Odd three letter barrel code?

[tallen702]

So, I'm looking for a little help in identifying when a recent acquisition of mine was made. I picked up a "Western Field 600A-ERI" which as many of you probably know is just a private-label 878 that was made for Montgomery Ward after Remington chose the 1100 to be their standard in auto-loaders.

I know that some Remingtons have a three-letter barrel code, but that those only ran from '43 to '53 and given that the 878 wasn't made until later than that, and the code I have is three different letters, it's a bit of an odd duck as far as I can tell.

Anyway, the code I have is "ARP" followed by "35"
Here is a picture:


Any thoughts? Just trying to put a date on it is all. Thanks!

[ForumAdmin]

What only ran from 43 to 53?
Certainly not the barrel codes.
878's were made from 67-69.

[tallen702]

What only ran from 43 to 53?
Certainly not the barrel codes.
878's were made from 67-69.

I was under the understanding that the three-letter barrel codes only ran from 43-53 as those are the only years that they did double-letter codes for the year? Perhaps I'm misinformed on that part?

I do know that the Western Field 600A ERI was '67-'69 as you're suggesting, I'm just trying to find the specific year within that range for mine. (Remington's own run of the 878 was '59 to '62 with the remainders still available according to the catalog as late as '63)

[Synchronizor]

One of the letters could indicate a repair or some other factory service performed after the manufacture date.

[ForumAdmin]

One of the letters could indicate a repair or some other factory service performed after the manufacture date.

3 is a repair 5 is a employee purchase but you've checked under the wood and there's no other markings?

[Researcher]

My take on it is that either the A or the P is an inspector's mark, so unfortunately in this case either option makes for a reasonable date code. The date code is either AR (A = March, R = 1968) or RP (R = November, P = 1967). I lean towards the A being the inspectors mark.

[Synchronizor]

The date code is either AR (A = March, R = 1968) or RP (R = November, P = 1967). I lean towards the A being the inspectors mark.

Wasn't the 878 only produced from 1959 - 1963? Or were those manufactured for other brands made during later years?

[tallen702]

One of the letters could indicate a repair or some other factory service performed after the manufacture date.

3 is a repair 5 is a employee purchase but you've checked under the wood and there's no other markings?

I'll have to take a look and see, just got it in the other day and haven't had the time to sneak off where the wife can't observe that I've purchased yet another firearm. If I find anything, I'll post it.

The date code is either AR (A = March, R = 1968) or RP (R = November, P = 1967). I lean towards the A being the inspectors mark.

Wasn't the 878 only produced from 1959 - 1963? Or were those manufactured for other brands made during later years?

What I've seen is that they produced them for Montgomery Ward as this particular model (Ward's Western Field 600A ERI) a while after they stopped producing them for the Remington name brand. Someone said that this, and the A5 were the only two guns that Remington allowed another company to put their name on.

Here are some better views of the codes I see without the wood taken off:


Here's the right hand side:

[ChuckD]

tallen
I agree with researcher the "A" is an inspector mark and the date code is RP 11/67.
This is based on my 600A ERI SN 043xxV which is dated OP 7/67.
I hope this helps!

[tallen702]

tallen
I agree with researcher the "A" is an inspector mark and the date code is RP 11/67.
This is based on my 600A ERI SN 043xxV which is dated OP 7/67.
I hope this helps!

Definitely helps! The SN on this one is 061xxV so the 11/67 would definitely fall in line with the dating.

How do you like yours by the way? I haven't tested this thing out yet and really only bought it on a whim and a need for an autoloader so I'm curious as to how others like them.

[tudurgs]

I had an 878 two-barrel set. (bet there weren't many of those made!) But, since my Dad was a Remington Director, it's not surprising. It came with "Director's wood" which generally meant it was a highly graded stock, but had a flaw that made it inappropriate for a high grade gun, but too fancy to be put on a standard gun. This particular gun had a light-colored piece of sapwood near the toe. Barrels were Skeet and Full.