I'm going to re-barrel my Ross Mk III

[Abitnutz]

Krieger barrels will happily make a contoured and rifled blank for the Ross. I have a gunsmith that will remove the old barrel, so that I can send it to Krieger for them to copy. Once I receive the new barrel, about 3 months, the gunsmith will cut the threads (I have read they are 12TPI), chamber it in 303 British, blue it and install it.

I'm really tempted to go with a .308 barrel instead of .311. Factory 303 British is hard to find and expensive when I do. I hand-load so that's not a big deal but the selection of .311 bullets is meager at best and non-existent at worst.

If I go with a .308 barrel I can get just about any kind of bullet under the sun. I can also go with 5R rifling from Krieger, which I have found to be really easy to clean. As this is 30-1/2 barrel that becomes a small factor.

I've never loaded .308's in 303 cases so I'm not exactly sure how that will work but I know a lot of folks do it.

Should I go with the .308 bore?

Information

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[NORTHOF60]

Before you do anything, can you provide a description and pictures of the rifle in question. Any changes could significantly affect the value of the firearm.

[Abitnutz]

I'm not sure what it's worth to me as a wall hanger. If you shoot it now you have yell FOUR! And warn people next to you to duck. As I said, it looks really good on the outside. The bore? Looks like a sewer pipe.

[Gustro79]

Curious what the Krieger barrel costs?
(I wasn't aware that they did 1910 Ross barrels. This will be a topic of conversation on Thursday because I shoot smallbore with someone who works at Krieger.)
Maybe look into re-lining the original barrel? I know that Krieger can do that also.

[browningautorifle]

I've never loaded .308's in 303 cases

I did that back in the '80s and it worked exactly the same as loading anything else. Your expander ball in the size die must be from a .308 or turned down to accommodate. The dies seemed to size the neck down fine and the cases held .308 bullets fine. I loaded for .303 ammo with 150 gr spec because that was what size I used. They shot fine. I think that's a great idea...too. After all it's your rifle and you want to shoot it.

Maybe look into re-lining the original barrel?

I'm not sure about the safety of lining a full bore cartridge, do they do that? I know about smaller calibers like the pistol and .22...? Do they install barrel liners in .303?

[steveu]

If you go with a .308, I think that the 155 Sierra would shoot great in that barrel. If you are going to only shoot 150’s to 170gr you may want to think about a 1-12” twist barrel.

[Gustro79]

I did that back in the '80s and it worked exactly the same as loading anything else. Your expander ball in the size die must be from a .308 or turned down to accommodate. The dies seemed to size the neck down fine and the cases held .308 bullets fine. I loaded for .303 ammo with 150 gr spec because that was what size I used. They shot fine. I think that's a great idea...too. After all it's your rifle and you want to shoot it.



I'm not sure about the safety of lining a full bore cartridge, do they do that? I know about smaller calibers like the pistol and .22...? Do they install barrel liners in .303?

I talked to Krieger about this tonight. Yes, he says a re-lined barrel is completely safe. The trick is to find someone with the ability and willingness to do the job. He said something about needing to see if that's "available" in .303 brit. (I don't know what that means exactly.) That is the best-case scenario for a collectible rifle with a sewer-pipe bore imo.

[Eaglelord17]

I recommend if you do decide to put a .308 bore on it, marking it on the barrel somewhere indicating that just for future shooters to know. Otherwise sounds like a worth while project.

[browningautorifle]

marking it on the barrel

Absolutely...308/.303 or something.

"available" in .303 brit.

I think he means the reamer. The bore would be easy but the reamer would be special. I think the Australians shoot some .308/.303. They have done lots with .303 rifles and I'm pretty sure a reamer is available.

We did a whole examination of this before here... https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=56698

Here's more... Reloaders: Can I use a .308 projectile in a .303 rifle? | The High Road

Here's a manufacturer that you could examine or try Brownells but I think this one's a special order. 30 Cal - 339 Cal Chamber Reamer - Pacific Tool and Gauge

[Sunray]

"...have read they are 12TPI..." That doesn't mean much. There are Withworth threads(square) and American that are not the same thing. I'm not sure which the Ross used, but it matters. Rumour has it that at one point they used Withworth and left hand threads but switched to American at some point.
So does your smithy having the proper tools to remove and install a Ross barrel. Mostly the correct bushing and, more important, the correct action wrench. A pipe wrench or adjustable wrench is not the correct tool.
There are some guys here who discussed it in 2012/13.
https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=41835