Converting 22 auto to 22 LR

[Alex Johnson]

The other day I was browsing through a local gunshop and I came across a Winchester semi-auto 22 that was chambered in the original 22 auto. Has anyone tried rechambering these guns to 22 LR or is there more to it than would meet the eye?

 

[Jim Watson]

You could not "rechamber" it to .22 lr. The .22 Winchester Automatic is larger in all dimensions than .22 lr, with an inside lubricated bullet. You would have to bush the chamber and chamber to .22 lr. Then there would be the problem of getting it to feed from the buttstock tube magazine. Best leave that one to a collector and look for a 63.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

On the other hand...

I've got two of the Winchester 1903s (I assume that's the model you're talking about). In good shape, they're quite valuable, and if the one you saw can be picked up cheaply, it might be worth a gamble.

The ammo is available on the internet for about the same price as 9mm ammo -- stiff, but not out of the question -- and both of mine are real TACK DRIVERS.

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As Jim says, converting the gun to .22 LR is probably not realistic. And there's some question as to whether the gun will function properly after the conversion.

(The 22 autorim round is about the diameter of a 22 magnum, but about the length of a 22 Long.)