Another bubba ross rifle

Sherlock Gnomes

Sherlock Gnomes

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Hello fellow nuts.

I rescued this old girl from a friend so she can see some light and be enjoyed. The barrel is 22" which I am reading means it was cut down. The butt pad is an old white line that is cracked and nasty but there. The bore has strong lands still for the most part but it is definitely washed out a bit at the front if the bore. I will need to spend a lot of time cleaning the bore as I only did about ten passes and was still pushing crud through. I have an old barrel band that I was wondering about attaching to the front. Is there any benefit from this or just shoot as is?


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I would just clean the bore and chamber as much as possible and enjoy her as is. I have two M-10s one of which I just recently had stripped and hot-blued by a local gunsmith (both are sporterized).

I hope to shoot her for the first time tomorrow afternoon on the 600 metre Alpha Range at the 4th Canadian Division Training Centre in Meaford.

Your biggest hurdle may not be cleaning the bore, it may be finding any decent .303 Brit ammo - good luck!
 
I would like to see a close-up of any markings on the RIGHT side of the Butt and on the Left side and top of the Receiver Ring.

A close-up of any markings on the Chamber would help also. These will be Proof marks which sometimes can tell us a lot.

Also, a full-length picture of the old girl could tell us a whole big bunch.

22 inches? Yup; she has been cut down, allright. I think I might have her twin here.

IS THE BOLT PINNED???? If NOT, be VERY CAREFUL. See the Sticky here for proper procedure. Better yet, leave it alone. CHECK to make certain the Bolt Lugs are rotating properly into their Locking Recesses. With the Bolt halfway back, there should be ONE INCH between the front of the Bolt Sleeve and the back end of the Locking Lugs. That is SAFE position and the rifle will work so slick you won't believe it.

Are you sure the bore is washed-out toward the MUZZLE? They wear from the Chamber, forward, if they have been shot a lot. Looking down the Muzzle, it often can look as if the thing is badly worn, but measurement can tell differently. How much stand-out do you get with a Ball round inserted in the Muzzle?

Only way to get decent .303 these days is to roll your own. Trade-Ex has bags of new brass. Try 37 grains of IMR-4895 with a Sierra 180 Pro-Hunter seated to 3.05" (same length as a military round). If you prefer a lighter slug, try the Hornady 150 Spire Point with 40 grains of IMR-4064. Seat to length of a military round; looks funny but the rifles like it. Either of those WILL drop a Deer or Moose if YOU make the connect.

Good luck and have fun!

Nice old Toy!
 
Thanks for the replies. I will get some more pics later tonight. I roll my own ammo and have some 303 brass full length sized already. My enfield loves the 150 hornady spire points and I hope the ross enjoys it also.
 
K-C said:
I would just clean the bore and chamber as much as possible and enjoy her as is. I have two M-10s one of which I just recently had stripped and hot-blued by a local gunsmith (both are sporterized).

I hope to shoot her for the first time tomorrow afternoon on the 600 metre Alpha Range at the 4th Canadian Division Training Centre in Meaford.

Your biggest hurdle may not be cleaning the bore, it may be finding any decent .303 Brit ammo - good luck!
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Hi K-C, are you one of the selected few who is an invited member or do you work on the base? And is it George that is doing your hot bluing? Love to be a member at the base but Sydenham rocks also.
 
BTW, thank you Sherlock from all of us for taking an interest and rescuing the Ross. Glad to see that it is on the road to recovery.
 
I was given one that looks like that in 1966. My first rilfle. It still looks like that.
 
I bought a homely old Ross last winter that the bore was.... well, not good. A few passes with various brushes and patches, presto! Not too bad at all. Sometimes, a body just has to leap into the darkness. Now I am going to have to load some ammo and shoot it. Dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it.
 
Thanks for the additional photos.

Your rifle was used by the Canadian Corps in the Great War, then turned in for an SML-E. It then went likely to the Royal Navy and possibly to the Royal Marines Light Infantry, slthough I don't see an RMLI Base marking on it. Nonetheless, they were used on shipboard, minesweepers and the like where the superior accuracy of the Ross was appreciated for increasing the standoff distance at which a Mine could be detonated. The rifle was kept in England after World War I and put into storage likely at the Weedon Depot. When WW2 came along, it was hauled out of storage and used through the SECOND World War, retired after the war, sold to the Trade and chopped into a minimal Sporter for sale in North America for hard currency to support the ailing Pound Sterling. If it had been surplused after the First War, it would not have those British Proof Marks on the left side of the Chamber. Those markings came in after WW2.

So it served Canada once, served Britain THREE times, came back here and now is putting YOUR dinner onto the table.

Pretty good for "not fit for service", I would think!

There is a POSSIBILITY that you may be able to raise the original Serial Number and Issue markings by use of a BLACK LIGHT on the right side of the Butt. You can get one at your local Dollar Store, 75 watts and 75 cents. Use it in a Trouble Light housing so you can shield your eyes from the direct rays of the special UV bulb; too much UV is really hard on your eyes.

With that amount of standout at the muzzle, she should be good. And safe to shoot, as well!

I have no idea what you paid for it, but you got a DEAL!

Congratulations!
 
Thanks for all the information. Man this rifle has quite a history. I got it thrown in along with a deal I made to a friend. I will try the black light trick. I will update with a range report.
 
I took the rifle to the range today. It had a few occasions where the bolt and firing pin would move with the pull of the trigger but it would barely contact the primer if not at all. The round would not go off on these occasions. I am wondering if it is worn pin ( the rifle is 100 years old) or if it is hopefully just need a good bolt cleaning?
 
Sherlock Gnomes said:
I took the rifle to the range today. It had a few occasions where the bolt and firing pin would move with the pull of the trigger but it would barely contact the primer if not at all. The round would not go off on these occasions. I am wondering if it is worn pin ( the rifle is 100 years old) or if it is hopefully just need a good bolt cleaning?
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Sounds like you didn't close it far enough. Like many rifles, the Ross is designed to "shoot itself closed" making out-of-battery detonations all but impossible. However, this feature means that the firing pin and striker mechanism are robbed of energy and will not hit the primer with enough force to make it fire. Disassemble the bolt, clean it and try again. Also be sure to get a toothbrush into the front of the receiver and clean out the locking areas. Lots of grunge can build up in there.
 
If the bolt isn't going all the way forward, I agree, there might be a big crud buildup in the locking lug area.

Make sure the firing pin tip is still there. With the bolt out, see if the firing pin tip projects and is round.

You should also inspect the rear bolt locking lug for the left side- the one that hits the bolt stop- for deformation or bending.
 
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Blastattack said:
Sounds like you didn't close it far enough. Like many rifles, the Ross is designed to "shoot itself closed" making out-of-battery detonations all but impossible. However, this feature means that the firing pin and striker mechanism are robbed of energy and will not hit the primer with enough force to make it fire. Disassemble the bolt, clean it and try again. Also be sure to get a toothbrush into the front of the receiver and clean out the locking areas. Lots of grunge can build up in there.
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I was thinking this also regarding closing it. I was being sure to close as firmly as I could. The next time I would fire it the round would go off.
 
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