Winchester .22 Self Loader 1903

[Teasel]

A friend of mine has aquired a Winchester .22 Self loader 1903 which seems to shoot more or less okay. The stock is cracked and he wants to remove it to either repair it or make a new one. Can anyone point him to website where he can find infomation such as exploded parts views etc. Also I keep coming across statements about 1903 22 ammo not being the same as now???? What ever that means.
Ian (Teasel)

 

[OKFC05]

Also I keep coming across statements about 1903 22 ammo not being the same as now???? What ever that means.

Introduced for the Winchester Model 1903 semiautomatic rifle, the .22 Win Auto rimfire cartridge was never used in any other firearm.

 

[s&wchad]

Ian,
The Model 1903 was Winchester's first semi-automatic .22 rimfire and was chambered for the proprietary .22 Winchester Auto cartridge. At that time, a lot of .22 Long Rifle cartridges were loaded with black powder and the smokeless powder loads on the market had varying pressures and wouldn't always cycle an autoloader properly. The .22 Win Auto cartridge was designed so Winchester could control the ammunition used in the gun and is a bit shorter and fatter than a .22 LR. The two cartridges are not interchangeable. You can physically shoot .22 LR's out of a '03, but I don't recommend it. The brass will bulge and may split blowing hot gasses and debris out of the ejection port. .22 Winchester ammo is rather hard to find and typically brings collector prices here. There's a company in the USA, Old Western Scrounger, that has production runs made for them, but you may not have availability in the UK.

Here's a link to an exploded diagram for a Winchester Model 63. The Model 1903 and Model 63 are very similar and stock removal should be about the same.

Numrich Gun Parts Corp. - The World's Largest Supplier of Firearms Parts and Accessories

 

[Aticus]

The winchester 63 is an updated 1903 and the action and stock fitting is the same. Enjoy,

Pecos