1903 Ross MkI! Update July 14

flying pig

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Uber Super GunNutz
Rating - 100%
113   0   0
1903 Ross MkI! Update Finished Jan 1, 2016

Hey guys, I just received this beautiful Ross MkI from another CGNer. Absolutely in love with this rifle already, I'd been looking for a Ross for a while and definitely lucked out in finding this one.

Its needs a bunch of work and I need to figure out how to safely clean everything without causing any harm to anything. It has a few small components that are missing that I need to find to get it shooting again, if anyone has any leads on ANY parts for this rifle I will really be in your debt! Bore in this one looks like it will hopefully really clean up nice, LOTS of very strong rifling showing through, but very very filthy.

Here it is:

IMG_1641.jpg


IMG_1640.jpg


IMG_1639.jpg


IMG_1642.jpg


IMG_1644.jpg


IMG_1645.jpg


IMG_1646.jpg


IMG_1647.jpg


IMG_1648.jpg


IMG_1649.jpg
 
Last edited:
For cleaning up the metal parts, START with extra-fine steel wool. It is hard enough that if you add elbow-grease, it will cut surface rust down nicely. Any heavier rusting, use FINE steel wool. This is a 1903: super rare. Don't go any heavier than Fine. Then you wipe it down with a rag, then again with an oily rag. Remaining blue (and it looks like a lot there) will GLOW.

In your PM, you mention the chamber has very light rusting. Try a twist of the Extra-fine steel-wool on a cleaning rod. Insert and twist, running it in and out. Put on a fresh twist and see if any rust comes. If not, then you oil the chamber lightly, then wipe it out. For the bore, just a bronze brush should do the trick, with some powder solvent. Oil and wipe, leaving just a thin film of oil. Clean out with a dry patch, bore and chamber BOTH, before shooting.

Missing screws: should not be a problem. Many of the parts on the 1903 were contract-made in the USA, quite a number by Frank Mossberg. All Ross Rifles use standard American threads (60-degree V threads), although the threads for small parts will be super-fine. No real matter: any machine-shop in the country can make one, once you know the size and pitch (which I do not for the Bolt-cover Screw: anyone here know it?).

The spot where your adjustable Rear Sight attaches to the Rear Sight Arm is quite vulnerable. I have a 1905 here with the same sight, made not long after your rifle was made; it has been broken and soldered at some time. I would suggest having yours silver-soldered, as this will form a very strong bond which is not likely to break again. At least you have the PART!!!

The Stocks on these were Walnut and should not be TERRIBLY heavy, although Walnut does vary in density quite a bit. A big problem with military rifles of this age is the fact that the Army liked things to be OILED, which, all too often, meant extra oil running from the metal, into the woodwork and being absorbed by the wood. To CLEAN the stock, try warm water and a good detergent. Paint splashes and things like that, often discovered on old rifles, may be removed with gentle pressure from the blade of a flat screwdriver, then the area smoothed with extra-fine steel-wool. This will leave some marring to the finish which is there. Once you have done this, determine if the wood is oil-soaked or not. I have had decent luck removing motor oil from old wood with Brake-kleen. When no more motor oil comes out, you can start in to get some of the RIGHT oil into the wood. REAL Boiled Linseed Oil is what the wood wants. You soak a rag and wipe it on, then wipe it off. You don't want a shiny finish, but you do want the wood to have a drink. The BLO will set up inside the wood (in time) and protect it from further invasions by engine oil. Once the wood has had its drink, it will just sit there and quietly glow for you. These were truly a beautiful rifle when they were made.

Treat it like a 105-year-old baby, which is what it is..... and almost as rare.

The fore-end has been chopped, as you can see. The GOOD part is that the chop is under the band. Very little trouble to make a new fore-end and attach it. The HARD part will be finding a Nose-cap. Usually they used straight-grained Walnut for their rifles but there might be a difficulty in a perfect colour match: Ross bought their early wood from France, Rumania and Italy. Oh well, that's why God created stains! Try at least to get the grain right, then stain to match.

You have a FINE and a VERY Rare Toy. Some guys are just, plain, born lucky!

Hope this helps.
.
.
 
That helps a ton Smellie thank you! I really appreciate the time you put into helping us all out.

I've had more luck in the last year than most guys get in a lifetime of collecting. Seeing as it started with two LE's that were handed down to me from my Dad and Grandpa a year ago this month, I will have to post the whole lot here one day soon.

If anyone happens to have a complete MkI and would be willing to show me pictures of what is missing from my bolt catch mechanism or the magazine cut off switch I would greatly appreciate the help there also.
 
You've had lots of good advice already, but personally I would start by removing all the metal parts and spraying them down with oven cleaner. This will not affect the bluing, but is strong enough to pull the crud out of the nooks and crannies and to some extent, out of the pores of the steel. It's often amazing how well old bluing shows up again after this treatment: a lot of the brown colour we see on old guns is ingrained dirt, grease & oil. This should be done in the bathtub with the fan on and the door shut; the fumes are NASTY and if you breath them in you will enjoy that odd feeling as sodium hydroxide attacks the lining of your mouth/nose/throat/lungs! :eek: That or outside on a windy day. I hold my breath when using the stuff.:D

Once it has soaked for a good twenty minutes, get some eye protection on and then get in there with your old toothbrushes, bottle brushes etc. and loosen off anything that is left. Wear some good rubber gloves when doing this.

Then wash off with the hottest water your tap supplies and blow off with compressed air. If you get metal nice and hot in the water, and then blow it off quickly, there will still be enough residual heat in the metal to drive out the moisture as well. Then, when you oil or treat otherwise, what you put on will be absorbed into the pores of the steel that were previously full of crud and/or moisture.

You could even go so far as to immerse the metal in your favourite lubricant for a week or two to help soften the rust for mechanical removal later. A plastic pipe as small as possible with one end capped works well.

I have nothing to add to what Smellie suggested for the wood, except when in doubt, don't! Wait and think some more about it. An old credit card is good for taking off superficial deposits like paint splatter. Don't strip off the old finish on the stock, wipe it down and re-oil. No steel wool on the stock or you will destroy the patina.

Aside from the dirt and mold, your stock actually looks very good, with minimal wear, suggesting the rifle is in similar mechanical condition.
 
Thanks for the advice. I got started on cleaning it up this morning, but didn't have a whole lot of time. There is a lot of crap in the barrel, but after a few days of cleaning I bet it comes quite well.

The mold or pigeon crap or whatever is on the stock is coming off very nicely, just have to take my time.

Does the Ross Rifle Story have any useful parts diagrams or anything in it? Obviously now that I have the rifle I will be buying the bnook if I can find it.

Forgot to add, one thing I have done with metal bits in the past was to soak them in clean engine oil for a week then rub them dry with denim. Brakleen then re oil. Seemed to leave all the patina but took any raised rust or rusted dirt. See what you guys think and if it seems like the consensus is not a bad idea I may try it after a long hard think
 
One other good thing about the oven cleaner treatment is that after using it whatever is left is rust.

If you've got mold smells on the stock, there is a product called Benefect that has oil of thyme (thymol) as its active ingredient. Very useful stuff, it's almost as powerful as bleach at killing mold and bacteria, but it's completely safe and non-corrosive. You just spray it on and let it dry and no more mold. Works great on cars etc. too as it won't harm the surfaces, you can spray it on the upholstery, dash, carpets whatever. Canadian product too.;)
 
SHOULD have mentioned this, thought it was obvious but sometimes it isn't.

When you clean metal surfaces with the steel-wool, you do it DRY. NO oil. JUST the steel-wool.

As the steel-wool lifts and removes the surface rust, it does so as a super-fine powder. This spreads out on the metal surface and discolours it, but that's OKAY. If you want to monitor your progress, wipe it away with a DRY cloth. When the light surface rust is gone, you give it another wipe with a DRY cloth and THEN you wipe it with an oily cloth and this will pick up most of the removed/loose rust-dust. So you wipe it down again with a dry cloth, then another oily cloth, just enough to make the finish glow.

You NEVER use steel-wool and oil together because the rust-dust will MIX with the oil..... and this gives you GRINDING COMPOUND..... and it WILL rip the original finish off your metal. And you REALLY don't want that.

So just remember that oil and water don't mix...... and neither do oil and steel-wool even though, used alternately, they can work wonders.

...............................................................................................................

The book THE ROSS RIFLE STORY is not a MANUAL. For a Manual, head over to the Military Knowledge Library and see what you can find. I know they have the 1913 one for free download; it covers the 1905, which was similar to the 1903 in MANY ways. The big book is a HISTORY of the rifle but it is also a wonderful collectors' resource. There are pages and pages on comparing parts, for example. I just looked at the page with EXTRACTORS on it and it shows every known variation of Extractor, all laid out side-by-side so that you can compare and contrast them. It also discusses the function of individual parts and why they got that way. Also other information: highest serial number for the 1903 block was K 1000 and they were numbered with the Letter Group, then 1 to 1000. Yours is "I" Group, number 716 and it was assembled in 1905: one of the last of the first, if you like.

As to the book, BUFFDOG found a fellow with a few copies. We went in together and got 3 copies, one of which went to California for a reason which will become obvious in late October but still is secret. There might be a few left, so a PM to BUFFDOG could help. The book is expensive ($100) but it is WORTH EVERY PENNY 3 times over just for the information it has. For a SERIOUS Ross collector (and a 1903 makes you VERY serious, friend!) this book is necessary beyond words.

BTW, the factory described the wood in yours as "Balkan" but this is often construed to mean "Italian". True "Balkan" wood would be Rumanian (as it was spelled back then). The world was a peaceful place in 1903 - 1905; you could do that, back then. The barrel is .0050 carbon steel, made in a Siemens electric furnace (what we now would call 50-point crucible steel): .5 of 1% carbon, enough to give excellent wearing qualities but not enough to make it TOO hard.

Get the book: this is ALL in it, along with 475 more pages of wonderful things.

Hope this helps.
.
.
 
Last edited:
Every bit of info you pass on helps Smellie!

I had a bit of time to play today, the stock seams to be cleaning up well, as is the barrel and metal. Had my wife helping me with the barrel and we took our sweet time. There is a lot of carbon in there but there is a lot of rifling left too. Grooves are dark at the moment but the patches are still running out dark.

The dry rub is working flawlessly, just need a good few hours of spare time to get at it. Going hunting with my Dad hopefully if I can get away from work for a few days
so it will have to wait.

I found a few copies of the book, lowest price found so far was $199, highest was $1450! Ouch! I'll get over to milsurps and read and re read the manual until it sinks in here in the coming weeks too.
 
.
I found a few copies of the book, lowest price found so far was $199, highest was $1450! Ouch! I'll get over to milsurps and read and re read the manual until it sinks in here in the coming weeks too.

I had a visit with SMELLIE yesterday. PM and information sent.

Nice find. Well worth restoration.

.
 
.
I found a few copies of the book, lowest price found so far was $199, highest was $1450! Ouch! I'll get over to milsurps and read and re read the manual until it sinks in here in the coming weeks too.

I had a visit with SMELLIE yesterday. PM and information sent.

Nice find. Well worth restoration.

.

I know a gent who sells the RRS (reprints) for about $100.
 
Here's the updated pictures after a thorough cleaning. Bore has strong rifling but the grooves are just pitted enough to be rough and dark. maybe with any luck it will improve with some shooting? Wishful thinking I bet...

Stock turned out great. Love the colors! Should have worn gloves for the photos, the streaks are from me.

Having some good luck on parts too, see how things go in the coming weeks! Have some good leads and some awesome new contacts. Thanks to everyone who has helped with this!

Think I'll take it to Corelane's and see if their gunsmith is confident that he can solder that rear sight back together. If he has any doubts at all I'll wait to find someone who is 100% sure. I really like that shop and I'm sure they will do a fine job, they build rifles for a living after all!

What are you guys' opinions on the blueing on the barrel? The original blue under the rear hanguard is beautiful and bright. Wondering if I shouldn't just take paint stripper to that soft chipped ugly black paint on the barrel and have a pro reblue the barrel. Also had rust blueing suggested too.
Did a quick function test with a .303 snap cap, the magazine won't feed and the rifle extracts but does not eject. Any ideas?

Here's the pics:

IMG_1663.jpg


IMG_1664.jpg


IMG_1665.jpg


IMG_1666.jpg


IMG_1667.jpg


IMG_1669.jpg
 
Last edited:
Thanks Adrian!

Yes I think either way the paint is going. I think I may make a call to Corelane's and see if they can help with the blueing too. A professional job would be worth it on this one!

Magazine spring is intact and functions properly. It holds the cartridge right at the top the bolt just doesn't contact the rim and I don't know why.
 
Thanks Adrian!

Yes I think either way the paint is going. I think I may make a call to Corelane's and see if they can help with the blueing too. A professional job would be worth it on this one!

Magazine spring is intact and functions properly. It holds the cartridge right at the top the bolt just doesn't contact the rim and I don't know why.

Aha! The mag lockout is engaged?
 
Back
Top Bottom