Winchester mod 1903
- Thread starter ZULU
- Start date
These are an absolutely lovely little rifle, Winchester's first semi-automatic .22.
To avoid the use of black-powder cartridges, Winchester developed a special round for this rifle, the .22WRA: Winchester Rimfire Automatic. This cartridge was made in Canada until 1968, at which time the old Dominion Cartridge Company was sold by CIL to a new Quebec company Industries Valcartier Incorporee. They put about 30 oldtime rounds out of production.
Winchester later reintroduced this rifle in .22LR as the Model 63. Some folks convert the old ones with 63 parts.
To avoid the use of black-powder cartridges, Winchester developed a special round for this rifle, the .22WRA: Winchester Rimfire Automatic. This cartridge was made in Canada until 1968, at which time the old Dominion Cartridge Company was sold by CIL to a new Quebec company Industries Valcartier Incorporee. They put about 30 oldtime rounds out of production.
Winchester later reintroduced this rifle in .22LR as the Model 63. Some folks convert the old ones with 63 parts.
The 22 auto version won't feed longrifle shells I think because of the nose shape. I think that is why the 22 auto shell had the funny tapered point. I have occasionally wondered if they would feet 22 long rifle shells if I tapered the slugs with one of those small hand held pencil sharpeners. Unfortunately I sold my gun and never tried.
Worth noting that long rifle shells will fire in the gun but the cases split
cheers mooncoon
Worth noting that long rifle shells will fire in the gun but the cases split
cheers mooncoon
They could have got the Long Rifle to feed if they had wanted to. They proved that with the Model 63, which has a LOT of parts in common with the 1903.
The real concern at that time was the prevalence of black-powder and semi-smokless loads on the market for the .22RF. The 1903 was viewed as a piece of precision equipment and they didn't want people hauling it apart completely every time it needed to be cleaned.... which would have been every time it was shot. So they invented a new cartridge, which was copied by Remington and called the .22 Remington Automatic and which was NEVER made as a blackpowder or semi-smokless round; it was straight smokeless right from the word "GO!".
As mooncoon has pointed out, the .22 Long Rifle will split, each and every time, in the .22WRA chamber. But the .22 Long Rifle is also LONGER than the .22WRA, even though power is just about the same. All they really did was put a .22 Long Rifle load into a slightly shorter, fatter casing.
One factor that kept sales of the rifles down was the relative scarcity of the special ammunition for the things. Some shops wouldn't carry the special ammo, or else just got in a couple of boxes when they had a special order for the stuff. That left regular .22RF Long Rifle in a wild variety of loadings as the standard: smokeless, semi-smokless, duplex and Black all were available for many years. Gradually, the Black lost favour, followed by the duplex loads, then the semi-smokeless faded, leaving the smokeless as the one-and-only type available. But this took a LONG time, and semi-smokeless still was available for years after the smokeless had become the 'standard' round..... and the 1903 was out of production, replaced by the Model 63, which continued in production until the 1960s.
The 1903, and the follow-up Model 63, both were expensive little rifles to make. Remember, in 1903 you still could buy a brand-new single-shot for under $2.... from Winchester, too! The 1903 and the 63 both were expensive to make and they were expensive to buy. I started shooting a little before the Model 63 finally calfed and I can say honestly that I NEVER saw a single one out in the field. Nobody around here could afford one.... except for the one guy who never shot his..... that the hardware store kept a single box of shells on hand for. He re-ordered about once a year.... a single box.
The ammunition also was expensive even while it was being made, roughly double the price of regular .22 Long Rifle. The ammo price helped to keep rifle production low and the rifle price helped to keep ammo production low.... and the result was rifles and ammo BOTH expensive. But it was a very good rifle and it used a very good cartridge. I still have a box of real old stuff around here, somewhere.
BTW, there also was a .22 Winchester Rim Fire (.22WRF) available, which was a sort-of-a Nineteenth Century version of a .22 Magnum. It was slightly fatter than a regular .22RF and quite a bit longer, always used a copper case and was rather costly. It was for the Winchester 1890 pump rifle, which became the Model 1906 when it, too, became a regular .22RF type. The .22WRF had a lot more wallop than a regular .22RF (and also was copied by Remington, called the .22 Remington Special), but it cost almost as much as the ammo for my Cooey Canuck, which eats .25 Stevens Rimfire ammo...... and GAWD!, but how I WISH somebody would put that number (the .25 Stevens) back into production!!!!
There are over 100 varieties of .22RF Long Rifle available on the market today, all competing against each other for what market there is. You'd think that SOMEBODY would realise that there still exist (literally) millions of old guns that need to be fed.... and they use cartridges like the .22WRA, .22RA, .22WRF, .22RS, .25RF, .25 Stevens, .32RF Short, .32RF Long and all the rest. This dearth of amo for the neatest old rifles is one of the BIGGEST p*ss-offs of living in this century!
The real concern at that time was the prevalence of black-powder and semi-smokless loads on the market for the .22RF. The 1903 was viewed as a piece of precision equipment and they didn't want people hauling it apart completely every time it needed to be cleaned.... which would have been every time it was shot. So they invented a new cartridge, which was copied by Remington and called the .22 Remington Automatic and which was NEVER made as a blackpowder or semi-smokless round; it was straight smokeless right from the word "GO!".
As mooncoon has pointed out, the .22 Long Rifle will split, each and every time, in the .22WRA chamber. But the .22 Long Rifle is also LONGER than the .22WRA, even though power is just about the same. All they really did was put a .22 Long Rifle load into a slightly shorter, fatter casing.
One factor that kept sales of the rifles down was the relative scarcity of the special ammunition for the things. Some shops wouldn't carry the special ammo, or else just got in a couple of boxes when they had a special order for the stuff. That left regular .22RF Long Rifle in a wild variety of loadings as the standard: smokeless, semi-smokless, duplex and Black all were available for many years. Gradually, the Black lost favour, followed by the duplex loads, then the semi-smokeless faded, leaving the smokeless as the one-and-only type available. But this took a LONG time, and semi-smokeless still was available for years after the smokeless had become the 'standard' round..... and the 1903 was out of production, replaced by the Model 63, which continued in production until the 1960s.
The 1903, and the follow-up Model 63, both were expensive little rifles to make. Remember, in 1903 you still could buy a brand-new single-shot for under $2.... from Winchester, too! The 1903 and the 63 both were expensive to make and they were expensive to buy. I started shooting a little before the Model 63 finally calfed and I can say honestly that I NEVER saw a single one out in the field. Nobody around here could afford one.... except for the one guy who never shot his..... that the hardware store kept a single box of shells on hand for. He re-ordered about once a year.... a single box.
The ammunition also was expensive even while it was being made, roughly double the price of regular .22 Long Rifle. The ammo price helped to keep rifle production low and the rifle price helped to keep ammo production low.... and the result was rifles and ammo BOTH expensive. But it was a very good rifle and it used a very good cartridge. I still have a box of real old stuff around here, somewhere.
BTW, there also was a .22 Winchester Rim Fire (.22WRF) available, which was a sort-of-a Nineteenth Century version of a .22 Magnum. It was slightly fatter than a regular .22RF and quite a bit longer, always used a copper case and was rather costly. It was for the Winchester 1890 pump rifle, which became the Model 1906 when it, too, became a regular .22RF type. The .22WRF had a lot more wallop than a regular .22RF (and also was copied by Remington, called the .22 Remington Special), but it cost almost as much as the ammo for my Cooey Canuck, which eats .25 Stevens Rimfire ammo...... and GAWD!, but how I WISH somebody would put that number (the .25 Stevens) back into production!!!!
There are over 100 varieties of .22RF Long Rifle available on the market today, all competing against each other for what market there is. You'd think that SOMEBODY would realise that there still exist (literally) millions of old guns that need to be fed.... and they use cartridges like the .22WRA, .22RA, .22WRF, .22RS, .25RF, .25 Stevens, .32RF Short, .32RF Long and all the rest. This dearth of amo for the neatest old rifles is one of the BIGGEST p*ss-offs of living in this century!
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Yes, that was Adolf Topperwein who did that..... some gawdawful humungous number in 5 figures with only a handful of misses.
I likely could do it myself, but with a few rules changed: 10-bore, 5 yards, Number 8 shot, targets on a fence.... little things like that!
This is a wonderful old gun.
DO have fun!
I likely could do it myself, but with a few rules changed: 10-bore, 5 yards, Number 8 shot, targets on a fence.... little things like that!
This is a wonderful old gun.
DO have fun!
I should mention that I did once own a model 1903 and fired one box of shells through it. I had a second box but the priming had deteriorated and they would not fire. Also single loaded a few longrifle shells in it. Gun was in perfect, as new shape, and accurate but I eventually sold it because of the lack of ammo for it.
cheers mooncoon
cheers mooncoon
You were a very lucky guy, mooncoon, to have had that experience. I rather hope that friend ZULU might be that lucky.
He might be, if we can persuade some ammo company that there IS somewhat of a market for a lot of the old calibres. Perhaps what we should do is start a letter-writing campaign. Workd for politicians, that much I do know.....
I do know one thing: if it were available and not much more than double the price of Wildcats, I WOULD lay in a brick of .25 Stevens every month until I had this old WW2 mine chest filled. Those old guns are just so much darned FUN to shoot. Cooey Canuck with the .25 Stevens will drift a slug in one side and out the other of a STEEL 45-gallon drum and THEN send it winging off across the landscape. What I really wonder is why nobody developed a semi-auto for such a terrific cartridge.
He might be, if we can persuade some ammo company that there IS somewhat of a market for a lot of the old calibres. Perhaps what we should do is start a letter-writing campaign. Workd for politicians, that much I do know.....
I do know one thing: if it were available and not much more than double the price of Wildcats, I WOULD lay in a brick of .25 Stevens every month until I had this old WW2 mine chest filled. Those old guns are just so much darned FUN to shoot. Cooey Canuck with the .25 Stevens will drift a slug in one side and out the other of a STEEL 45-gallon drum and THEN send it winging off across the landscape. What I really wonder is why nobody developed a semi-auto for such a terrific cartridge.
