rechamber/barrel 280 ross
- Thread starter mctrigger
- Start date
OGC I am not sure if that’s the guy in the Peace, but his website certainly looks active. With a duplicator I imagine any design within reason would be the possible.
The reality is that you are absolutely right about the heavy awkward commercially sporterized former military jobs, my next Ross will absolutely be a sporter. I only seem to learn lessons the hard way.
I do wish I had the know how to get some of the ugly old sporterized rifles on market into better kit, always been a fan of very well done sporterized rifles, probably because they piss so many people off
The reality is that you are absolutely right about the heavy awkward commercially sporterized former military jobs, my next Ross will absolutely be a sporter. I only seem to learn lessons the hard way.
I do wish I had the know how to get some of the ugly old sporterized rifles on market into better kit, always been a fan of very well done sporterized rifles, probably because they piss so many people off
I actually spoke to two of the owners and got some history on that rifle. After it was found in the storage locker, it eventually would up with the son of the guy who built it. Don't know where it landed after that, but I'd love to talk to whoever owns it now.
All that would be needed to produce reasonably-priced stocks is a pattern, which could be made from a bubba-ed stock, as long as the inletting hasn't been messed up. There's plenty of knocked-around Ross deer rifles that could be transformed into great projects, and people will if they can get a decent stock blank to start from. Getting people to part with their "worthless" bubba-ed, beat-up stocks at a reasonable price, however, is another thing....
Sported Ross service rifles do turn up quite often. The ones done in the UK show decent quality workmanship.
Catch is that the Mk. III service rifle barrel contour doesn't contribute to a handy, smooth handling hunting rifle. Handle a sported Mk. III rifle, and then pick up a 1910R or E and the difference is significant.
Semi finished sporting stocks have been made. Barrels are another matter. The blank has to be larger than most, at the breech, and the machining is more complicated than many other bolt action rifles.
A semi-finished 1910R or E stock could certainly be used to make up a nice sporter, but the barrel has to be dealt with as well.
Catch is that the Mk. III service rifle barrel contour doesn't contribute to a handy, smooth handling hunting rifle. Handle a sported Mk. III rifle, and then pick up a 1910R or E and the difference is significant.
Semi finished sporting stocks have been made. Barrels are another matter. The blank has to be larger than most, at the breech, and the machining is more complicated than many other bolt action rifles.
A semi-finished 1910R or E stock could certainly be used to make up a nice sporter, but the barrel has to be dealt with as well.
Generally speaking, non-military Ross chambers are minimal spec. A case fired in a Lee Enfield will not chamber in my II** after being full length resized. It was necessary to make a sizing die to reduce the diameter closer to the head. I do have a 1905R sporting rifle with a larger chamber; not as extreme as some of the modified Mk. III rifles, but still larger than the II**.
It's true that some barrel makers do have a surcharge for an oversized blank, you're right. As far as the machining, the Ross uses the same square thread form as the P14/M1917, and those are rebarrelled without fanfare. As a machinist, I can tell you the Ross Mk.III thread being a finer pitch is actually easier to cut. The whole problem is moot if you decide to use the old barrel stub as an adapter and thread the barrel blank into it, using a standard thread form and an off-the-shelf blank. I have owned a couple of rifles using this system.
There is a bit of machining on the breech face of the barrel as well. But you are correct, rebarreling a 1910 pattern action is a practical proposition. A 1905 action, with the exception of the II** is a different kettle of fish.
Incidentally, there was a sported Ross in the recent Landsborough auction. Wondered if it might be a worthwhile rifle to buy for the action - but the price went through the roof.
Incidentally, there was a sported Ross in the recent Landsborough auction. Wondered if it might be a worthwhile rifle to buy for the action - but the price went through the roof.
I can't help you with current commercial duplicators; I merely stated that they CAN be reasonably-priced on a duplicator. I've done some of my own.
I've run a profiling machine (duplicator) in an engineering laboratory. I built it out of basic parts (hello, Princess Auto) and used it to profile proprietary aluminum components to +/-.003" tolerance. I can tell you that, if you have a suitable pattern and the blanks are supplied, you can profile an unfinished stock quite quickly and inexpensively. Time being money and without high-tech, expensive machinery, that means reasonably-priced. If commercial operators are charging high rates, it's because they're pricing according to what they feel the market will bear, instead of cost, plus a fair profit.
True, the 1905's are a challenge because 3 t.p.i. is not available on most modern lathes. If one were going to supply those barrels, it would require a change-gear specifically for that pitch. The buttress thread is unusual, but the fact that it's left-hand makes it easier to cut, at least.
Absolutely! Impressive work. I've followed his project faithfully, and corresponded with him a couple of times about some parts.
Another beautiful sporter build is the 1905 done by ssapach. There was a thread here 2-3 years ago, but I can't find it by searching, for some reason. I originally got to it via a link on the Ross Rifle Forum, and I downloaded the pictures. Stock in albino Bastogne and case-hardening, again, by Oskar Kob. A simple but very tasteful build. AND he threaded his own barrel, 3 t.p.i. left-hand buttress thread and all. Talented guy.
But isn't the Short-Cut Nut designed so that the barrel is screwed in and out to adjust headspace? I've never owned one to see the exact workings, but it seems to me that only works with a symmetrical bolt face, i.e. one that has no extractor cutaway, meaning the barrel can be clocked in any position. The Ross, like the P14, has a pronounced cutaway. I'm not really clear on how that would work, to be honest. Also, you're left with the ugly Short-Cut Nut and exposed threads, which look very amateurish. Plus, you're still faced with the work of boring and threading the old barrel stub to make the adapter, anyway. On mine, the adapter was simply made and then the blank was threaded into it permanently, then the existing extractor cut extended. As I understand it, replacing the nut with a machined shoulder is what some gunsmiths do when they professionally re-barrel Savages anyway (re Henrickson on AR). Makes it easier for inletting the stock neatly, too.
The nut would only compensate for a too small shank diameter. Enough diameter to cut the threads, but not enough for a proper shoulder. The breech face would need to be indexed, and then the nut snugged up to lock the barrel in place. Using a nut would be a way to use a barrel that would otherwise not work for a Ross. If carefully done, the transition could be blended. In addition, I've never cut internal square threads - that would be an added complication. Using a scrap barrel breech to make a bushing would be better.
I'm afraid I've been a little confusing, tiriaq - sorry about that! I've misled you about what I meant by adapter. No square threading is involved. One uses the breech end of the old barrel, cut off, bored and threaded with a standard UNF thread form. This adapter, with it's square outer threads still intact, is then screwed back into the receiver (unless one is talented enough to bore and thread it in situ). You have now sleeved the receiver to a smaller, standard thread, into which you can screw the replacement barrel. The length to which the adapter is cut is determined by the O.D. of the blank and the corresponding O.D. along the taper of the original barrel, but typically it would be only 3-6 inches. The best-known example of this would be the Austrians' re-barreling of the old Cooey-Carcanos in the inter-war years; that's actually where I copied the idea. I have an exploded view of one, but I'm afraid I can't post pictures here.
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