Overbore A5 mounting during WW1

[Badger]

Simple ...

Type "a5 british scope" in milsurps search box in top right corner of site.

Results are amazing.

Regards,
Doug

[Surpmil]

Duplicate question/thread: https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=70289p

[Melanie_Daniels]

Attachment 106396

[Promo]

Almost looks as if rear base was on barrel shank and not on receiver, would you agree?

[303 Collector]

I had some spare Winchester A5 scopes a few years ago and set them up as over bores on
a Ross, P14 and a SMLE with a Parker Hale type mount.
I think I got the mounts about right as they all shoot really well the Ross being the best.

[Promo]

Attachment 106396

So I looked again at this picture .. appears as if front base sits right at the middle of the handguard. Additionally and as previously mentioned, it also appears as if rear scope base sits on the barrel shank and not on the receiver. Finally, it also looks as if the rear sight has been removed (makes sense, given the fact that the front sight is also missing). The scope is mounted extremely low, of course this is possible with the Ross since it is a straight pull and therefore the bolt will not interfere with the scope when cycling the action.

[Surpmil]

I had some spare Winchester A5 scopes a few years ago and set them up as over bores on
a Ross, P14 and a SMLE with a Parker Hale type mount.
I think I got the mounts about right as they all shoot really well the Ross being the best.

Very interesting. May we see some closer photos of the Parker Hale base? Is it marked as such?

There would have been much to recommend that base at the time. Had it been made with a more secure and permanent attachment the War Office could have had their precious charger loading and all the offset/overhead difficulties avoided.

Is the Ross front base screwed to the barrel or just soldered?

Is the barrel shortened and if not, have you found the front sight or muzzle to impinge of the field of view of the scope? Although your mounting is a bit higher than the WWI standard obviously, and the scope and bore axes would coincide only at longer ranges when the scope was angled downwards to a greater extent.

One can see how unfortunate it was that Dr. Common was no longer alive in 1914/15 or he would have swiftly produced something far better than what was fielded.

On the other hand, Sir Howard Grubb likely made some suggestions at the time as the "sniper menace" was all through the papers.

There must have been a reason for putting the rear base half on the barrel and half on the receiver ring as it would have been much easier to mount entirely on one or the other. Presumably to do with eye relief. The scope can indeed be slid in the mounts, but must positioned so that when pulled back against the front ring for the next shot it is in just the right position.

Incidentally, Frank Iriam mentions having his A5 fitted to a Ross he found in the trenches by the battalion armourer.

[303 Collector]

The Ross was a cut down sporter, I thought about restoring it then realised that there are no
spare parts in the UK. I had an old A5 scope so it seemed a good idea to turn it into a WW1
sniper.
I made the "Parker Hale" mount after seeing it in an old PH catalogue.
As I had 3rd A5 the P14 just followed on.

A few closer pictures.

[Roger Payne]

May I ask if you sourced the blocks for the Ross or made them?