Scoping a M-10 Ross

R

Ross1910280

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Got my M-10 back from Oregongunsmithing.

It now has a brand new .308 bore from the rusted nasty .287 that it was.

Mine is the 28" bbled model w/o the flip up sight on the rear receiver ring.

Thought long and hard about the best way to scope it. The front ring is round, the rear flat.
Digging in my box of Weaver bases I came up with a #45 and #48. The 45 countour was almost perfect so I put a piece of fine emery, abarasive up on the front ring and countoured the base to the ring. The 45 was filed flat on the bottom to fit the rear ring.

To get it right a long tube scope was mounted in 2 rings, the rings clamped to the bases, the bases set in place. The scope reticle was set at the center of it's range. With the rifle in a cleaning rest, 2 drops of gorilla glue was put on each base and a bore sighter installed. The rig was moved until it was close to centered left to right.



Let the glue dry and recheck the bore sighter.

If all is good, now you can drill and tap the rings and complete installation.

I used a Weaver J2.5 with a 6X Litscherts converter as it mounts low and has a long tube.

You can see the "308/280 Ross "being extracted.

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You may have opted for steel Grand Slam steel bases or Warne ,but the aluminum ones will likely hold.
 
I have a M-10 which had similar bases installed. A long tube scope is needed, although offset rings would allow a shorter scope to be mounted. I used a vintage adjustable objective Weaver K-series.
A rear bridge with a Porter peep can be replaced with a stripped Mk. III military bridge, to avoid alterations to the rather rare Porter unit.
The Ross front ring isn't cylindrical, so fitting the base to the ring is likely required.
I think a scope with a vintage appearance looks better on these classic rifles.
.30/.280 should be quite the cartridge!
 
Thanks. Figure the 308/280 could equal a 300 Win Mag, although in deference to its age and my shoulder, I plan to load at 308 Win levels.
 
The Ross M10

I had one in .303 BR. It has been said that they got a bad name in the WW1 trenches when they jammed. It was not the Ross that was at fault but the UK ammo which varied in size from different factories.

The Ross was fine with good ammunition.

IMO, if the factory after WW1 had brought out sporting rifles in various calibers, it would be with us today. Much better than a semi!

My son years ago was using a scoped bolt action Rugger 77 in .308 for deer hunting up the Ottawa Valley, wondered about a semi. I said forget about it, Two days later, he killed three running 40 - 70 yards with 4 shots.

His only rifle now is a late Savage 99 in .308, custom stock and sling, and it is a beautiful rifle. I told him, that if he wants to sell it, he must check prices on he used market as they stopped making them years ago.

My first rifle was a Winchester .30-30, a shot out unsafe 1894 reject of the Toronto City Police cost $40.
But my dad bought a Savage 99 take down, in .250-3000 using the 87 grain bullet. I inherited it and it was great as a rifle for white tail. Wish I had kept it.

Bad decisions. . . .

SOF
 
Sly Old Fox said:
I had one in .303 BR. It has been said that they got a bad name in the WW1 trenches when they jammed. It was not the Ross that was at fault but the UK ammo which varied in size from different factories.

The Ross was fine with good ammunition.

IMO, if the factory after WW1 had brought out sporting rifles in various calibers, it would be with us today. Much better than a semi!

SOF
Click to expand...

My Ross is an M10 that did get the chamber reaming treatment overseas, and my .02 on it is that the ammunition might have played a part, but the nature of the bolt itself was a big contributor to the real jamming problem. The helical threads in the bolt mechanism are super tight - add a little mud or even just enough differential heat expansion and it’s not hard to see how they lock up under continuous fire in less than pristine conditions. The locking lugs are pretty big and look like less of a problem, but throw dirt on them and pull the trigger and who knows. Not sacrificing mine to the experiment.

This looks like an awesome repurpose - enjoy!
 
The WW I problems with the Ross were well documented.

It is said:

The Germans made the best engineered rifle -M98
The brits made the best battle rifle- SMLE
The Americans made the best target rifle-1903

I'd add the Ross to the target category as it excelled at sniping and rifle matches.

The 280 Ross was the 1st 7mm Magnum and was a world beater in its day.

"The .280 Ross-Eley match ammunition was loaded with a 180- grain spitzer FMJ bullet, also extra-low drag, with a muzzle velocity of 2,700 fps. "

Very few "big sevens" do much better today, 113 years later !
 
R?
Good on you for repurposing an M-10. I am interested in how you are going to load up .308/ 280s and would like to know if you had a special set of dies made up?
I am on the water tonight but will send along a couple of pics of a Sedgley .280 with Griffin and Howe mount tomorrow if we don’t sink.
There are many (many) .280s out there with shot out (read corroded out) bores and a solution like yours is to be commended to resuscitate an otherwise useless wall hanger.
BTW aluminum is just FINE.
Best
OGC
 
Ross1910280 said:
Thanks. Figure the 308/280 could equal a 300 Win Mag, although in deference to its age and my shoulder, I plan to load at 308 Win levels.
Click to expand...

Your shoulder certainly deserves that consideration, however the Ross is more than capable of handling the pressures generated by modern rounds. No small number have been rebarreled to 'modern' belted magnum calibers without problems. It is a very strong action.

Your 30-280 Ross is a very ingenious restoration, especially if the chamber is not corroded. I have no doubt that new round could easily approach 300 Win Mag velocities since the usable case capacity will be close to the same.

I have had a number of rifles rebored and chambered over the years, and all of them proved to be very accurate, and provided great satisfaction at the range and in the field.

Look forward to hearing more about your load developments.

Ted
 
As for dies: I bought a set of 300 RUM dies that use the neck sizing bushings as I plan to use mild loads so FL sizing will probably not be required.
 
Ross

A Couple of examples of scope First by Sedgley and the rest by private owners. I will post 4 two at a time and see if it will work.
OGC
 

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Ross 2

Second is the Sedgley in 30-06 no less. All the rest are still .280
TTFN
OGC
 

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The cross lock bases give you room to load. When combined very low rings and a 3/4" or 7/8" tube scope give the best cheek weld.

With exception of the G&H mount they either block the loading port or look like suitcase handles.

I suppose optimum would be the "no base" Talleys, milled to be as low as possible. i.e. the style they make for the Browning X Bolt.
 
Changed my mind.
Removed rear ring male dovetail and filed ring flat
Went thru boxes and more boxes of bases and rings.
In Leupold turn ins, found M96 Mauser for front and unknown but low rear.
Added some old Redfield 1" rings and a Leupold VX III 6.5-20x40 that JUST clears the rear sight.

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308 Ross vs 300 Win Mag

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Very nice old rifles, still strutting their stuff. Some good work and engineering to get these rifles up and running. Thanks for posting.
 
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