1905 Ross

woodchopper

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Ok I have a 1905 Ross with a poor barrel and a buggered chamber. It is a 303. It's a factory sporter

Now to do anything to make it usefull I will need to rebarrel it, the original barrel is not worth the investment.

What I would like is an opinion on if 7mm RSAUM would work. I think the barrel shank is 1.1" and square threads like the P14/M1917 so that will be fun.

I also have concerns with pressure as 7mm is a lot more then 303, but Ross actions are fairly strong, I would be handloading so keeping the loads on the mild side would not be a problem. Finding brass might be a problem.

Mag feeding will be another problem, but I won't have to modify the bolt face.

So is it workable??? Opinions?
 
C+H will make you dies for about $100 and ships to Canada or they stock a .35x.303 so it will be kinda like a .35 Win that was also made in Ross sporters..........Harold
 
1905 Rosses (except for the II**) have a strange left hand quick twist barrel thread.
Reboring would work.
I have a service barrel with a poor bore; have always thought it would be interesting to have it rebored to .35, and install it on one of my 1905R sporters.
 
I have cut a lot of barrel threads, and cannot even imagine trying to duplicate the thread on a 1905 barrel shank.

Look at the bottom of your receiver. Locate the barrel lock screw, and remove it. You should be able to turn the barrel out without too much difficulty. If you cannot snap it out by hand, hold the receiver in a padded vise and use an improvised strap wrench made using a doubled piece of rope and a wooden tool handle. The thread is left hand.
 
id re barrel it to .22-303 or .25-303 your still using the bases of the .303 and it should feed better

Would you? Have you ever seen the shank of a 1905 Ross barrel? Anything is possible, but practicality is another issue.
I have heard of the stub of the barrel being bored out and threaded, and a new barrel fitted to that.
 
0011-1.jpg


ugly

not squared, only square on one side, tapered on the other

ugly
 
I've seen Ross rifles rebarreled to 264 Win Mag, 338 Win Mag and 458 Win Mag some years back, so anything is possible. Seems to me it would be a great deal of work compared to a rebore and rechamber to a 303 based wildcat. I admire determination though, so have at 'er. - dan

Were these 1905 or 1910 rifles?
 
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On the 1905 Ross, the set screw to remove the barrel is offset toward the side of the action. The thing that looks like a screw in the CENTER of the action SHOULD NOT BE TOUCHED. This is the CAM for opening the action and rotating the bolt. Above all, do not try to turn this "CAM-SCREW" when the barrel is in the action as it will bugger up the threads and the cam as it is made to set tight against the barrel. LEAVE IT ALONE.

There is a strength difference between the 1905 and the 1910 Ross actions, with the 1910 action being considered stronger. I would not even consider the 1905 Ross for conversion to a Magnum calibre, but would feel comfortable with a good 1910 Ross converted and using reasonable loads. The OP has a 1905 Ross so the choices are rebore or rebarrel. The threads of the barrel are left hand, three threads per inch and very difficult to duplicate with the equipment available for the average Gunsmith today. The Ross Factory used a dedicated machine and tooling to make these threads, not a lathe.

It is possible to thread another barrel into a stub of a 1905 Ross barrel. I have done one using a Remington 742 barrel in .243 but using a set of dies that I made myself and cases from .303 brass. It was more an "experiment" and Gunsmithing project but the time I spent on it would not make it economical.

As mentioned, in "Big Bore Cartridges", Ken Waters had a .303 calibre rifle rebored to .338. This or a rebore to .35 calibre would be more economical, and the .35 Calibre load would duplicate the old .35 Ross cartridge. Reboring to .35 would let someone use available .357/.358 calibre bullets, from the 150 grain .38 pistol bullets to the 250 grain rifle loads. It would be a natural for the 200 grain Lyman cast bullet. Also, it would be the most economical solution.
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Would you? Have you ever seen the shank of a 1905 Ross barrel? Anything is possible, but practicality is another issue.
I have heard of the stub of the barrel being bored out and threaded, and a new barrel fitted to that.

yep have a barrel threaded into the old shank easy enough just like you said i like the smaller .303 based wildcats the .22-303 or the .25-303 would do in a coyote like not tomarrow and id not hesitate to take either into the deer woods with the right bullet (ie slow expanding)
 
Ok just a quick update...

I go thte barrel off, that required 3 days soaking with brake free and then a little heat with the heat gun and a few whacks with a hammer.

so there is a little pitting on the barrel shank and a whole lot of crusty old cosmoline.

I have made a few inquires on who can do the threading and may have someone who is willing to take on the 3 TPI Left hand thread, so I will look for an acceptable barrel to use and see how it turns out.

thats plan A.


Plan B is is either a rebore, but the barrel is not that nice on the outside either, or just using the shank as a sleeve.
 
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