Ross rifle M-10

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randal007

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A few years ago I posted a thread about my M-10 Ross. Put probably 150 rounds throu it and even got a nice buck with it. Anyways when cleaning it today I noticed one of the threads for the locking lug is chipped pretty bad, wondering if it is still safe to use.

 
Could have been like that for a long time without knowing. How do the rest of the lugs look? There is a lot of locking strength in those buttressed threads.
 
M-10 (.280) or MkIII (.303) ?? (this is the accepted/adopted designations for the 1910 Rosses these days)
Judging by 150 rds I am going to guess the latter.
NOT safe to shoot, and you will be "flinching like a cigar store Indian" (as my Dad used to say) from this day forward if you do.
I suggest you find a new receiver from a donor rifle (usually last good part standing) and carry on. The receivers are and were interchangeable (that's why you see "M-10" on military .303s and "Model 1910" on M-10 .280s). Save for grinding a wider feed ramp on the .280s, no big deal. Also neither were numbered so you are clean and green.
Don't despair, you can be back in business with very little expense.
Good luck
Oldguncrank
 
Where would you say the best place to find a new receiver. I was also thibking about putting a scope on it, would you guys consider that a bad idea.
 
Oldguncrank said:
M-10 (.280) or MkIII (.303) ?? (this is the accepted/adopted designations for the 1910 Rosses these days)
Judging by 150 rds I am going to guess the latter.
NOT safe to shoot, and you will be "flinching like a cigar store Indian" (as my Dad used to say) from this day forward if you do.
I suggest you find a new receiver from a donor rifle (usually last good part standing) and carry on. The receivers are and were interchangeable (that's why you see "M-10" on military .303s and "Model 1910" on M-10 .280s). Save for grinding a wider feed ramp on the .280s, no big deal. Also neither were numbered so you are clean and green.
Don't despair, you can be back in business with very little expense.
Good luck
Oldguncrank
Click to expand...

That's stupid advice. That "damaged" part doesn't actually do anything and sits in front of the bolt lug. Your rifle is fine.
 
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I would NOT shoot this rifle. If one side of the lugs are damaged, what is the other side like. Although the 1910 Ross is actually a strong action and has been tested up to 120,000 PSI, and has multiple locking lug threads, any damage to the lugs or bolt is a sign that SOMETHING went wrong, and is either from an overpressure cartridge or a problem with the bolt. It looks like excessive pressure.

The Ross bolt locking design was used by Newton for his rifles.

The 1905 Ross has a barrel that can be swapped fairly easily. For the 1910 Ross, you had better have a Gunsmith with a good barrel vise.
 
Oldguncrank said:
The receivers are and were interchangeable (that's why you see "M-10" on military .303s and "Model 1910" on M-10 .280s). Oldguncrank
Click to expand...

For the record this is not cut in stone.

I have an early 1910-E (.303) with a M-1910 on the receiver and a late M-10 .280 with M-10 marked on the receiver.
 
I am certainly no expert.
Is that not the breech end of the bbl we are looking at immediately in front of the thread in question? It looks to me as though the damage might have been caused during the manufacturing process. The thread appears to taper off to nothing at about the 6 oclock position immediately behind the bbl. If that is the case, would the entire thread not be ahead of the bolthead?
 
While Canadian Gun Nuts is a great site for many things, it is NOT the place for actual safety advice regarding the integrity of that rifle.

Do yourself a favour and have a certified and competent gunsmith examine the components to determine their safety.

Hopefully they will have good news for your rifle. Who knows - a lot of these old warhorses cane take a lot more than people think.

BUT... Do you want to test that on your precious face? There are many Ross rifles out there. You only have one jaw.
 
I took it to a reputable gun smith, He said that he would be comfortable to shoot it still. OGC I don't know what you mean by PP 121 & 123 RRS ??
 
I think I would make it a wall hanger and just buy another Ross. I'm not sure why a Ross is so cheap in this country. You would think it would fetch a good chunk of change. I bought one just because it's made in Canada. Same with the Enfield. Is there any others that were made here that I'm missing in the collection?
 
You're old enough to own a gun, you're old enough to decide what ya want to do.

3 reasons I've been told the Ross had tendency to "traumatically dissasemble" itself;
Machined too finely for the conditions of trench warfare;
Damaged locking lugs from useage (how much longer are the other lugs going to hold up?);
Incorrect reassembly of the bolt.

Locking up short of being in battery and unable to fire is one thing but if it's not fully locked when it goes bang.....you know what the path of the bolt is when she lets go.

They can do marvelous reconstructive surgery nowadays; if you don't join the unfortunates that didn't survive it. Maybe it'll hold up for your naturally allocated life span.
 
The Ross action is incredibly strong, and a total failure is very unlikely. If something were to break, it would be one or two of the locking lugs or grooves. There are seven locking surfaces in the action and I'd wager my shooting eye that they wouldn't all fail at once. Even with a barrel obstruction I think it would be more likely for the barrel to banana-peel than it would for the action to fail catastrophically.

That said, judging from your picture (I believe we're looking at the ventral four lug area) it doesn't appear that the damaged area is part of the locking system. A locking lug would sit behind it, but not in front of it.
 
Been watching this thread closely for a day or 2..

Those of you who've been around here for some time know that I'm a bit of a Ross collector.I also shoot all kinds of antique and obselete firearms.

So with that being said take my advise for what it is, it's just my opinion.

Firstly personally I will touch off damn near any gun as long as it checks out and is free of damage. The Ross in question clearly has material broken off the forward most lug on the left side. There could be microscopic cracks at that point meaning the receiver COULD let go.

Will it let go? No idea but since she's a straight pull the bolt could probably come back and strike the shooter directly in the right eye cheek region. Or the pressure could bleed down or through the side leaging the shooter with servery damaged hands. I like my face and hands personally.

Second unlike many people I've seen a gun blown apart due to a malfunction and the damage it caused to the steel was absolutely spectacular. 2 people were Injured that day but thank God not seriously. After seeing this gun failure it totally changed my views on taking any chances with questionable guns.

Third, Buffdog posted on here on page 1. He's been shooting Ross rifles for somewhere around 50 years. He also knows a thing or 2 about steel, machining and guns in general. If he says he won't shoot it that's good enough for me to agree with.

OP it's your face, do with it what you choose, any gun that MAY let go is reason enough to not play with it.
 
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