age of Stevens model 940 shotgun?

[Jal5]

I believe it was produced by Stevens years before that company was bought out by Savage. anyone know anything about these shotguns?  I bought this years ago from a friend who had it in his family a looong time. 23/4 in. barrel, full choke, nice light wood stock and forend. Bead sight. Has a dog etched into the receiver- not sure what type of metal the receiver is though.
I am trying to figure out how old it might be.
Still works fine. My kids all learned to hunt with it.
Joe

[wink_man]

On the barrel, near the frame, or on the frame, you will find a very small circle or oval with one or two numbers, and a letter stamped within it. Sometimes it is VERY small, and you need a magnifying glass to see the letter(at least I do, LOL). That single letter is the key to when it was manufactured. Click on this link, and you'll have the info you need to determine what year it was made if you can find that circle or oval with the letter in it.

http://www.cylindersmith.com/savage24/datecode.html

[Jal5]

thanks that was the first solid lead I had on this question. It looks like SP or maybe 5P on the barrel making it 1963 or 1965.  Funny the way my friend described having this gun I thought it might be even older than that.

Joe