MANY of the Ross's problems came directly from the SSAC: Standing Small Arms Committee, which was a Canadian Government committee staffed by "experts". It was endless nitpicking and criticism on the part of the SSAC which resulted in most of the EIGHTY-TWO catalogued changes to the specification of the Ross Rifle Mark II.
The Mark III was the (new) standard model at the outbreak of the War, only small numbers having been delivered prior to the outbreak of hostilities in Europe. These first-delivery Mark III Rosses may be identified by their anomalous serials on the right side of the Butt. The rifle shown in the large colour photo at the beginning of this thread has such a serial number. It is not at ALL like the numbers found on regular-production Mark III rifles. I have a similar serial number on one of my own rifles, which is marked A16XX and lacks the regular "roundel" and standard Ross 123/1914 AA type of serial. It is a rifle marked to 16 Battalion which served in Canada and Bermuda before going to England and then to France and finally to Chile with our superdreadnought HMS CANADA. Mark III rifles were manufactured in Quebec and delivered directly to the troops at Valcartier, many of whom had received their first training on the Mark II rifles.
Not generally known is the fact that the Ross Rifle Mark III was the choice of TWO Dominions in the Great War. Newfoundland, which had NO military prior to the outbreak of the War, swiftly raised a tiny Army which was trained at Quidi Vidi on Lee-Metfords from the HMS BRITON (HMS CALYPSO prior to 1905). I am happy to be able to state that I also have a Mark II Lee-Metford from the CALYPSO; her wreck was 500 yards from my house when I lived in Newfoundland. The DOMINION OF NEWFOUNDLAND decided that they wanted the most accurate rifle in the world for their troops. A huge flag was put up in the main window of Ayres' department store in St. John's and at the bottom of the flag rested a brand-new Mark III Ross Rifle, lying upon a bed of crushed red velvet. A sign stated that this was the most accurate rifle in the world and that it had been selected to arm the Newfoundland Contingent. It was also mentioned that the rifles cost $28 each and that CONTRIBUTIONS from the Public for the purchase of these rifles would be taken inside the store. Newfoundland's ordered 500 Ross Mark III rifles were made and shipped from the factory, but did not arrive in St. John's before the SS FLORIZEL had sailed with the First Contingent. The Rosses followed the "Blue Puttees" to England on the next available ship..... where they were seized by the British Government and "put into storage". They have not been seen since and there is today no confirmed specimen of a Newfoundland Ross Rifle.
The Canadian Artillery requested a Ross Rifle which was shorter than the standard Mark III and shaped to fit the brackets on the limbers of the British-built guns. The Company built a specimen rifle fitted with a 26-inch barrel. The Standing Small Arms Committee rejected the entire idea.
I have written SEVERAL times in this Forum regarding ACTUAL combat experience with the Ross, as told to me by men who actually USED it. My own Grandfather was a Sniper with 54 Battalion ("The Kootenay Regiment" until there were no more British Columbians to refill its ranks again, then it became the "New Brunswick" battalion: rough fighting). He had the greatest respect for the Ross and carried both rifles, the SMLE and the Ross, until the end of the War. He said the SMLE was useful for "quick work" but the Ross was better for deliberate long-range shooting. The only shot he ever talked about was a night shot in total darkness, firing at the flash of a German sniper's rifle. The range was about 400 yards. There was no more enemy sniping in 54th's sector of the Front for some time afterwards.
I knew TWO men who took part in the horrific fighting in the St. Julien sector of Second Ypres when Fritz put the gas through on 23 April, 1915. "A" Company of 8th Battalion ("Little Black Devils": Royal Winnipeg Rifles) went up THROUGH the gas when the French Colonial troops broke. A single Company faced THREE German DIVISIONS in what likely was the worst single pure rifle-to-rifle engagement ever fought. L/Cpl Robert Courtice told me that they fired their Rosses until they were TOO HOT TO TOUCH, then replaced them with a cold rifle from a casualty, fired that one until it, also, could no longer be touched, then went back to their original rifles, now cooled. Private Alex McBain, who was with him that day, confirmed the story in a separate interview. They fired all of their own ammunition and scavenged piles more from the massive number of casualties. Each of those men fired AT LEAST 150 rounds that day and likely the number was considerably higher; both men refused to give me an exact estimate. I asked Cpl. Courtice at what ranges they were firing and all he did was hang his head and shake it, whispering "Too close to miss....". The interviews were 56 years after the fight but both men had extremely clear memories of the fight, Pte. McBain because it was his only big battle: he was wounded during the fight and returned home. Cpl. Courtice was blown up by a 90-pounder which dropped into his trench bay a couple of night before the big assault at Givenchy, only a couple of weeks later. He was the only survivor of the 12 men in the bay. When I knew him, he still had chunks of steel working their way out of his face.... and he had a matchbox of steel chunks which had worked their way out of his head, arms and brain over the years. Both men defended the Ross Rifle, Pte. McBain in MOST vehement fashion ("It's ALL LIES!! There was NOTHING WRONG WITH THE GOD-DAMNED ROSS RIFLE!!!")
If I had to take an EXPERT opinion from the men I have known who used the Ross in combat, it would have to be that of Captain George Dibblee, DCM (Regina Trench). Capt. Dibblee was a cowboy before the War, driving 700 head of cattle into a corral where the Husky Tower now stands in Calgary. He quit being a cowboy and took a job as a Guide for the North-West Mounted Police in 1907 or 1908. He joined the 5th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles in 1914 as a Private soldier and worked his way up to Captain, which rank he held when he was the second man to enter Cambrai in 1918 ("The bridge across the Canal was blown and there weren't enough pontoons to cross all the way, so they put up a plank. The plank broke when I was halfway across and so my Sergeant fished me out!"). "The Ross Rifle," said Capt. Dibblee, "was UNPOPULAR due to its length and weight; you couldn't get into a dugout with your rifle slung. ..... We had NO troubles with the Ross in our Regiment, but we kept our equipment CLEAN, not like some outfits that never cleaned their equipment."
I think Capt. Dibblee's opinion sums things up for me rather well.
Were I 50 years younger and still in the military, would I want THE MOST ACCURATE RIFLE EVER BUILT? Even if I had to clean it? Damned right!
That's why I have close to 20 of them on my racks.
BTW the Ross may not have been good enough.... but it certainly served the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines Light Infantry well enough.... through BOTH WORLD WARS. And it served well in Latvia and Estonia as well. So where are they all? Russia is sitting on better than HALF of the total production. They only use them when it is time to clear OUR teams off the international ranges.....
