doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Ross rifle range trip today

I've had this customized sporter around here for a while now and finally managed to take it to the range. It was a very pleasant experience. The rifle functioned flawlessly and the action cycled like greased lightning. Very slick, smooth and FAST. I was shooting at the 50 yard range and with some hastily assembled handloads and a three shot group of around 1.3 inches was easily obtained. My son shot a 4 shot group with Winchester factory 180 gr. S.P. ammo that was slightly over an inch. His only puzzlement was why was the Ross company no longer in business? Good question is my thought We also brought a British SMLE .303 along and we both found the Ross far superior to shoot. The elderly fellow I bought this rifle from had used it on many hunts and he commented that as a shooter and hunter the rifle had always performed very well. I had the impression from the beginning that the seller was a straight shooter and today's experience confirmed it. The rifle was sporterized many years ago and has that nice vintage sporterization feel to it.

Neither of you have a bolt stuck in your forehead??

As unlikley as it sounds, both of us were able to depart the range with our skulls completely unbroken

I'm enjoying the Ross threads a lot, learning lots of new stuff, keep them coming. I've owned a couple 1910-280 sporters but that's about it. I seen some nice custom sporters built on the Ross by folks such as Shelhamer and Dubiel. In my Wundhammer file I see that he made at least one on the Ross as well.

I have a Dubiel Ross and will try to photo it. Very handsome.

I for one would sure like to see it

isn't this the thingy that folks didn't seat/lock the bolt completely resulting in some horrendous failures?
as to co. longevity i should think rumor of blow-ups wasn't good for business.

Yes, there were some reports of "blow-ups" (bolt blew out rear of action), but only with the MkIII/M-10 action (the rifle pictured is a M1905 action). And only when the bolt was disassembled and then reassembled incorrectly. By the way, I doubt that the Ross rifle is the only rifle out there that if disassembled and then reassembled incorrectly, would be unsafe. The blow-outs were very rare and nearly all in military application. It is something that has been steadily associated with the Ross rifle over a great many decades. I think it we go back to the time when the company went out of business (around 1916) the reputation of this had not grown near to what it has become in later years.

Boltman, can you tell me exactly why the Canadians made the switch from the Ross to the SMLE early in The Great War? Was it really due to poor performance in the field or was it to bring the Canadians in line, so to speak, with their Commonwealth compatriots- for logistical/political reasons? Did any Canadians go to France armed with .280's (aside from snipers) or were they carrying .303's?

Also, was the Ross chambered only in .280 and .303, or did the company offer other calibers as well? (Speaking in terms of commercial sporting rifles offered by the Ross Rifle Co.- offerings by other builders using their actions excepted.)

Finally, did any countries other than Canada purchase Ross military rifles- for testing or outright issuance?

Gary - I'm not a military rifle collector but have paid some attention to the military side of Ross. Perhaps others will chime in as well. Regarding calibers, once we hit 1905 and the various 1905 Sporters and going forward to the closing of the Ross factory, the calibers were .280, .303 and .35WCF. Prior to that there were other calibers including the .256 and .370. Some of the very earliest sporters saw such low production that they should essentially be considered prototypes. I am referring to prior to the M1901 action. Yes, Ross had contracts with other countries for military rifles. The U.S. comes to mind, but there were other smaller countries that had contracts as well. Off the top of my head, I can recall Peru. I believe the Canadian departure from the Ross had mostly to do with the problems associated with the Ross in the trenches. As I have said before, the bolt blow-out problem was probably pretty statistically insignificant, but the rifle jamming and the soldiers trying to pound the bolt out with various heavy objects was much more wide-spread. I would say that other than perhaps some .280 sniper rifles, the .280 caliber was not carried by soldiers in France. Curiously, Ross made what he considered his finest military rifle in .280 caliber but there were only 25 of these manufactured. From a collector perspective they are very rare and I believe 21 of them were destroyed by Canadian police some years ago. I don't believe any of these saw any military service. The Ross is certainly a very interesting rifle with both a rich hunting/sporting history as well as military history.