Is it possible to determine the date of manufacture by the Serial Number as it it is on Brownings?

Sure it is. Call S&W. I think they charge for this service, but maybe not. Nobody on here has that information...

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M&P's and K Frames Pleeze!

Call Smith & Wesson at 1-800-331-0852 (USA),
Mon-Fri 8:00AM-8:00PM Eastern Time number and ask for customer service - They provide month & year for shipping date. I checked on three semi auto's today.

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Baby Chief Admirer
SWCA 2870

Just going by only the serial number... no.
If you still have the 'Test Fire Round' envelope, the date on it is within a week of rolling off the production line.

If it's a Shield and you still have the box, there's either a 4 digit code or a 6 digit code on the SKU sticker, below the SKU number.

If it's a 4 digit number, the First digit is the last number of the Year and the other 3 digits represent the Day into that Year.
(ie: 2030 would be 2=2012 and 030=the 30th Day... aka: Jan 30 2012)

If it's a 6 Digit number, it's either MMDDYY, or YYMMDD.

RobzGuns,

Thank you for your very helpful and detailed reply. You made this a good day. A good day is one on which you learn something!!!

Piqued my curiosity. My Shield box was pretty handy, so I checked it out. 6 digits on the box, 120413, matched the date on the casing envelope. I deal with numbers for a living, so now I have that etched in my brain. Never really thought about it or cared before.

Date for S&W 22 revolver 62357