IIRC the Model 1903 became the Model '03 became the Model 63 when it was modded to handle regular .22LR. The 63 was manufactured up until the middle 1960s at least, so there should be parts around somewhere.
I believe that Old Western Scrounger in the Excited States has ammo manufactured for these from time to time. Ammo was made and listed in Canada until 1968, the Terrible Year That IVI De-Listed Half the World. CIL had been making money making all these old-time calibres, but IVI just wanted the Government business, so they de-listed the vast bulk of the CIL line-up, all the way to the point where they offered only TWO handgun calibres (9mm and .38 Special) and then restricted 9mm to military use and told us that 38 Special was only for the police. They also did away with .43 Mauser, .455 Colt, .38ACP, .38Super, .380, .22Savage High Power, .303Savage, .32-40, .32ACP, .25ACP,
.25RF, .25Stevens, .32BBC, .32RF Short, .32RF Long, .38RF Short, .38RF LOng, .22RF BBC, .22RF CBC, .22RF Short (several types), .22RF Long (ditto), .22 WRF, .22Rem Spl, .22 WRA (your puppy), .22 RemAuto (Remington copy), a whole whack of others, severed the British connection that was bringing in our .577 Snider, .405 Winchester and .450MH stuff. Then they demanded that we buy their junk. Now you know where all those American ammo boxes come from!
But your ammo was made until 1968. The case also was shorter than a regular .22LR and the bulet was a lightweight. Iam wondering if .22Magnum could be altered. I DO know a man who has successfully CONVERTED a 1903 to handle .22LR and the factory did it, so it is definitely possible. Just don't know how PRACTICAL it might be. Numrich has all the parts, so might someone else.
Not much, but I hope it helps a bit.
Nice rifle, anyway; really shows what Americans could turn out. Very high quality little rifle. Maybe we can get Norinco to turn out some ammo....... or Magtech or Aguila or somebody who is interested in serving the public and gaining a little bit of customer loyalty. Bring back the .25 Stevens while they're at it. Being stuck with 150 brands, loads and varieties of .22LR is not my idea of choice.
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