Not sure where you are getting your data but it is quite a bit better than 303 in terms of ballistics for long range target shooting, especially with heavy projectiles. I can also push them quite fast with the M10 action and 30" barrel. Ballistics should be similar to a healthy 6.5x55.
Ross Long Range Target Rifle Project - Pic Heavy
- Thread starter Sharps45-70
- Start date
Not sure where you are getting your data but it is quite a bit better than 303 in terms of ballistics for long range target shooting, especially with heavy projectiles. I can also push them quite fast with the M10 action and 30" barrel. Ballistics should be similar to a healthy 6.5x55.
I have not used 6.5-.303 in comparison with the .303, but I do have experience with the .260 and the .308. Very parallel situation, same case with different diameter bullets. Up to 500m or so, ballistic performance is similar. Past that, the 6.5mm bullets really start to show an advantage, and the longer the range, the greater the advantage. Muzzle velocities may be more or less the same; the difference is in the effectiveness of the bullets as the range increases.
Well some good and bad news - good first!
Made some more progress on the build. I started by opening up the barrel channel with a No.6 moulding plane so I could get the barrel set into the stock and begin action inlet. The fine tuning of the barrel channel inlet was made with half-round rasps and sandpaper wrapped around a dowel.
Then got the action inlet into the stock. Lots of fiddly bits here, but just slow going until it slides in nice and tight. The picture makes it look super sloppy around the rear, but this is without the bottom metal in, so the weight of the barrel levers the back up. It sits nice and tight in reality
Then the barrel channel was finessed. I made sure to have a rather large gap around all sides, since this is a target gun and free floating is essential. It is probably opened up more than necessary, but even just squeezing the barrel and forend together lightly made them touch, so I just opened it up until they didn't. I don't mind the look, very similar to the other wood stocked target guns I have.
Then some shaping was done to the action area to blend the bottom metal in.
Now the sad part. I went to try and put the leather recoil pad on so I could take some pictures of the entire gun for you all. When attaching it, I found it was about 1/16" too large on all sides. The toe was even worse. I am very frustrated by this, since all the instructions and tutorials I followed noted that with leather under a certain thickness, it was not necessary to grind the recoil pad smaller than the stock to compensate for the leather thickness. Part of me wants to just ignore it, since I spent $70 on the pad, but the other part of me wants to redo the pad, without leather wrapping it this go around. Thoughts?
Either way, I grabbed some pictures of the complete rifle sans bolt and small parts for you all to see how it looks.
Finally, tonight I clamped up the African Blackwood block I will use for the forend tip. I should be able to start
Happy shooting!
Made some more progress on the build. I started by opening up the barrel channel with a No.6 moulding plane so I could get the barrel set into the stock and begin action inlet. The fine tuning of the barrel channel inlet was made with half-round rasps and sandpaper wrapped around a dowel.
Then got the action inlet into the stock. Lots of fiddly bits here, but just slow going until it slides in nice and tight. The picture makes it look super sloppy around the rear, but this is without the bottom metal in, so the weight of the barrel levers the back up. It sits nice and tight in reality
Then the barrel channel was finessed. I made sure to have a rather large gap around all sides, since this is a target gun and free floating is essential. It is probably opened up more than necessary, but even just squeezing the barrel and forend together lightly made them touch, so I just opened it up until they didn't. I don't mind the look, very similar to the other wood stocked target guns I have.
Then some shaping was done to the action area to blend the bottom metal in.
Now the sad part. I went to try and put the leather recoil pad on so I could take some pictures of the entire gun for you all. When attaching it, I found it was about 1/16" too large on all sides. The toe was even worse. I am very frustrated by this, since all the instructions and tutorials I followed noted that with leather under a certain thickness, it was not necessary to grind the recoil pad smaller than the stock to compensate for the leather thickness. Part of me wants to just ignore it, since I spent $70 on the pad, but the other part of me wants to redo the pad, without leather wrapping it this go around. Thoughts?
Either way, I grabbed some pictures of the complete rifle sans bolt and small parts for you all to see how it looks.
Finally, tonight I clamped up the African Blackwood block I will use for the forend tip. I should be able to start
Happy shooting!
Last edited:
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
That is going to be an elegant device, mate. Hell, it already is. Top quality work there. Good job.
If you don't redo the pad, it's gonna bug the bejeezus out of you every time you look at it...
Top quality work there. Good job.If you don't redo the pad, it's gonna bug the bejeezus out of you every time you look at it...
Thanks for the kind words Dan! You are absolutely right about it bugging me.
Short update:
Well I did it. I broke down and redid the pad. I was lucky enough to be able to get the leather off the pad, then ground it down to a smaller size. Hopefully this one works out
Then I started rounding the forend, being sure to keep the forend line through the tip.
A quick picture of the barreled action in the stock:
Short update:
Well I did it. I broke down and redid the pad. I was lucky enough to be able to get the leather off the pad, then ground it down to a smaller size. Hopefully this one works out
Then I started rounding the forend, being sure to keep the forend line through the tip.
A quick picture of the barreled action in the stock:
Thanks for the kind words, folks.
Just a small update for today.
Due to Canada Post's long mailing times in the current Covid19 situation, my parts have just arrived for the refinishing at the two gentlemen's shops in Nova Scotia. Oskar Kob is doing the nitre bluing and colour case work, with Brian Densmore doing the rust bluing. Oskar turned out the parts in a day! Bolt body, safety, trigger, and bolt stop/release are colour cased. Extractor, sight spring, and all externally visible screws nitre blued. I think they turned out fantastic and can't wait for them to arrive. Have a look, Oskar sent these pictures:
Before:
After (small screws not pictured):
In other news, I have started finish sanding and applying oil to the stock. I am using Danish Oil with a hand rubbed application. In between applications, I am wet sanding to fill the grain of the wood. Once I wet sand up to 600 grit, I will begin applying Timberluxe as the final finish. I will start that most likely in one week. I have seen the Timberluxe finish and was quite impressed - apparently it is the original Winchester high grade finish recipe they used on high grade guns from the late 1890's through to about 1964. Hopefully will be great!
I also have to do the finishing on the leather pad. My main concern is that it doesn't want to fit perfectly flush against the stock since the leather is bunched underneath. I think I will try to use a flat grinding plate to level it out a bit. I'll have to do some more thinking.
Here are some pictures of the stock with two oil coats on it. It will brighten up a lot more when the finish is applied. It still has some sanding slurry on it in these pictures.
More to come!
Just a small update for today.
Due to Canada Post's long mailing times in the current Covid19 situation, my parts have just arrived for the refinishing at the two gentlemen's shops in Nova Scotia. Oskar Kob is doing the nitre bluing and colour case work, with Brian Densmore doing the rust bluing. Oskar turned out the parts in a day! Bolt body, safety, trigger, and bolt stop/release are colour cased. Extractor, sight spring, and all externally visible screws nitre blued. I think they turned out fantastic and can't wait for them to arrive. Have a look, Oskar sent these pictures:
Before:
After (small screws not pictured):
In other news, I have started finish sanding and applying oil to the stock. I am using Danish Oil with a hand rubbed application. In between applications, I am wet sanding to fill the grain of the wood. Once I wet sand up to 600 grit, I will begin applying Timberluxe as the final finish. I will start that most likely in one week. I have seen the Timberluxe finish and was quite impressed - apparently it is the original Winchester high grade finish recipe they used on high grade guns from the late 1890's through to about 1964. Hopefully will be great!
I also have to do the finishing on the leather pad. My main concern is that it doesn't want to fit perfectly flush against the stock since the leather is bunched underneath. I think I will try to use a flat grinding plate to level it out a bit. I'll have to do some more thinking.
Here are some pictures of the stock with two oil coats on it. It will brighten up a lot more when the finish is applied. It still has some sanding slurry on it in these pictures.
More to come!
1ShootaMugavin
New member
- Location
- Southern Manitoba
Very cool project! nice work, the finished product will be outstanding.
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
Mr. Kob knows his biscuits. That CCH work is lovely. This is going to be a spectacularly pretty rifle, mate.
Speaking of Mr. Kob knowing his biscuits, he sent me this picture this morning. When chatting, he mentioned he has done quite a few Ross rifles in the past, and noted that the larger chunk of steel that is the action makes quite the splash when it hits the water. This creates the incredible colours and vibrancy seen here.
Lots of little stuff came in the mail.
First up: The modern sight parts from Buffalo Arms. I ordered a Lee Shaver S-4 (part No. LSS4) Globe sight for the front. This has a removable bubble level and interchangeable inserts. Technically, for a target rifle this is about 15-20 years older technology than what the Ross would have been equipped with if this were in period, but I like these and am very familiar with them. I had to go with this model for the sight height, and you'll notice it's not just a big block, but has a contour to it so it appears more slender when looking down the sights.
Also in the mail was the Canada Tool & Specialty Co. target sight from Beater. I like these more than the BSA sight, so a quick cleanup and it's now in great working order. The bluing isn't perfect, and someone rethreaded the sight for Marbles eyecups, so I may reblue the whole thing later. Who knows. Also came with the pin...lucky me!
I also ordered the threaded eyecups for Marbles sights to use. I ordered the 0.055", 0.076", and 0.102" eye pieces. This gives me something to play with in differing light conditions. Unfortunately I cannot use the classic BSA/Parker/etc. adjustable/6-piece eye pieces from the era since they are too large in diameter and will hit the bolt on the lowest sight settings.
Biggest news is the parts that went to Oskar are back - and they look even better in person. The pictures truly don't do them justice (they never do). I don't have the best lighting, so the colours don't show great, but once it is all together, I will give the rifle a solid photo session in the sun! First set of parts are the nitre blued ones, second set are colour cased. The colours on the bolt are incredible and show much better in person. The one thing I will say about Oskar's work, is the colours are WAY better than what you are used to on production guns. I have a Pedersoli Sharps, and the colours are so much more grey. Even looking at Winchesters and Ubertis, they just don't compare to Oskar. The nitre bluing has great colour to it as well!
The barreled action and parts off for rust bluing are still being worked on. Brian was kind enough to keep me updated with pictures of his work, which is very kind of him. Here are some of the pictures he sent of the small parts being prepped. The barreled action is up next for prep, then all off to rust soon.
I am also continually putting coats of oil and wet sanding the stock. Nothing much to see there, it just gets a but smoother each time, but looks terrible in pictures due to the slurry on the stock. I'll take some more pics once I get the Timberluxe on the wood.
If you have read this far - thank you!!! I enjoy writing these for you all, and I hope you enjoy these. Look out for more updates!
First up: The modern sight parts from Buffalo Arms. I ordered a Lee Shaver S-4 (part No. LSS4) Globe sight for the front. This has a removable bubble level and interchangeable inserts. Technically, for a target rifle this is about 15-20 years older technology than what the Ross would have been equipped with if this were in period, but I like these and am very familiar with them. I had to go with this model for the sight height, and you'll notice it's not just a big block, but has a contour to it so it appears more slender when looking down the sights.
Also in the mail was the Canada Tool & Specialty Co. target sight from Beater. I like these more than the BSA sight, so a quick cleanup and it's now in great working order. The bluing isn't perfect, and someone rethreaded the sight for Marbles eyecups, so I may reblue the whole thing later. Who knows. Also came with the pin...lucky me!
I also ordered the threaded eyecups for Marbles sights to use. I ordered the 0.055", 0.076", and 0.102" eye pieces. This gives me something to play with in differing light conditions. Unfortunately I cannot use the classic BSA/Parker/etc. adjustable/6-piece eye pieces from the era since they are too large in diameter and will hit the bolt on the lowest sight settings.
Biggest news is the parts that went to Oskar are back - and they look even better in person. The pictures truly don't do them justice (they never do). I don't have the best lighting, so the colours don't show great, but once it is all together, I will give the rifle a solid photo session in the sun! First set of parts are the nitre blued ones, second set are colour cased. The colours on the bolt are incredible and show much better in person. The one thing I will say about Oskar's work, is the colours are WAY better than what you are used to on production guns. I have a Pedersoli Sharps, and the colours are so much more grey. Even looking at Winchesters and Ubertis, they just don't compare to Oskar. The nitre bluing has great colour to it as well!
The barreled action and parts off for rust bluing are still being worked on. Brian was kind enough to keep me updated with pictures of his work, which is very kind of him. Here are some of the pictures he sent of the small parts being prepped. The barreled action is up next for prep, then all off to rust soon.
I am also continually putting coats of oil and wet sanding the stock. Nothing much to see there, it just gets a but smoother each time, but looks terrible in pictures due to the slurry on the stock. I'll take some more pics once I get the Timberluxe on the wood.
If you have read this far - thank you!!! I enjoy writing these for you all, and I hope you enjoy these. Look out for more updates!
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
Better and better and better. Looking forward to seeing her finished.
Time for a quick update
All my parts are back in my hands from refinishing! Brian did an amazing job on the rust bluing, I must say. A very nice deep blue which he achieved in 8 cycles of rusting.
I am still working on the stock finish. It is coming along quite nicely. Grain filled up to 600 grit, and hand rubbing in the Timberluxe oil. It brings out quite a nice depth to the stock. As we speak, I am two coats in, but will probably work up to 8 or so. In the meantime, I assembled the action to test everything. One thing I desperately need to do is lighten the trigger and reduce some creep! Anybody have any insight on how this is done? I am assuming a lighter return spring and a polishing of the sear surfaces, but anything else? I'm not expecting Timney level of good, but better is needed.
Have a look at some assembled action pictures! Again, my apologies the colour case hardening doesn't look very good in the photos. I'll borrow my friend's actual camera and see if it's any better once the rifle is complete. It also doesn't capture the nitre blued screws all that well, but they look great in person
In addition, I made up 5 dummy cartridges so I could begin working on the magazine geometry. Hopefully won't be too crazy. From what I can see, I need to cut a rim recess in the follower and bevel the underside of the bolt head so it doesn't hang up on the rims. I will most likely also need to cut and rearrange the magazine walls, but we'll see.
Left to right; 303 British, 6.5/303 British, and 308 Winchester.
As always, thanks for reading, and happy shooting!
All my parts are back in my hands from refinishing! Brian did an amazing job on the rust bluing, I must say. A very nice deep blue which he achieved in 8 cycles of rusting.
I am still working on the stock finish. It is coming along quite nicely. Grain filled up to 600 grit, and hand rubbing in the Timberluxe oil. It brings out quite a nice depth to the stock. As we speak, I am two coats in, but will probably work up to 8 or so. In the meantime, I assembled the action to test everything. One thing I desperately need to do is lighten the trigger and reduce some creep! Anybody have any insight on how this is done? I am assuming a lighter return spring and a polishing of the sear surfaces, but anything else? I'm not expecting Timney level of good, but better is needed.
Have a look at some assembled action pictures! Again, my apologies the colour case hardening doesn't look very good in the photos. I'll borrow my friend's actual camera and see if it's any better once the rifle is complete. It also doesn't capture the nitre blued screws all that well, but they look great in person
In addition, I made up 5 dummy cartridges so I could begin working on the magazine geometry. Hopefully won't be too crazy. From what I can see, I need to cut a rim recess in the follower and bevel the underside of the bolt head so it doesn't hang up on the rims. I will most likely also need to cut and rearrange the magazine walls, but we'll see.
Left to right; 303 British, 6.5/303 British, and 308 Winchester.
As always, thanks for reading, and happy shooting!
