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Old April 18, 2009, 11:54 PM   #2
James K
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Join Date: March 17, 1999
Posts: 24,383
I can't be sure at this remove, but IIRC the barrels of the Model 1903 semi-auto and that of the Model 1906 pump are the same except for the hanger for the magazine on the pump gun. Since the Model 1903 used the .22 Winchester Auto cartridge which was dropped in 1970 and which for decades before that was expensive and hard to get compared to .22 LR, it seems quite possible that someone would want to put a 1906 barrel on a 1903 for very practical reasons, rather than some modern attempt at fraud.

There are usually questions about why Winchester ever introduced the .22 Winchester Auto at all, but the answer is fairly simple. The autoloader required a consistent level of ammo and good control on its manufacture. At that time, there was no consistency at all in .22 LR ammo, and Winchester didn't want complaints caused by bad ammo. So they came up with their own cartridge, made only by them under strict quality control.

Jim
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