Most firearms that were manufactured after 1968 contain a serial number. The number is located on the barrel or frame of the firearm, and it may include a series of numbers or a series of numbers and letters.
Ideally, the numbers can help you decipher the date, month, and year the gun was manufactured. However, not all guns have a serial number, and therefore, it may be hard to determine the date they were made. Either because they were manufactured illegally to be sold for personal use.
Decrypting the 742 Manufacture Date
The Remington 742 manufacturer dates are usually located on both the right and left sides of the firearm’s barrel. They appear as numbers and letters, each of which represents the year, month, and date of manufacture.
To decrypt the date of manufacture for a Remington model, check to see what letters and numbers are on the barrel. The first letter you’ll see will be one of these: B, L, A, C, K, P, O, W, D, E, R, X.
These letters are the month codes, and each letter corresponds to a month on the calendar. Therefore, B represents January, L is February, A is March, and so forth. So X, which is the last letter, represents December.
The following letter or letters represent the year of manufacture. These letters can sometimes repeat, so you need to dig a bit deeper to know exactly which year the firearm was manufactured.
The year of manufacture is represented by codes. For example, if the next letter is C, this means that the year the gun was manufactured is 1934. If the letters are NN, this indicates that the year of manufacture is 1944.
So to decode the year the firearm was made, you simply check the letter or letters that follow the first letter in the sequence. Then refer to the Remington Society website to see the year the particular letter or letters correspond to.
For the Remington 742 model, you’ll see a 6 or 7 digit serial number on one side of the barrel. The number may or may not contain a letter. You’ll also find initials on the other side of the barrel, of which you can get information on what they represent by contacting the company.
How long do firearm manufacturers keep records?
Law enforcement uses background records and gun sales to identify firearm sellers and buyers who break state laws.
By simply checking the sales records, officers can identify when a gun was purchased and by whom.
According to federal law, licensed gun dealers are required to maintain a record of firearm sales for a minimum of 20 years. The record should include information about the firearm, the date of purchase, and the details of the purchaser.
That said, if you legally own a firearm, and it’s stolen or lost, it’s important you file a report with your local law enforcement agency stating that it’s lost or stolen. That way, if someone uses izt to commit a crime, you are not going to get into trouble with the police if the gun is recovered.
