Ross rifle in 404 Jeffrey or 416 rigby possible?

rempel429

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Just wondering if it could be done and figured there would be persons on here who may know, so is it possible or not. Of course a rebarrel is in order but could the 1905/1910 action hold the round, I know it will cost more to do then it's worth so let's avoid that discussion.
Thanks
 
Yes I was reading about the pressures and I'm sure they'd handle, it's more a question of length and extraction, two questions I haven't been able to find an answer for
 
The .280 Ross that the factory sporters were chambered in is a fairly long cartridge. I have a gunsmith friend that rebarreled one for himself to .300 H&H. The .404 is actually a little bit shorter but fatter than the .300, so I suspect it would work. The .416 might be problematic. Finding someone to do the work would be another challenge.
 
There was talk that the 300 H&H ones ran fine, but the 375s created enough rearward thrust to partly open the bolt. It would be interesting to see what the results are but I wouldn't be heart set on it being a good combo. It may well be perfectly fine too. I'm sure the action itself is more than strong enough.
 
303 Brit pressure is about 49000psi, 416 rigby pressure is max 47000, 375hh is max 62000, so how would the size of the case, bullet size affect pressures on the bolt face? I plead ignorance in this department, also pressure for 7mm rem mag is up around 61000 and 308 Norma is around 55000psi as those to were mentioned earlier in the post, any corrections are welcome, also I couldn't find info for 404 Jeffrey in my quick search, oh and pressure for 300 hh is listed at 54000psi
 
Bolt face pressure (backthrust) is dependent on the area of the inside of the base of the cartridge case. A bit of math can be done, if it is desired to compare different cartridges.
Rebarrelling a standard M1905, with its very odd quick twist left hand thread shank is an adventure all by itself. The II** and Mk. III (1910) actions use conventional right hand square threads. A M10 (factory .280) action might be the best for experimentation - it already has a conventional internal box magazine. Pooched .280s with cut/shot out barrels aren't all that uncommon.
One thing I do not know is how well a Ross handles a cartridge case or primer failure. This is nothing to do with outright strength, rather it is what happens if there is an escape of high pressure gas. Might be something to consider.
 
Yes it would be force=pressure times area, correct? The gasses would blow back no? But would this not be an issue with leaving it in 303 anyway?
 
Gas escape can occur with any chambering. I was thinking in terms of an expensive conversion, and a larger round.
The pawl in a Ross trigger mechanism is intended to keep the bolt shut in the event that gas pressure were to contact the bolt sleeve.

Yes, pressure times area. The backthrust is a lot less than the absolute peak psi in the case would suggest.
 
Yes makes sense, but the pressure in 416 being lower then 303, and possibly 404 as well, wouldn't they essentially act the same as 303, or would the larger cases create a larger problem?
 
.416 may have lower pressure, but has a larger base area. Might balance out. Doubt that backthrust would be an issue. You need to get your hands on a M10 (.280), and some cartridges, and see if there are magazine and feed issues.
 
Rempel:
Have an M-10 .280 with shot out barrel, and so-so reblue.
All there, save Bubba pad, grip cap and Porter (Lyman 48 better anyway).
All around rough and was going to (reluctantly) break for parts.
Make a good trial horse for experiments.
Yours for $300 (value of parts)
Good luck in your experiment.
Oldguncrank
 
That's why I was leaning to 404 Jeffrey, the head is .543, while the 303 Brit case is .540, but I haven't been able to find pressure info on the round in my old manual, also gentlemen have stated that they have seen the rifle chambered for 300 h&h which has an overall dimension of 3.600 while the Jeffrey is sized at 3.530 and 280 Ross is stated to be overall 3.500, so the 404 Jeffrey would, must likely "shoe horn" in quite nicely

Old gun crank, my wife would kill me unless I sold one, I'll see what I can do, lol
 
So I found pressures for 404 Jeffrey, 46000 or 53000 there pressure chart had two so it would be somewhat the same as 300 h and h on the high end and 303 Brit on the low, and would fit! It would be quite the interesting rifle, if you could get it to feed and eject
 
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