A bevy of Ross rifles...and a bunch o' other battle rifles

By all accounts, the 1913-2013 Bisley Commemorative Ross and battle rifle shoot was a great success. It was certainly good fun.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...IMG_0945-1.jpg

The weather held off on Saturday and was beautiful on Sunday.
We wound up with 14 Ross rifles at the event – most for shooting and a couple for show (one not pictured below).

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...IMG_0943-1.jpg

A range of other battle rifles were also represented.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...IMG_0956-1.jpg

The Ross rifles covered a broad spectrum:
A 1908 Mk II 3*, a 1910 Mk II 5*, two 1916 Mk IIIs, two 1917 Mk IIIs, a couple of undated Mk III sporters, a Mk II 2* Commercial Target, a .280 Ross and a Commercial Cadet. A couple of the rifles were ex-sporters placed in new wood by a fellow making Mk III stocks. Very nice work. The rifle Bill Hawkins used to win the King’s Prize at Bisley in 1913, and the rifle Sir Charles Ross presented to him for his win were there…pictorially at least…thanks to the current owner in the U.S. providing some photos (thanks Gordon).

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...IMG_0946-1.jpg

A view pics from the event:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...IMG_0980-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...IMG_0974-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...e369840d-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...IMG_0972-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...IMG_0930-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...IMG_0934-1.jpg

Just might have to do this again...

Kudos to event organizers and members of the Fullbore target club that supervised the shooting and scoring on this tremendous range. It was an unforgettable experience and I would strongly urge people to register in an event like this. In the final stage I found myself shooting my '21 Lithgow SMLE against a Mark III Ross at 400m (about 450 yards)- incredible. It's a real eye opener to see these 90-95 year old rifles scoring well at this kind of range with stock military sights.

Ridolpho