My new Ross Rifle Mk.III

[LiffordVolunteer]

This MK III Ross looks like a good candidate for a refit. I WOULD have it checked by a gunsmith for TWO KEY reasons: Bolt is assembled correctly; chamber isnt grossly oversize and properly headspaced.

Some MK III;s had their chambers reamed out larger than necessary to cope with the variations in .303 ammunition between British and Canadian Govt sources.

I had one of these Ross MK IIIs from 1964 until 1992 when I traded of so someone else could have as much use and fun as I had had with it.

I acquired my MKIII Ross in 1964 at an Ontario Arms Collectors Show on North Yonge at that vegetable market where it was held on Sundays. It was $10.00 as the last six inches of the barrel were rusted out and the stock was cut down. Bolt/Action had beautiful case hardening once cleaned up. Used original stock and put a forend on the cut off stock. I had Holman and Hickey check it out as I have recommended above before I shot it.

I even fired at a respectable distance my own "proof rounds" of commercial .303 ammunition by using a lanyard with the rifle tied down securely to a spare tire rest to fire it into a gravel bank 10 yards from the muzzle as the WW I Veterans I knew in the 1950s had told me of their experiences with improperly assembled bolts which their fellow WWI Veterans did not survive.

One of them, my second cousin who was a Sergeant in the "Fighting 93rd" C.E.F. Overseas Battalion was one who saw others throw their Ross rifles away and pick up a MK III Lee Enfield so that they could survive WW I.

What makes the MK III Ross accurate is also its downfall. All those locking recesses in the action as well as the bolt make mud accumulation a BIG problem. Then the design fault that has an improperly sized bolt stop that gets peened out to the point that it stops bolt travel combines so that Canadians in WW I ended up kicking open the MK III Ross actions so that they could return fire at Ypres in 1915.

My MK III Ross came with a rivet in the bolt so that it could NOT be disassembled and result in improper reassembly where the bolt DOES fly back upon firing.

Also remember here that your MKIII Ross is the "best of 1910 technology" and that both the action and its metallurgy are almost 100years old.

Age can make even metal brittle in my opinion.

Essentially thats why I would recommend cast bullet loads for the Ross MK III in the condition shown here. IF it was in NRA Excellent condition I would have confidence in its integrity but it does look that the one shown here has "been tested".

In my case the MK III Ross rifle I bought for $10 in 1964 had a pitted bore which 1000s of cast bullets and Hoppes over almost three decades smoothed out somewhat.

The "best part" was that in the late 1970s I had some moose hunting success with the MKIII Ross using 220 grain Norma bullets and moderate 3031 loads. As a hunting rifle the two shots "in the moose boiler room" could be delivered Very Quickly.

In WW II the troops going overseas trained with MK III Ross rifles as that was all they had in 1941-42 with MK IIIs sent overseas and before there were enough No 4s from Long Branch "Rosie the Barrel Makers" to go around.

The MK III has a very heavy barrel as military rifles go; the MK III Ross straight pull action won the 1952 Olympics for the Russians in 7.62 X 54.

By conservative estimate I fired about 6000 or more rounds through my MK III Ross; these thousands of rounds were chiefly Lyman mould or commercially cast bullets; water pump grease. a Lyman 310 tong tool shoot as is unsized with recommended load no of grains of Unique ALWAYS with a wad on top of the powder charge so that it would not bleed up the case and be a hazard.

The rear sight has a dandy windage adjustment for cast bullets. I shot routinely 2" or less five shot groups off a rest with it at 100 yards. I spent many winter afternoons in the 1970s firing off 50 or a 100 rounds at a time in plinking sessions on my own property.

Virtually no recoil with cast loads eh! The 220 grain Norma bullets with 3031 powder had manageable recoil. The battle sight on the fold down sight was perfect for 100 yard zero from my own handloads.

With the rifle here I would suggest that once restored it would be a fitting addition to a WW I re-enactors kit. It was a Passendale failure but a superb sniping rifle with its Warner Swasey scope in WW I. It was widely issued for sniping use. My "guess" is that some MK III Ross rifles saw WW II action as well.