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Winchester 03

lazyw
What can you tell me about my grandfather's Winchester 03 auto, sn 105585? I saw Bert's postings from 5-08, so I know it was made after 1919. He was pretty proud of it, but alas, is not around to tell me more.

Thanks!
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  • Bert H.
    The serial number is too high (late production) to letter it through the Cody Firearms Musuem, so the exact DOM can not be determined.

    The Model 1903/03 was designed by Winchester employee Thomas Crossly (T.C.) Johnson, and it was the first semi-auto .22 caliber rifle ever manufactured. Winchester designed a proprietary cartridge for it called the "22 Winchester Auto", which has been obselete for better than 60-years now (though there have been a few special order runs of the ammo made in recent years). The Model 03 was replaced by the Model 63 in late 1932.

    Typically, most of the Model 1903/03s are not sought after as "collector" grade Winchesters. There are exceptions for the really high condition specimens, and for the deluxe rifles. Due to the scarcity of ammo, very few of them are used as "shooters", and that keeps the prices for them quite low. You can get a reasonable idea of what your rifle is worth by searching the auction side of Gunbroker (in the Sold section). Most of them that are found in the active auctions, have been relisted repeatedly because the asking prices are too high... some people incorrectly believe that all Winchesters are valuable.
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