Thread: Winchester 1903 .22 Automatic

I have been gifted a Winchester 1903 .22 Automatic. The action is in very good condition, with most of its bluing still intact. The barrel has had surface rust and someone has been a bit aggressive cleaning it off and has taken the factory bluing off. The bore is pitted, and the chamber is ugly.

Anyone had any experience converting one of these little beauties to .22 long?

Try Mark Bridgman at Custom Cartridges. I know he used to have some 22 Auto ammo. He may have done some work on them too.

22 auto is a wider and longer case than the 22lr, rim dia is .31 versus .275. this was done deliberately to stop ammo interchange as back then BP was still used in the 22 lr and that would go poorly in a semi. It would need sleeving at more cost than the guns worth I think
22 auto was still made by Aguila and was available here a few years ago. It might still be.

I have an early serial numbered '03, and managed to find some ammo for it, which can be scarce to find.
Below is a photo for comparison between the .22Auto on the left and .22LR on the right.
So far I haven't fired any rounds.

I have the 'Old Western Scrounger' ammo too. I have fired a fair number of them through my 1903 and it is absolutely reliable and accurate to boot. Hopefully some outfit will bring in more one day so the old girl can have an active retirement...

Converting an '03 to .22LR is fraught with difficulty as the entire feed system must be changed to suit the smaller diameter cases, the barrel has to be chamber sleeved and rechambered, or (the best option) rebarreled completely, the breech face bushed and remachined for the smaller rim, and the extractor modified. The weight of the bolt assembly also has to be reduced to assist functioning. After all that work (and a large wedge of cash) you wind up with a mediocre .22 semi-auto at several times the price of a good new one! A good Winchester Model 63 (the factory .22LR replacement for the '03 auto) will cost over $1,000 if you can find one, and you wouldn't scope it because of its collector value. Just buy a 10'22 and have a worry-free life!