The Model 88 Carbine intro'ed in 1968 and discontinued as the entire Model in '73. The Carbine featured a plain, as in 'unadorned' stock, which by then, ultimately better than the 'new & improved' "impress checkering", oh my! A unique styled barrel band held in place by a sling swivel fastener piercing the band into the stock. My singular complaint and that 'picky', is that the factory swivel, looking "tacked on". The barrel length was 19". Essentially unless an 'intruder' with all those attributes, likely just a cut down barrel without 'further intent'. Mine, pix below, by serial number on cusp of intro 1968 and yet not with the new GCA '68 mandated serial range Alfa-prefix designator.
Nice!!! My granddaughter received her grandmother’s 88 in .308 and she has proceeded to take a bunch of deer with it! She loves ir!
Good catch 79!!!!
Founder Ancient Order of the 1895 Winchester
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison? And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools, Being native burghers of this desert city, Should in their own confines with forked heads Have their round haunches gored."
Does a serial number starting with an A means what?
I read some where it usually meant it was a 358 rebarreled to a 308 as the 358 wasn’t well received.
Thanks
Have read that the S/N with A suffix appears on a few earlier M88’s and that it possibly indicates a duplicate gun or more likely a factory replaced receiver/barrel assembly.
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Hunter S. Thompson
To my knowledge the A suffix was added after an improved firing pin was introduced, early ones had a reputation for breaking. There are also rifles with an H suffix which represents another improvement though I don't know what was changed. I killed my first and biggest whitetail buck with a pre'64 M/88 .308.
Granddaughters firing pin broke while at the range one day. Her dad ordered a new one and I put a new mfg one in it for her.
Whats the name of that company in Rheinlander Mo that handles a lot of Winchester warrenty stuff? We used to order a bunch of stuff from them when I was at the shop. That’s where I told old son to order FP from.
Founder Ancient Order of the 1895 Winchester
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison? And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools, Being native burghers of this desert city, Should in their own confines with forked heads Have their round haunches gored."
To my knowledge the A suffix was added after an improved firing pin was introduced, early ones had a reputation for breaking. There are also rifles with an H suffix which represents another improvement though I don't know what was changed. I killed my first and biggest whitetail buck with a pre'64 M/88 .308.
Interesting, one learns something new every day. I’ve never read anywhere that the A suffix on a M88 was indicative of the improved firing pin, can you point me to a reference?
The A suffix on the M52 and M54 were indicative of improvements on these models.
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Hunter S. Thompson
Granddaughters firing pin broke while at the range one day. Her dad ordered a new one and I put a new mfg one in it for her.
Whats the name of that company in Rheinlander Mo that handles a lot of Winchester warrenty stuff? We used to order a bunch of stuff from them when I was at the shop. That’s where I told old son to order FP from.
Wisner?
Mark
NRA Life Member Anytime anyone kicks cancers azz is a good day!
I have 6 model 88's, all pre 64 in all calibers and have never broken a firing pin. So, they weren't that prone to breaking firing pins. Granted the post 64 guns did have some improvements made, but I still like the older guns better. Now the Sako Finnwolfs were very prone to firing pins breaking and find a firing pin for them is difficult.
A unique styled barrel band held in place by a sling swivel fastener piercing the band into the stock. My singular complaint and that 'picky', is that the factory swivel, looking "tacked on". The barrel length was 19". Essentially unless an 'intruder' with all those attributes, likely just a cut down barrel without 'further intent'. Mine, pix below, by serial number on cusp of intro 1968 and yet not with the new GCA '68 mandated serial range Alfa-prefix designator. 
![[Linked Image]](https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/medium/178739.jpeg)