1903 Winchester .22 Trainer - AG Parker Conversion

[skirsons]

I know there is very little documented about this rather scarce rifle, but I seem to have an even scarcer variation.

I'm sure lots of you saw the one for sale on the EE. This is the one I ended up with. It is a 22LR conversion, but not an unofficial conversion strangely enough.

I noticed the end of the muzzle has writing on it. It was dirty, but reads "Parkerifled - AGP". It is lined with a .22 liner and reamed out to accept said liner!! It is a .22 Auto relined to .22LR!

It is re-stamped on the barrel, which is all-original Winchester on the outside.

Now my question is: is this likely to be a commercial conversion? I didn't know AG Parker converted these rifles to .22LR. Is this an abortive test to see if the 1903's could be converted to a more standard smokeless cartridge for military use (since the reason it was chambered in .22 auto was because of the BP .22LR's that would gum up the semi auto action).

In any case, it is strange. I thought it was a gunsmith conversion - some home-made project, but no.

It is sadly missing part of the magazine. It looks like the metal on the stock wrist is drilled for two screws which attach a tang sight - a lyman or parker probably. I will probably end up buying a .22 auto version of this rifle and stealing the part so I can fire this World War I semi-auto rifle.

 

[green]

Parker rifleing was a method of permanently placing a tube in a barrel to renew a shot out barrel or to convert to another calibre. It was extensively used to convert large calibre (.303") to .22 for the armed forces and civilians. This service was offered commercially for decades.
If it was done for the military it should have a second set of military proof and inspection stamps.

 

[skirsons]

Thanks for the help. Do you mean that this service was offered to individuals? Or that it was a company-initiated effort to sell a line of products to the public?

 

[Mk VII]

It was offered to individuals on a case-by-case basis. In the days when .22 barrels had a short life no matter how much care you took of them it was quite popular in England.

“PARKERIFLING is the name given to the process of relining small calibre barrels, using smallbore tubes by trained experts in our own factory.
The shooting records gained by many of our past and present customers bear adequate testimony to the claim often made for “Parkerifled” barrels that they shoot better “than new”. Thus the process pioneered the advent of reliable accuracy which coincided with what we now take for granted, viz.:- the capability of the modern .22 bullet to maintain grouping at 100yds within one minute of angle.
The reliability and comparative versatility obtained today with leading brands of long rifle ammunition have closed the gap which used to exist between barrels of different makes and the general use of non-corrosive ammunition has greatly reduced the necessity for the renewal of the insides of barrels. Nevertheless, Parkerifling remains in greater demand than ever, although its uses have altered from target rifles to sporting calibre conversions. H.M. Government has repeatedly ordered calibre conversions from .303” to .22” by this method.
Every Parkerifled barrel is by law submitted to the Birmingham Proof House and carries the appropriate proof marks to shew that it has withstood the overload pressure test for safety.” -

Parker-Hale 1960 catalog