Ross rifle identification help.

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bobjoe

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Hello,

I have come into a Ross rifle and I know very little about them. This one has been sporterized sometime in its life. The magazine disconnect is missing and the stock has been refinished so the ID markings are missing. Barrel has been cut to 23 ish Inches bore at the muzzle measures at .310 and a dummy 303 chambers in it. Bore appear to have strong rifling and the sights have been replaced. Other than that I’m not sure what model it is or its value. Wondering if someone can assist.
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Is there a serial number on the left side of the barrel just ahead of the receiver and just above the stock line? If so, it is likely a commercial 1905R sporting rifle that has undergone some minor modifications over the years.
 
It is a cut down Mk. II rifle. Given the lack of handguard notches in the forend, it was not a Mk. II***. Does the safety slide left - right or does it rotate? With the protruding pin, it has been altered. Looks as if it had a rear sight bridge mounted at one time.
If the bore diameter (as opposed to groove diameter) at the muzzle is .310, I would not expect much in the way of accuracy.
Value? Nominal.
A 1905R rifle would have had a band around the barrel with a screw up from below near the tip of the forend. If there is a serial on the left side just above the stock line, then it was a factory sporter.
 
tiriaq said:
It is a cut down Mk. II rifle. Given the lack of handguard notches in the forend, it was not a Mk. II***. Does the safety slide left - right or does it rotate? With the protruding pin, it has been altered. Looks as if it had a rear sight bridge mounted at one time.
If the bore diameter (as opposed to groove diameter) at the muzzle is .310, I would not expect much in the way of accuracy.
Value? Nominal.
A 1905R rifle would have had a band around the barrel with a screw up from below near the tip of the forend. If there is a serial on the left side just above the stock line, then it was a factory sporter.
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The safety rotates forward. The grove diameter is .310 it’s the widest point I could measure.
 
B_noser said:
Is there a serial number on the left side of the barrel just ahead of the receiver and just above the stock line? If so, it is likely a commercial 1905R sporting rifle that has undergone some minor modifications over the years.
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No there is not. There is only a 4 digit number on the top of the barrel. No prefix
 
The safety on a Mk. II** rifle rotates, as opposed to sliding left - right as on the other Mk. II rifles. Usually there was a flag/paddle on the end; I suspect the pin is a modification. Mk. II** rifles often had bridges installed for rear aperture sights. The barrel looks lighter than a II** barrel, but I may be wrong.
If the groove diameter at the muzzle is .310", the rifle should shoot. Give the bore a really good cleaning with a metal fouling cleaner.
The rifle is past being collectable, but as Canuckguns has suggested, it would make a nice deer gun. It is at least 110 years old.
 
tiriaq said:
The safety on a Mk. II** rifle rotates, as opposed to sliding left - right as on the other Mk. II rifles. Usually there was a flag/paddle on the end; I suspect the pin is a modification. Mk. II** rifles often had bridges installed for rear aperture sights. The barrel looks lighter than a II** barrel, but I may be wrong.
If the groove diameter at the muzzle is .310", the rifle should shoot. Give the bore a really good cleaning with a metal fouling cleaner.
The rifle is past being collectable, but as Canuckguns has suggested, it would make a nice deer gun. It is at least 110 years old.
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Thank you. I did not think that it was anything collectable. Just mostly trying to figure out what version it is and a possible value. The fellow who owns it wants to sell it and I had no idea where to even start with it. Is it a $100 rifle $50?
 
If you do decide to purchase it, Make sure you take it to a gunsmith that knows Ross Rifles and have him check it out. The Ross is infamous for having the bolt blow back in the operators face when fired. This is because when the bolt was reassembled after cleaning, it was not reassembled correctly.
 
As a shooter, it is a bit of a pig in a poke until the bore is cleaned thoroughly and it is test fired.
In my opinion, a hundred bucks wouldn't be unreasonable. At auction, it would probably bring more.

A Mk. II bolt cannot be assembled incorrectly. That is the Mk. III.
If the rifle were a Mk. III (and it is not), the second and third last photos show that the bolt assembly is correct.
 
1oldfart said:
If you do decide to purchase it, Make sure you take it to a gunsmith that knows Ross Rifles and have him check it out. The Ross is infamous for having the bolt blow back in the operators face when fired. This is because when the bolt was reassembled after cleaning, it was not reassembled correctly.
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At a risk of sounding preachy, you are referring to the M10 / MK3 model
This is still a straight pull; but other than the caliber and the name....that's about it for similarities.
 
tokguy said:
At a risk of sounding preachy, you are referring to the M10 / MK3 model
This is still a straight pull; but other than the caliber and the name....that's about it for similarities.
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you are not sounding preachy at all, I am not a Ross expert so I thought that I should just through it out there. I would feel bad if the guy bought the gun and had it backfire on him.
I was well prepared to have some response to my post and I appreciate that you clarified it for me and all other readers.

Thank you
 
Tank you all for the replies, I agree, I don’t want a bolt to come back into my face so I don’t mine the questions lol. I’ve never handled or seen one before. I have seen enough lee enfield’s to know it’s a sporter and all collector value is gone. I’m not super intrested in keeping it but better I buy it than it goes into the cutter. I’ll post more once I buy it and have it cleaned up.
 
tiriaq said:
The safety on a Mk. II** rifle rotates, as opposed to sliding left - right as on the other Mk. II rifles. Usually there was a flag/paddle on the end; I suspect the pin is a modification. Mk. II** rifles often had bridges installed for rear aperture sights. The barrel looks lighter than a II** barrel, but I may be wrong.
If the groove diameter at the muzzle is .310", the rifle should shoot. Give the bore a really good cleaning with a metal fouling cleaner.
The rifle is past being collectable, but as Canuckguns has suggested, it would make a nice deer gun. It is at least 110 years old.
Click to expand...
It’s a MkII something star, but not a 2* Tiriaq. The 2* rifles have the normal square thread barrels and this one has the 3TPI left hand buttress style barrel. The amount of sporterized MkIIs I’ve seen drilled for receiver sights is unreal, no idea where they’ve all gone.
 
It’s not a bad thing to point out, either way. There’s a trusted shop in Canada with a beat up bubba mkIII for sale that the bolt IS in fact assembled incorrectly on. I’ve pointed it out to them and got crickets back on my end, so would be buyers beware.
 
flying pig said:
It’s not a bad thing to point out, either way. There’s a trusted shop in Canada with a beat up bubba mkIII for sale that the bolt IS in fact assembled incorrectly on. I’ve pointed it out to them and got crickets back on my end, so would be buyers beware.
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I encountered that situation once myself. Got the rifle out of the rack, and manipulated the bolt to get it properly positioned in the sleeve. The folks at the shop weren't aware of the incorrect assembly.
 
tiriaq said:
I encountered that situation once myself. Got the rifle out of the rack, and manipulated the bolt to get it properly positioned in the sleeve. The folks at the shop weren't aware of the incorrect assembly.
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Yes and that’s the scary part for sure. I hope someone does as you’ve done with this one. It’s much too far a drive for me (10 days return ha ha) and they’re asking too much for what it is for me to buy it, fix it and re sell it.
 
flying pig said:
It’s not a bad thing to point out, either way. There’s a trusted shop in Canada with a beat up bubba mkIII for sale that the bolt IS in fact assembled incorrectly on. I’ve pointed it out to them and got crickets back on my end, so would be buyers beware.
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I got my son to pick up an M10 on my behalf, years back before cell phones were common. So no 'Instant Pic' to lean on.
Smellie had always repeated the 'Rule of thumb' mantra.
In that you ought to be able to place your thumb sideways into the gap between bolt head and bolt, if it is assembled correctly.
Talked to my son and yep, it was together improperly.
Some folks are not real strong on mechanical mechanisms
And my son just picked up a free dog eared MK 2 as well.
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Get it...or not. They are like Cooey Carcano's, a part of Canadian history.
Marstar thinks it has some value apparently
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Ouch! At least, judging from the safety, it is a II**, so the barrel has conventional square threads.
 
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