What is the value of a Browning 7MM made in Belgium with the numbers 8L-47828 on it?

Answer 1

Your rifle was made in 1968 at FN Belgium. What grade is the rifle? The 1968 gun law forced Browning to start using the "L" in all of the long action rifles. It is difficult to know what grade a person may have based soley upon the serial number. For example, in 1967 the Safari Grade had the "L", the Medallion Grade had the "X" and the Olympian Grade had a "P". From 1968 until the end of production in 1975, the long action rifles had an "L" in all of the long action rifles (.300 Win, .308 Norma, .338, .458, .375 and 7 mm). Your Browning has a factory pad. It could be a short or long extractor as in 1968 Browning went to the short extracor, but still had some excess receivers left in the long extractor configuration. The long extractor is worth a little more money. Browning made a lot of 7 mm Bolt Actions (approx 8200 total and about 439 in 1968), so they are not as sought after from a collectors stand point. Your rifle may also have a salt wood stock. Numerous rifles have been produced under the Browning trade name over the years. 7mm is the caliber, and 8L-47828 is the serial number. To answer your question, you need all of the markings from the rifle, including the model number and place of manufacture (e.g., Belgium, Japan, etc.). In any event, for a gun with collectors' value, the most important element is condition. Without all of that information, no value can be estimated.