Snapshot: Winchester’s Rimfire Rout

by
posted on February 5, 2018
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
rout.jpg

It seemed like a good idea at the time. When the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. rolled out its graceful, 10-shot semi-automatic Model 1903 rifle, it wasn’t entirely clear that the .22 Long Rifle would become the most dominant rimfire cartridge of all time. Back in 1903, smokeless powder was still a relatively new thing in commercial firearms, and Winchester was concerned that blackpowder .22 Long Rifle cartridges would be used in the Thomas Crossley Johnson-designed Model 1903.


To keep blackpowder .22s from gumming up the works in the blowback-operated, tubular-magazine-fed Model 1903,
Winchester decided to chamber the gun for a new rimfire cartridge, the .22 Winchester Automatic. It featured a proprietary case and an inside-lubricated 45-gr. bullet. When Winchester commissioned this piece of art to promote the then-brand-new Model 1903 and its brand-spanking-new cartridge, the company thought it had a winner on its hands.

But Winchester lost the battle—and the war—against the .22 Long Rifle. The company waved the white flag in 1933, and its Model 1903 became the Model 63—chambered in .22 Long Rifle. No factory guns for the .22 Winchester Automatic cartridge have been produced since the 1930s. And Winchester now makes billions of .22 Long Rifle cartridges every year, but no .22 Winchester Automatic. That said, Aguila Ammunition has done special runs of .22 Winchester Automatic for the more than 125,000 Model 1903s made.

Image courtesy WinfieldGalleries.com.

Latest

Ruger LC Carbine In 10 mm Auto
Ruger LC Carbine In 10 mm Auto

Review: Ruger LC Carbine In 10 mm Auto

Following the success of its .45 ACP-chambered LC Carbine, Ruger realized that this platform would go a long way toward making the 10 mm Auto more controllable and fun to shoot, and a new 10 mm version was released in 2024.

The Armed Citizen® July 14, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Favorite Firearms: A Little Stevens From Chicago

"Over the next five or six years, and before I went off to college, I fired hundreds and hundreds of rounds of .22 BB Caps, CB Caps, Shorts and Longs through this rifle."

Preview: Strike Industries T-Bone Charging Handle

The T-Bone from Strike Industries is an ideal fit for suppressed applications, as it can be configured by the user to redirect gas blowback entirely to either side ...

New For 2025: Weatherby Model 307 Range XP 2.0 & Alpine ST Rifles

Weatherby's Model 307 bolt-action rifle opens up a world of aftermarket components to consumers, thanks to its Model 700 receiver footprint, and the company now has two new models for hunters and sport shooters.

Preview: Thunderbolt To The Rebels | The United States Sharpshooters In The Civil War

Author Darin Wipperman provides a tantalizing glimpse into the world of Berdan’s sharpshooters during the American Civil War.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.