Winchester 1903 - The Firearms Forum

glassparman · 10-27-2011, 02:31 PM

So I'm new here but I love the place already. Just wanted to share this funny story.

My father was an avid gun guy and I inherited many collector guns . . . some of which I will not discuss. Others were real cool plinking guns. One of the guns I got was a mint condition Winchester 1903 .22

Now, before I knew much about this gun I assumed that it was a regular .22 and I tried to shoot regular ammo. I always thought something was wrong with the gun because it would only fire maybe 1 out of 5 rounds I tried. I finally gave up.

One day I'm searching around on the 'net and I run across an article about this gun and learn the history on that cartridge. Needless to say I felt like a dummy trying to shoot ammo that was too small in it.

I searched and searched and finally gave up trying to get some ammo for it. After seeing people selling ammo from that batch of OWS for several bucks a round, I was disgusted and decided it would just go over the fireplace.

Then one day I'm at the barber shop talkin' guns with my long time barber. He says he knows a guy that might have some. Several months later, I come in for a haircut and he hands me a box of Winchester .22 Automatic. I take it home and check it with my calipers and it is dead on.

They were the older rounds in a copper casing, not the newer OWS stuff. After looking the rounds over for a while, I thought they looked familiar. I go out to the shop and open the box of collector rounds that i also inherited from my father; low and behold, there is a whole handful of that old .22 automatic stuff laying in there.

The moral of the story is: inventory what you have and write it down.

Michael

Big Shrek · 10-30-2011, 03:05 PM

Just one thing, Glassparman...

We live for Rifle Pron!!

10-27-2011, 02:31 PM	#1
glassparman Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 36	Winchester 1903 So I'm new here but I love the place already. Just wanted to share this funny story. My father was an avid gun guy and I inherited many collector guns . . . some of which I will not discuss. Others were real cool plinking guns. One of the guns I got was a mint condition Winchester 1903 .22 Now, before I knew much about this gun I assumed that it was a regular .22 and I tried to shoot regular ammo. I always thought something was wrong with the gun because it would only fire maybe 1 out of 5 rounds I tried. I finally gave up. One day I'm searching around on the 'net and I run across an article about this gun and learn the history on that cartridge. Needless to say I felt like a dummy trying to shoot ammo that was too small in it. I searched and searched and finally gave up trying to get some ammo for it. After seeing people selling ammo from that batch of OWS for several bucks a round, I was disgusted and decided it would just go over the fireplace. Then one day I'm at the barber shop talkin' guns with my long time barber. He says he knows a guy that might have some. Several months later, I come in for a haircut and he hands me a box of Winchester .22 Automatic. I take it home and check it with my calipers and it is dead on. They were the older rounds in a copper casing, not the newer OWS stuff. After looking the rounds over for a while, I thought they looked familiar. I go out to the shop and open the box of collector rounds that i also inherited from my father; low and behold, there is a whole handful of that old .22 automatic stuff laying in there. The moral of the story is: inventory what you have and write it down. Michael -->

10-30-2011, 03:05 PM	#2
Big Shrek Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: NorthWest Florida Posts: 923	Re: Winchester 1903 Just one thing, Glassparman... We live for Rifle Pron!! __________________ Marlin Specialist Calico Specialist A gun should be a tool in the hands of a deadly weapon, not a deadly weapon in the hands of a tool.