximate date range when the rifle was made, as shown in the table below:

Letter PrefixStart DateEnd Date

AOctober 1968February 1972

BFebruary 1972September 1975

CSeptember 1975February 1979

DFebruary 1979July 1982

EJuly 1982May 1989

FMay 1989November 2001

GNovember 2001December 2009

HDecember 2009May () 2013

JMay () 2013

KLate 2018 ()

NLate 2018 to Early 2019

Note that L and M were skipped as letter prefixes, because they could be easily confused with I or 1. M was also used exclusively for the Savage 10ML and 10ML-II muzzleloaders.

If your Savage 110 rifle has no letter prefix, it means it was made before October 1968, and you will have to use other clues to date it more precisely. One clue is the model number, which may indicate the year or decade when the rifle was introduced. For example, the Savage 110E was introduced in 1963, and the Savage 110H in 1966. Another clue is the stock design, which may have changed over time. For example, some early Savage 110 rifles had smooth hardwood stocks, while later models had stamped checkering on the stocks.

A more accurate way to date your Savage 110 rifle without a letter prefix is to use the date code that is stamped on the lever above the serial number. This date code is only found on Savage 99 rifles from 1949 to 1970, but it may also apply to some Savage 110 rifles from that period. The date code consists of a letter inside an oval stamp preceded by one or two numbers. The numbers indicate the inspector who checked the rifle, and the letter indicates the year of manufacture according to this chart:

Date Code LetterYear of Manufacture

A or B 061ffe29dd