Browning Shotgun Date-Code Guide
An offline helper for interpreting selected Browning two-letter date codes. Use the model-specific serial-number chart to confirm the year.
Date-code finder
This quick decoder accepts Z, Y, X, W, V, T, R, P, N and M. It does not decode every Browning serial number.
Letter-to-number reference
Reference mapping used by some Browning date-code systems: Z=1, Y=2, X=3, W=4, V=5, T=6, R=7, P=8, N=9, M=0.
How to use this tool
- Find the complete serial number on the shotgun and note the model and any barrel or receiver markings.
- Use the official Browning guide to identify the correct serial-number format for that model.
- If the model's system uses the two-letter code decoded here, enter those letters to see the possible year.
- Confirm the result against Browning's model-specific table before relying on it.
Important: The same letters do not date every Browning shotgun in the same way. Older Auto-5 and B25/Superposed guns, in particular, may use different serial-number formats or year tables. This tool deliberately marks results as provisional and does not claim to identify a gun's exact manufacture year from two letters alone.