What Do I Have?

[RossMkIIEnjoyer]

I bought this receiver on a whim. The receiver is drilled and tapped and it looks to me that its for the bridge with Ross battle sight like the Mk II** has. I am going off example 18 on page 14 of Sir Charles Ross and His Rifle. The barrel doesn't look particularly heavier than the Mk II*** I own and appears to have formerly had a barrel mounted rear sight. This barrel was not installed in the receiver when I bought them so I suppose there is a possibility that they aren't from the same rifle. Maybe someone installed a rear bridge on a Mk II*** which seems much more common. Any way to tell?
Thanks.

Information

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[tiriaq]

Looks to be a standard 1905 (Mk. II) receiver. These sometimes had aperture sights retrofitted.

[RossMkIIEnjoyer]

Thanks. I thought it would be a more common model. Need to track down a bolt and I want to see if I can get a new barrel turned for it with the heavy Mk. II** profile since I found a print of one. I had been think about that before running across this receiver. Problem will be getting someone to thread it but I'm in no rush. I think what scares people away from cutting the thread is that it's a buttress thread rather than common v form thread.

[tiriaq]

The thread configuration and left hand twist are different, but the biggest problem with cutting the thread is the very rapid twist. Many lathes just don't have the gear option. There are gunsmiths who have done the job.
An option is to turn a scrap barrel shank into a bushing, and fit a new barrel to that.
If you want to make a custom target style Ross, the easiest approach is to use a 1910(Mk.III) action. Those threads are right hand square. Rebarreling is akin to doing a P'14.
Badly bubba'd rifles are common enough in Canada, and although prices are creeping up, suitable actions can still be harvested.

[Surpmil]

CNC would make easy work of the barrel threads. Drawings exist online IIRC.

The holes show that a charger bridge and sight base was fitted at one time.

Probably not worth trying to build up; just a paper weight now. You should be able to find a sporterized rifle to restore or fully sporterize. No harm in that where the stock and barrel are both trashed, IMHO.

[RossMkIIEnjoyer]

I would like to buy a sporterized 1910 that it wouldn't be a loss to build a target rifle from but the ones I have seen on gunbroker are decent and I don't modify original rifles even though what I do is reversible. I wouldn't mind importing one from Canada but it quickly runs into more money than the gun itself.

I was thinking CNC lathe could do it also. Will have to dig harder for the print of the barrel thread. I found I really like the straight pull action and would also like to import a Steel Action HM rifle from Germany but in the end this will still be much cheaper. Just need a barrel and complete bolt for this one. For the stock I'll add some wood to the old butchered stock and bring it to a 14.5" length of pull, add a cheekpiece and rework forend then get it duplicated.

[tiriaq]

Yes, a CNC machining center would be an effective way to get the threads cut.
A suggestion for caliber... .30/.303 might be an option. .303 case using .308 bullets in a .300/.308 barrel. Allows a much wider selection of bullets, including the various superb match bullets. And .300/.308 barrels are readily available.

[Surpmil]

I'd agree that the Mk.III./M1910 action is a better choice all round. Not as aesthetically pleasing as the Mk.II/1905 perhaps, but massively strong; only the Arisaka's are said to be comparable.

[Bluenoser]

I much prefer the look, weight and feel of the 1905/Mk II over the 1910/Mk III, but would not undertake a target rifle or sporter build with a new barrel around anything other than a Mk II** receiver. The Mk II** has right hand V threads and uses the same trigger assembly as the Mk III - which is quite superior to that of the other Mk II models.

[tiriaq]

I much prefer the look, weight and feel of the 1905/Mk II over the 1910/Mk III, but would not undertake a target rifle or sporter build with a new barrel around anything other than a Mk II** receiver. The Mk II** has right hand V threads and uses the same trigger assembly as the Mk III - which is quite superior to that of the other Mk II models.

A II** is probably the best action to use for a custom project, although suitable candidates are less often encountered than Mk. III or the other Mk. IIs. I have a sported II** marked Alex Martin. I assume Martin had sold the II** as a range rifle, and it was subsequently sported. The bore is so eroded that a .303 bullet will drop in a few inches.
The flush magazine is an additional desirable feature.