Ross m10.. final update on post 37

I would suggest that $650 for a cut barrel Mk. III sported rifle is ridiculous. Icehunter121's one third of that is more realistic. Assuming that the bore is good enough to be a decent shooter.
The rifle appears to be one of the ones commercially sported in the UK in the '50s, based on the proof marks and the style of alterations. The rivet in the bolt sleeve suggests that the rifle was in service during WW2.

In service...that's more my kind of history. But of course we will never know the full blown truth. Cheap enough I might buy it just cause I have never owned one. An maybe I can fool myself into thinking they are rare. An maybe I should go to work and give my brain a rest! By the way did I mention I really hate the butt pad on it.
 
First Ross I bought was very much like this one, right down to a recoil pad that left much to be desired. I restocked it using a semi-finished sporting stock. Didn't turn out badly. Fired cases left a lot to be desired from the standpoint of reloading.
 
So ran some hot water through it,just about a gallon!! Then hit it with some hoppes benchrest solvent and a brush. A lot of crap coming out after soaking it overnight but the bore isn't lookin good. Looks like lots of frosting,rifling isn't sharp ( 50/50) and looking like some rust spots that are not coming out with scrubbing. But the chamber looks good so far!
 
Grease the bore using nylon bristle bore brush after firing and clean out with a patch and jag before the next firing.
My Ross's reacted well to that treatment.
 
Grease the bore using nylon bristle bore brush after firing and clean out with a patch and jag before the next firing.
My Ross's reacted well to that treatment.

Never heard of this before. Give me a quick explanation as to how or what to use for this "greasing" besides a nylon brush please..
 
Grease covers the metal preventing air from getting to the metal(rusting) and the fouling from hardening up(carbon and copper tarnish). Over time bore does get cleaner without scrubbing and excess chance of damaging the rifling. Copper remover only needed perhaps every 200 rounds or so.

This is still standard Swiss military style maintenance practice. Oil tends to dry out or run.

Nylon bristle bore brush leaves a thin coat without blocking the bore. Place brush onto a rod, dunk the brush into the grease and pass through bore a few times and try to ensure you don't miss any section.
Use a non-hygroscopic grease(doesn't let water in)

Store until your next shooting session.

At the range next time:
Use rod with jag and patch to remove most of the grease before shooting. Don't have to be anal about getting EVERY bit of grease out. Don't use a slotted patch tip, they are useless.

Parker Hale type
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Swiss Style on right.
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k31cleaning.jpg
 
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So after 2 weeks of scrubbing and soaking I think the barrel is finished..kaput...scrap... I started with a gallon of hot water followed by hopes bench rest solvent and a g96 powder solvent also. The barrel is more pitted then a light frosting and there is a section of barrel about 1/2 way down about 2 inches long that wont clean out which leads me to believe that its rust that is about 1/2 the height of the rifling. I would love to shoot it to see what happens but better judgement tells me at the least it might bulge. Last attempt might be to try my buddies borescope and take a look unless some one has a better idea!
 
If it were mine, grease the bore and leave it for the months. Then Jag, patch and Flitz on the worst section to see it it improves a bit.

I had a commercial Yugo 98 Kragjuvac fired most likely only with corrosive and never cleaned before I got it. Tried cleaning it for a year.
Finally used navy jelly and found it was so far gone and that the entire bore was too constricted for 7.9mm. Sewer pipe. Kicked like a mule.
Had it re-barreled with an unused 7x57 FN barrel I had.
 
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Close to half a million Rosses were made, so folks don't consider them to be scarce.

First off, consider attrition of this number in Canadian service during the Great War..... AND the Royal Navy's losses during land and sea service in BOTH World Wars.

Consider that Mother Russia received shipments of Rosses from Britain during the Great War.

Consider that the Ross was the official rifle of the Latvian Army following the establishment of the state..... and that these all went to the Soviet Union after they liberated that small nation from the perils of incipient Fascism in 1940.

And consider that Estonia and Lithuania also had quantities of Rosses which succumbed to the same fate as the Latvian rifles.....

And the Soviets received more Rosses as war aid during the Second War.......

And you soon come to the conclusion that about two-thirds of the total production of the military Mark III Ross ended up in Russia.....

all of which leaves the entire world supply around 100,000........ or about 1/50 of the supply of Garands or M-1 Carbines.

And even that figure is diminished by various "buybacks", confiscations, demolitions, scrappings et cetera for over a century.

Rosses in any condition are NOT common.... and they are still the slickest thing you can wish for.... AND accurate.
 
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So a final update. Contacted the owner and let 5 shots through it at 55 yards. No keyholing, with 2 different loads of 2 shots of 150 grain loads and 1 of 180 grain loads all made for one of my Enfields I got a 4 inch group. That was shot in a slight chilly breeze with a temp of +3 and somewhat fading light. So all in all not a good test but at least it didn't blow up,functioned just fine and I got it for $100.00. Guess I cant complain with that!!
 
I'll wager the rust deposits are no longer sitting proud in the bore. You may find it cleans up better than before. Its close to impossible to get a pitted bore fully clean, and also a waste of time as the bore will foul just as quickly after shooting it again. However, if the bore is tight (Rosses generally are) it should shoot reasonably well.
 
Run some Flitz down the bore, enough to haze the whole length. Let it dry (looks like chalk) then run another soft, clean patch back and forward quickly down the bore. Repeat as necessary. Flitz is actually the mildest abrasive you can buy, and is considered safe for rifle bores.
 
Hi RRN. LC mark indicates a modified rifle overseas to the 'new' enlarged chamber. The 'E' was stamped on the barrels of new rifles that were made AFTER it was decided to enlarge the chamber. In other words the 'E' indicates enlarged chamber as made at the factory. JOHN
 
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