Winchester Model 1903
Winchester Repeating Arms · Rifle · Discontinued · 1903
Also known as: Winchester 1903, Winchester Model 1903 Self-Loading Rifle
Overview
The Winchester Model 1903 is a blowback-operated, self-loading (semi-automatic) rimfire rifle and the first commercially successful semi-automatic firearm produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Designed by Thomas Crossley Johnson and introduced in 1903, it was chambered exclusively for the proprietary .22 Winchester Automatic cartridge, a smokeless-powder rimfire round created specifically for the rifle. It fed from a ten-round tubular magazine housed in the buttstock and used a takedown design. The Model 1903 was later redesigned to fire the .22 Long Rifle cartridge and reintroduced as the Winchester Model 63.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 2500 g (88.2 oz) |
| Overall Length | 940 mm (37.01") |
| Barrel Length | 508 mm (20.00") |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 10 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Tubular |
| Muzzle Velocity | 314 m/s (1030 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 144 J (106 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 75 m (82 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Walnut |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .22 Winchester Automatic · primary — also known as .22 Win Auto, .22 WA, .22 Automatic Smokeless
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic
- Feed systems: Tubular Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Cross Bolt Safety
- Features: Takedown, Buttstock Tubular Magazine, Crescent Buttplate, Self Loading Action
Service history
Operators
- Civilian sport shooters · adopted 1903
Production
Estimated total produced: 126,000 · Production years: 1903-1932
Approximately 126,000 rifles manufactured at Winchester's New Haven, Connecticut plant before being succeeded by the Model 63.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: Thomas Crossley Johnson
Discontinued: 1932
Notes
The first roughly 5,000 rifles were made without a manual safety; a cross-bolt safety was added thereafter. The .22 Winchester Automatic cartridge was proprietary and would not chamber standard .22 Long Rifle ammunition, which prevented the smokeless-only action from being damaged by early corrosive or black-powder .22 loads.
Background
The Model 1903 was Winchester's answer to the emerging self-loading market and was engineered by John Browning's protege Thomas Crossley Johnson. Its dedicated .22 Winchester Automatic cartridge was deliberately incompatible with ordinary .22 rimfire rounds, ensuring only clean smokeless ammunition was used in the delicate blowback action.