MK.III Sniper Clone

All,
Here is a link to the picture gallery of a Sniper Clone that I helped my good friend AGB-1 with.
https://www.milsurps.com/vbpicgaller...do=view&g=1306

It is a clone of the one that is on Forgotten Weapons with the Winchester A5 scope. It is sporting a Malcolm 3X scope with Steve Earle bases that HRH Combat Arms in Fort Worth mounted properly. It is about 98% finished. I need to clean up the hole for the front base in the handguard, repair a crack in the handguard with some epoxy and clean the barreled action and wax it. I free floated the barrel channel also. The action screws are torqued to 35ip. I did a ladder test with N140 and was getting a good group with 39 grains. I did not pursue that powder because I got to thinking about the length of the barrel and thought that N160 would be a better choice. After another ladder test, 44 grains of N160 came out on top. I only shot 4 rounds to conserve the .313" 185 FMJBT's that I have. The bullets and cases were weighed to 1 grain group. Cases are Remington's that are neck sized and expanded with a .310" ball. Primers were WW 8 1/2-120 LR.
The barrel has some light pitting that can be seen with a bore scope, but is bright to the eye. The throat looks very good for a 100+ year old rifle.

It should be a fine shooter in the next Vintage Sniper Match next month!

Cheers,
Steve

Not to be critical, but all the photos I have seen show the rear base attached to the barrel rather than the receiver. A5's not as easy to find as they used to be I guess? A rough one would be suitable for such a project probably, as most of the rifles are pretty rough now.

The A5s were set up to slide forward in the mounts as the rifle recoiled.; your collar is set to prevent that(?) I see.

Some time back I discussed replication of the A5 scope with a certain company in China, but apparently they gave up on the idea after seeing photos of the guts of one.

Is the chamber enlarged on that Mk.III, and is the barrel cut or foresight removed?

For some reason the original rifles all seem to have had their barrels cut behind the foresight. As the foresight could be unpinned and driven off, I can only assume that the length of the barrel itself interfered with the field of view and that was the reason for the cut-downs.

The rear base is on the receiver, like the one on Forgotten Weapons with the A5 scope, front is on the barrel about 6.25” from center of the rear. The front sight was removed along with the rear. The barrel is the original length. The scope, a Malcolm 3X, is set up the way it came out of the box. The scope is fixed in place by the front mount. The chamber has been lengthened. I am waiting for a.314 expander to arrive so I can start loading up some cast bullets. A fired case neck measures .340” with remington brass.

Very sharp looking rifle and looks like its a good shooter, too.

If you don't mind my asking, how does it compare to a more modern scope? I've been curious about these but was afraid they might be really dark due to the small objective lens.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RossMkIIEnjoyer

Very sharp looking rifle and looks like its a good shooter, too.

If you don't mind my asking, how does it compare to a more modern scope? I've been curious about these but was afraid they might be really dark due to the small objective lens.

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The repro Malcolm scopes are pretty good. I have a 6X on my .22lr Low Wall and the 3X on the ross. The glass is quite clear, but the reticle is a little on the thick side for my liking. The mounts are not all that great, but the do work. I think for the price they are hard to beat.. If you buy one, make sure to order a 3" sunshade with it. The objective lens is not recessed much in the tube.

Cheers,
Steve

Range report with cast bullets. Final load was 17.5 grains of Alliant 2400, Saeco #305 sized to .312”. Shot at 100 yards, 5 shots that a quarter will cover.

Must be another of those Ross rifle coincidences. :D

I got the pic's posted to the gallery that is linked in the first post. I will post more from 200 yards when I get a chance to shoot again and some chrono data I hope!