Recent Ross Acquisition

[SeamusMac]

Hey Folks,

New to the Ross rifle, but always admired it, so when I saw one for a few hundred bucks I jumped on it. Upon arrival after a lengthy drive I found the barrel drilled in three places, the previous owner told me about this, but what I didn’t know was that the centre hole is ~5mm (3/16”) deep at 49cm (19-1/4”) back from the muzzle. He had shot it a number of times with modern 303 hunting ammo, but is this safe long-term?

ALSO the rear sight also flops freely and bolt sticks quite badly if pulled all the way to the rearward travel stop. Neither as concerning as the bore holes, but input here is also appreciated.

 

[tiriaq]

Looks as if someone tried to mount a sight on the barrel.
What is the diameter of the barrel in the area? Diameter, less groove diameter, divided by 2 will tell you the wall thickness. How close is the hole to breaking through?
The flopping rear sight could probably be cured with a replacement spring under the sight.
Is the bolt hanging up on the rear of the magazine box? Sometimes the metal gets bent.

 

[Claven2]

Looks pretty beat up. Sounds like someone passed their problem child on to you as the unsuspecting buyer. Next time ask some questions and ask for some more pictures.

 

[SeamusMac]

Looks as if someone tried to mount a sight on the barrel.
What is the diameter of the barrel in the area? Diameter, less groove diameter, divided by 2 will tell you the wall thickness. How close is the hole to breaking through?
The flopping rear sight could probably be cured with a replacement spring under the sight.
Is the bolt hanging up on the rear of the magazine box? Sometimes the metal gets bent.

Appreciate the response T, not sure about the thickness of the wall at that point, but I hope it’s generously tapered because it’s about 5mm at the muzzle. I’ll take it out of the stock soon and get the calipers on it.

New spring shouldn’t be too hard to find hopefully and will check for hang-ups on the mag box - appreciate the tip!

 

[SeamusMac]

Looks pretty beat up. Sounds like someone passed their problem child on to you as the unsuspecting buyer. Next time ask some questions and ask for some more pictures.

For the price I was expecting some headaches and aware that the rifle might go back out the door as parts. Can’t afford to diddle about at these prices, seems to be plenty of us around willing to roll the dice.

 

[RRCo.]

Put a digital vernier or a micrometer over the barrel where the hole is and subtract .312" from the result, divide the result by two and you now have the barrel wall thickness at that point. Subtract the depth of the hole and you have the thickness of wall left between the bottom of the hole and bore.

As for the other issues, you may need the leaf spring that tensions the rear sight or the sight may be damaged. More photos would help. Not that hard a part to find.

The chamber is enlarged from the capital "E", but that just means it's about the same as a Lee Enfield.

Strip it down and clean it up with oven cleaner and tooth brush, dry, oil and reassemble and see how it feels then.

Because the Ross bolts were not numbered they can easily get mixed up or replaced. After you get it cleaned up and back together, you can carefully inspect the guide rails on the receiver and the matching slots in the bolt sleeve for burrs or dents etc.

I believe the Ross sporters had their bolts lapped in with fine compound as they are exactly the same action as what you have, but much smoother than some of the military versions. They may have even lapped the threads in the bolt sleeves and on the bolt bodies themselves.

Take a close look with good light at the locking grooves in the receiver and bolt head and see that there are no dents or carbon etc. caked in the corners.

But not worth that trouble unless the rifling is still very good.

 

[SeamusMac]

Put a digital vernier or a micrometer over the barrel where the hole is and subtract .312" from the result, divide the result by two and you now have the barrel wall thickness at that point. Subtract the depth of the hole and you have the thickness of wall left between the bottom of the hole and bore.

As for the other issues, you may need the leaf spring that tensions the rear sight or the sight may be damaged. More photos would help. Not that hard a part to find.

The chamber is enlarged from the capital "E", but that just means it's about the same as a Lee Enfield.

Strip it down and clean it up with oven cleaner and tooth brush, dry, oil and reassemble and see how it feels then.

Because the Ross bolts were not numbered they can easily get mixed up or replaced. After you get it cleaned up and back together, you can carefully inspect the guide rails on the receiver and the matching slots in the bolt sleeve for burrs or dents etc.

I believe the Ross sporters had their bolts lapped in with fine compound as they are exactly the same action as what you have, but much smoother than some of the military versions. They may have even lapped the threads in the bolt sleeves and on the bolt bodies themselves.

Take a close look with good light at the locking grooves in the receiver and bolt head and see that there are no dents or carbon etc. caked in the corners.

But not worth that trouble unless the rifling is still very good.

Thanks RRC, appreciate the reply.

I’m going to work a bit on cleaning the bore tonight and see what I’ve got. Looks pretty filthy, so may be pleasantly surprised by how it turns out… we’ll see…

I was told on another forum that there is a method for plugging drilled barrels described by James Howe. Might be worth looking into if my smith has a copy - going for $400+ on Amazon!

 

[tiriaq]

I have a copy of Howe. Will see if I can find the reference.

A cosmetic repair of holes is easy enough. Basically involves installing a plug, upsetting it, dressing flush with the barrel.

 

[OkayShooter]

I plugged drilled holes by JB weld or lock tight a screw, waiting till it cures or dries. Taping around. Cutting the excess off with a cut off wheel. Then while taped, file and sand it down, contour to the barrel. Replacing the tape to prevent damage to the barrel.

 

[SeamusMac]

I have a copy of Howe. Will see if I can find the reference.

A cosmetic repair of holes is easy enough. Basically involves installing a plug, upsetting it, dressing flush with the barrel.

Thank you!!

 

[SeamusMac]

I plugged drilled holes by JB weld or lock tight a screw, waiting till it cures or dries. Taping around. Cutting the excess off with a cut off wheel. Then while taped, file and sand it down, contour to the barrel. Replacing the tape to prevent damage to the barrel.

Have you done that with a barrel this badly drilled? I don’t know how much metal is left, but can’t be much at all.

 

[tiriaq]

Here is how I do it.
Make sure there are decent threads in the hole. Counterdrill the hole slightly, so there are no threads at the surface. Use a drill, not a countersink. You want the counterbore to be cylindrical, not a "V". Fit a screw to the hole so that there are no threads in the slightly counterbored area. If there are threads, it is harder to make the repair "disappear". Set the screw in tight, cut it off just above the surface. Using a light hammer, pein the protruding stump, upsetting it and riveting it into the hole. Keep tapping until the hole is filled. Once the screw is thoroughly filling the mouth of the hole, file the plug smooth to the surface. Use a very fine file. Polish as appropriate. Avoid contact with the barrel as far as possible. Use cold blue to colour the repair. Done carefully, the hole will just about disappear. Sometimes it will only be evident with close inspection in good light.
You want a soft screw, so that it will upset easily.

As far as safety and a hole in a barrel is concerned, lots of barrels have gas ports. A through hole can be plugged, making sure the plug does not enter the bore. The bore blemish of a gas port doesn't affect shooting.

 

[OkayShooter]

Have you done that with a barrel this badly drilled? I don’t know how much metal is left, but can’t be much at all.

 

[SeamusMac]

Here is how I do it.
Make sure there are decent threads in the hole. Counterdrill the hole slightly, so there are no threads at the surface. Use a drill, not a countersink. You want the counterbore to be cylindrical, not a "V". Fit a screw to the hole so that there are no threads in the slightly counterbored area. If there are threads, it is harder to make the repair "disappear". Set the screw in tight, cut it off just above the surface. Using a light hammer, pein the protruding stump, upsetting it and riveting it into the hole. Keep tapping until the hole is filled. Once the screw is thoroughly filling the mouth of the hole, file the plug smooth to the surface. Use a very fine file. Polish as appropriate. Avoid contact with the barrel as far as possible. Use cold blue to colour the repair. Done carefully, the hole will just about disappear. Sometimes it will only be evident with close inspection in good light.
You want a soft screw, so that it will upset easily.

As far as safety and a hole in a barrel is concerned, lots of barrels have gas ports. A through hole can be plugged, making sure the plug does not enter the bore. The bore blemish of a gas port doesn't affect shooting.

Thank you sir! Very good point about the gas port, which I hadn’t considered, but it makes perfect sense. I think there might have even been an experimental Ross MG that had a gas system on it.

View attachment 913422

Looks like solid work! In an even more structural part of the barrel at that.

 

[tiriaq]

There were a couple of gas operated Ross conversions. The Huot automatic rifle is the best known. It actually worked well.

 

[OkayShooter]

Thank you sir! Very good point about the gas port, which I hadn’t considered, but it makes perfect sense. I think there might have even been an experimental Ross MG that had a gas system on it.



Looks like solid work! In an even more structural part of the barrel at that.

I don't see it being too much of an issue. JB weld and threaded in screw should add a little bit extra structure.

If it blows, Ross ported barrel.