1903 Winchester .22 Rimfire Auto...

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Cowboy Shooter

New member
Gun Show Success

I went to the gun show last weekend. I found three boxes of 22 Auto ammo. One dealer had two boxes and said he could get more. We'll see. I'll keep my fingers crossed but I won't hold my breath.
 
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LA hunter

New member
1903 winchester automatic

Hi all , I have an 1903 in really good shape. I also have 2 boxes of ammo from old western sorenger . I have not shot any because I really want more before I use up what I have. AS to new ammo if and when it is ever available I am in for at least 4 or more bricks.
 
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James K

Member In Memoriam
Three million rounds sounds like a lot of ammo, and I wouldn't want to carry that much very far, but it is small potatoes to an ammunition manufacturer. I wish everyone who owns one of those old Winchesters a lot of luck in finding ammo or getting new production started. The problem is there is just not enough demand and no company wants to stick its neck out to make a bunch of something it can't sell.

BTW, .22 WMR is an elongated .22 WRF so firing .22 WRF in a .22 WMR chamber is like shooting .22 Short in a .22 LR chamber.

FWIW, the reason for the .22 Winchester Auto and the .22 Remington Auto was that when the guns came out, the .22 LR had not been fully developed; loadings were not uniform and .22 LR was still loaded with black powder. Not only would black powder gum up the works of the new rifles, but its pressure curve resulted in poor functioning.

So, in order to minimize problems with the new autoloaders, both companies developed special cartridges which they would load and control; the cartridges, the .22 Winchester Auto and the .22 Remington Auto are similar, but not fully interchangeable.

Jim
 
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M2CARR

New member
Ongoing negotiations on 1903 Winchester .22 Rimfire Auto...

JEFFSTATEGLASS - Please keep up all posted on what you hear on the 22 Auto Ammo. I just fired my fathers Winchester 03 Auto Rifle last week with my Dad (85) for the 1st time. What a gun. We limited ourselves to 6 rounds each as we only have one box left. Didn't know at the time that we were dropping a buck a round. Let us know if there is a list to get on to help build some demand. Thanks for your efforts.
 
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Jeffstateglass

New member
Silver lining.

Things were starting to look pretty discouraging. Between the "Mexican minute" (why do now what you can put off 'till tomorrow) attempts to pin down the fine print, the lack of concrete information from the BATF regarding the myriad of legalities defining "importer / wholesaler / supplier / retailer" ad nauseum, and it appeared that the project would go down in flames.

In a last ditch effort to keep the project afloat we wrote off months of work and passed the torch off to, none other than, "The Old Western Scrounger" (OWS); now located in West Va. If you recall, the original OWS located in Montague Ca. was the original source for reproduction 1903 ammo. They contracted with Tecnos / Aguila to have the stamping dies created and the original run of the repro ammo made.

We notified OWS of our frustration in dealing with the factory, domestic distributor and the BATF. We received the following from OWS a short time ago. "Yes, the ammunition will be manufactured for us by Aguila later this year."

And so, email them, call them, write them, but most importantly, support them and buy a box or a brick!

Here's their contact link:

http://www.ows-ammo.com/store/index.php?main_page=contact_us&zenid=627b8aa55275ec9186831a23d2af0a42
 
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matzengunworks

New member
New Here!

Hello, stumbled over this when looking for ammo for my 1903 Winchester. Thanks to all that have shared info on this subject. To the person who stated that Aguila was making another run of .22 WIN Auto Ammo- Any idea what the cost might be per box or brick of ammo?

Thanks
David
 
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Jeffstateglass

New member
I have an email into OWS regarding production status, or lack thereof.

One individual who is familiar with the nuts and bolts of dealing with our neighbors to the south stated; "One thing I learned from doing business with Mexicans is : they NEVER do what they say they are going to do."

Based on my personal interaction with Aguila Ammo back when I was negotiating the production run of this ammo myself, I'd have to agree...
 
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sawguy50

New member
If anyone is still watching this thread, there is a full brick of 22 win auto for sale on gunbroker set to end in about 8 hours.
 
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sawguy50

New member
Just recieved update from OWS tha there is going to be a run in 2013 of .22 win auto. Register at their website to be notified when shipment arrives.
 
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Jeffstateglass

New member
Now available

Good things come to those who wait~

Check Google / Bing or your favorite search engine for " 22 Win Automatic 1903 ammo, Aguila, 45gr. "

Although OWS is conspicuously absent from the supplier list, several other sources now exist. It would appear that Aguila did an end around on everyone and decided that they would be manufacturer, importer and wholesaler in one fell swoop.

At this time, J&G, and a few others have the ammo in stock and ready to ship.
 
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Moyer

New member
Can anyone tell me, is shooting 22LR dangerous in one of these guns? Or will it just become a single shot? Or will it jam hard so I'll have to pry it out?

I just received one of these interesting old guns as a very generous gift. The owner implied that it just needed to be cleaned good so it would function. I don't think he realized that it's not a 22lr :p

I'm planning on ordering the correct ammo for it, but I'm curious about how careful I need to be to make sure nobody else tries to stick a 22lr in there??? Thanks gentlemen.
 
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Scorch

New member
Moyer-
22 Winchester Automatic is indeed different than 22LR. Dimensionally, the case is .050" larger in diameter (it used a jacketed bullet instead of the lead heeled bullet of the 22LR) and .100" longer. Additionally, the rim is almost .100" larger in diameter. If you try to feed 22LR through your Model 1903, it will probably jam in the feeding tube or at the shell stop. Since there is so much difference in rim diameter, you would probably have trouble getting a good firing pin strike on the rim. If you were to single feed one into the chamber and actually fire it, I have absolutely no doubt the case would split. All in all, I would suggest you either have it modified to feed 22LR or buy some of the 22 Win Auto ammo available at $30/box. I myself just picked one up a few weeks ago, and am planning on rebarreling and modifying the feed mechanism to fire 22 LR.
 
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Moyer

New member
I just found ammo at J&G for $15 a box. Lucky timing for me since it looks like it was super scarce up until very recently. Realistically, I'll probably never shoot 500 rounds through it, so just buying some expensive ammo should be cheaper than a lot of gunsmithing (for me anyway).
 
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Andy Griffith

New member
If I am correct, the case of the .22 Win Auto is the same rim and diameter of the .22 WRF or Mag. If there was a way to pull the bullet, trim the case, charge with a correct amount of powder and reseat the bullet, you'l be in business.

I've heard of fellers that reload .22 rimfire, and some of the same dies and tool could be utilized here.

I ordered a couple of boxes from J&G. The price seems high, but I've seen cheapo Magnum ammo sell for more lately. :(
 
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Scorch

New member
If I am correct, the case of the .22 Win Auto is the same rim and diameter of the .22 WRF or Mag.
Click to expand...
If you were correct it might be. However, you are not correct. Check Cartridges Of The World and you will see that the rim is .310" and body diameter is .250", substantially larger than the .290" and .240" for 22 WRF/22WMR.
 
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irl104

New member
The new manufactured 22 Auto ammo is out and being produced. I bought a brick of 10 boxes of 50 rounds for 14.70 per box.
 
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