By Mike Nesbitt

The following piece of writing was originally published in the September 1990 version of “Guns & Ammo”.

When Winchester introduced its .22 Long Rifle semi-automatic Model 63 in 1983, they really had something to be proud of. Their own ads boasted: “If you want the BEST .22 rim fire there is for fast work combined with flat trajectory, long range and hard hit-ting-here is your gun!” The Model 63 Winchester was nicknamed the “Winchester Speed King” and it was built in a way that made its owners just as proud as the manufacturer.

Some definitions must be compared at this point, or the words in Winchester’s old ad will not be understood.

They dubbed the Model 63 the “Speed King* for the speed of its bullets. The name had really nothing to do with the rifle’s possible rate of firepower. The bullets were faster than those from other .22 rimfire autoloaders because the Model 63 was designed to fire the then-new .22 high-velocity ammunition. Super-X and Super Speed 22 Long Rifle cartridges were as new, practically, as the Model 68 was in 1933.

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A general description of the M63, as introduced, would speak of a rifle with a 20-inch barrel, pistol-grip stock, and a shotgun-style buttplate of smooth steel. The receiver had the same outward shape as the M03’s — Winchester’s first .22 autoloader, which devoured the now-discontinued .22 Automatic cartridge — but there are internal differences between the two actions. The M63’s action was balanced with new springs and weights to handle .22 Long Rifle cartridges. Other differences included parts, such as the firing pins, which are not interchangeable. Winchester’s early catalog descriptions boasted loudly that the M63 was an offspring of the ’03, highly modernized.

Not everyone was so completely enamored of the new .22 Long Rille self-loader — a number of gunwriters thought the Model 63 was crippled and out of balance with its 20-inch barrel. Their cries were loud enough to make Winchester introduce a 28-inch tube on the M63 in 1936. Twenty-inch barrels remained available as an option Until 1947, but the 28-inch barrel became the standard length.

In my personal opinion, the 20-inch version is the one to have. The 20-inch barrel is more appropriate with the length of the stock, which has a pull of only 13 3/4 inches. Also, the 20-inch-barreled Model 63s are just that much more compact, which makes them easier to handle, add to the duffel in a canoe, and pack in the rig. if there are times when the short-barreled M63s are not as well-balanced as their longer-barreled brothers, it can only be during the actual moments of being aimed or fired from the offhand position. Collectors, of course, favor the 20-inch barreled M63s because there are fewer of them and the short-barreled 63s do bring premium prices when and if they hit the used-gun market.

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The other changes bestowed upon the Model 63 were small in comparison to the length of the barrel. Somewhere in the 1940s the 63 was no longer drilled and tapped for the tang sights that were made by Lyman, King, and Marbles. Those sights are very desirable to collectors today and gunsight collecting is almost as popular as cartridge collecting. Late in the 63’s period of production, receiver grooves tor scope-mounting became standard. Two other small variations are found: triggers were smooth until approximately serial number 103,000, when grooved triggers were installed, and the smooth steel buttplates received a checkering at the same time.

Both the Model 63 and the Model 1903 Winchesters were takedown rifles. Their takedown features and procedures were exactly the same, with a thumb screw at the back of the receiver. Rifles made as takedowns were very popular when these .22 autoloaders were introduced, and takedown features survived the longest on .22 rimfire rifles, some of which are still in production.

Another similarity between the Model ‘03 and the Model 63 was the tubular magazine that was located in the buttstock. The loading port in the stock just behind the pistol gap on the right side is an obvious feature. Both models of the Winchester autoloader had a magazine capacity of ten rounds because the .22 Long Rifle and the .22 Automatic have approximately the same overall length.

In the 1933 Winchester catalog the Model 63 and the Model 08 are shown side-by-side. This was the only Winchester catalog that listed both auto loaders because the ‘03 was dropped from production that year. Winchester promoted the new Model 63 rather well and the gun-buying public responded by showing that they had been waiting for a Winchester automatic in .22 Long Rifle, because sales of the Model ‘03 nearly came to a complete stop.

The Model 63 was never an inexpensive rifle: in fact, it was rather high-priced. In the 1951 Shooter’s Bible the M63 is listed at $63.60. We’d all love to find good ones for that price now, but in that same catalog the Winchester 94 carbine sold for $62.45,and the standard-grade Model 70 carried a tag of only $109.50. The prices of those centerfires will give you an idea of where the Model 63 would be priced today if it were still made. By the way, the price on the cover of that old Shooter’s bible was $1.25.

Few .22 autoloaders achieve the reputation for reliability that the Model 63 had. Being called *Winchester’s Speed King” was expanded until it became known as the king of .22 autoloaders, and the title was well deserved. The Model 63 became the choice rifle to have among .22 autoloaders, and having one was a note of status.

Even with such a fine reputation there is one weakness inside the action—the 63 is prone to breaking the firing pin. When the firing pin breaks all shooting stops until it can be replaced and no title, of royalty or otherwise, will make the rifle shoot again until a brand-new firing pin is installed. Winchester has not made parts for the 63 or the ’03 for several years, but new firing pins and some other parts are being made by Wisner’s Gun Shop, Inc., Dept GA, 287 N.M. Chehalis Ave. Chehalis, WA 98532.

A good Model 63 today is just as fine a performer as they ever were. They are as accurate as any auto loader with a similar-weight barrel, and they are lightweight enough, at 5 3/4 pounds, to be carried for many miles in the woods without becoming a burden. My own 63 functions well with either standard velocity or high-speed .22s, and CCi’s standard velocity ammo usually gets selected for plinking. As a general-purpose .22 rifle, the 63 is hard to beat.

Winchester dropped the Model 63, the “Speed King.” in 1956. A very few rifles were made after that date from parts on hand, and some 68s left the factory as late as 1964, Total Model 63 production is listed at 175,225, end to many of us today that was just not enough!