The Winchester Model 1905 (also known as the Model 05), is a

blowback-operated Blowback is a system of operation for self-loading firearms that obtains energy from the motion of the cartridge case as it is pushed to the rear by expanding gas created by the ignition of the propellant charge. Several blowback systems exist wit ...

, semi-automatic

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

produced by the

Winchester Repeating Arms Company The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American manufacturer of repeating firearms and ammunition. The firm was established in 1866 by Oliver Winchester and was located in New Haven, Connecticut. The firm went into receivership ...

beginning in 1905 and discontinued in 1920. This rifle loads cartridges from a 5 or 10-round capacity, detachable

box magazine A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm, either integral within the gun (internal/fixed magazine) or externally attached (detachable magazine). The magazine functions by holding several cartridges withi ...

located immediately forward of the

trigger guard A trigger guard is a protective loop surrounding the trigger of a firearm designed to prevent unwanted contact with the trigger, which may cause an accidental discharge. Other devices that use a trigger-like actuator mechanism, such as inhaler ...

. Winchester offered factory chamberings in .32SL and

.35 Winchester Self-Loading The .35 Winchester Self-Loading (also called .35SL, .35SLR, or .35WSL) is an American rifle cartridge. Overview Winchester introduced the .32SL and .35SL in the Winchester '05 self-loading rifle as a centerfire cartridge version of the Winch ...

(.35 WSL). Notably, a Model 1905 in .35 WSL was used by Harry Payne Whitney on an arctic expedition. The rifle proved reliable in extreme low-temperatures, but was insufficiently powerful for taking large game such as musk ox. The basic design for the Winchester Model 1905 is covered by issued August 27, 1901 and assigned to

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

by Thomas Crossley Johnson, a key firearms designer for Winchester. This patent was initially used to protect the design of the rimfire Winchester Model 1903, but came to be applied toward the centerfire Winchester Self Loading rifle series, which includes the Model 1905, Model 1907 and Model 1910. Winchester SL 05 Take Down

In 1941 Winchester designed the

M1 Carbine The M1 carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine that was a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The M1 carbine was produced ...

in response to a US Army competition for a light rifle. The designers were able to adapt the Model 1905 trigger group and magazine for the trials rifle which saved on research and development time.

Variants

In addition to the standard or "plain finish" model, a deluxe or "fancy finish" model was offered with

pistol grip On a firearm or other tools, a pistol grip is a distinctly protruded handle underneath the main mechanism, to be held by the user's hand at a more vertical (and thus more ergonomic) angle, similar to the how one would hold a conventional pis ...

stock and checkering on the forearm and wrist of the

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a compan ...

. The plain finish rifles were offered in 1905 at a list price of $28, the fancy finish rifles for $43.Winchester Repeating Arms Company 1905 Guns Catalog Reproduction by Cornell Military Publications. Brighton, MI 48114

References

External links

The Vintage Semi-Automatic Sporting Rifles Forum - Winchester Model 1905 - http://vintagesemiautorifle.proboards105.com/index.cgi?board=win05 Semi-automatic rifles of the United States Winchester Repeating Arms Company firearms {{rifle-stub