The Ross Straightpull Rifle M-1905 and M-1910

[albayo]

Ross MkII & MkIII

The Ross full wood rifles are extremely hard to find. I have had the MkIII for years, but it took me seven or eight years to find my MkII*****. Not exactly museum quality but they are good examples.

 

[RRCo.]

Odd about the sights, though.

I agree that they should have had protecting wings or something. The Mark III* which was made for England did have such. This would have shown up before the War, had there been rifles and time for a proper trial.

As to the battle sight, it was no worse than the battle sight on the US Springfield Model of 1903, which was set at 547 yards. At least, with the Ross, you had the option of using the aperture sight, which COULD be set for shorter ranges and works very well indeed when so set. The Ross Battle Aperture Sight as fitted to the Mark III has two scales: one in hundreds of yards (with intermediate markings, of course) and one in minutes of muzzle elevation. The drift-adjustable aperture, though, could be a little tighter, but this varies with age and wear and rust and dirt. It's hard, at this remove in time, to say what they were like when new., although I do suspect that they didn't creep about all by themselves.

The backsight the British made up for their Ross MkIIIs is much weaker and more vulnerable to damage than the Ross original. It has a spring detent like a P14 for the elevation, which doesn't strike me as any better than the original fast threaded screw, and of course has no windage adjustment like the Ross original. Ross pioneered the aperture sight for service rifles and the Patt.13/14 Rifle followed suit, as it tried to do with the .276 cartridge as well.

I have an as-new MkIII and the backsight functions very well. It would require more cleaning and lubrication than a less complex design of course. Imagine how hard it must have been to clean rifles without the kind "tooth brushes" etc. we have now! Not much you can do to get dirt and grit out with just a rag.

The Ross Mk III would have worked very well if we could have issued our in spec Canadian made ammo to our troops with them.

If the government had bought the chamber cleaning sticks Ross came up with as well, couldn't have hurt.

Unfortunately, the Brits found our ammo so good that they issued it to their guys, and gave us the oversized crap that jammed their guns too.

I haven't heard of the diversions bit before, do you have a source? I could see the better ammo being diverted to machine guns, especially in aircraft.

I've never liked the thick wrist of the MkIII stock and I've often wondered why it was made that way. Perhaps just for extra strength?

I love the Rosses, but I love the Enfields too; they're both part of our history, and the Ross has definitely have been misrepresented for a variety of motives. As a soldier in the trenches I would choose an SMLE, as a sniper a Ross MkIII.

 

[John Sukey]

One point, the Brits did not force the ross on Canada. Canadians simply picked up rifles on the battlefield and rearmed themselves.
I have two complete Ross rifles and like some other straight pulls they would be more tiring to use for extended periods.
Now i would have a third ross but I ran out of money. That one was rather unusual as the elevation was adjusted by turning a ring that went around the sight and barrel. I have no idea what model it was.

The interesting about both of my rifles is with all the different regimental stamps on the stock they look like they were issued to damm near every regiment in the army, one after another!

 

[green]

The ring around the barrel was on the "Sight Ross MkII or III". MkII has a curved sight leaf and III has a flat one. MkII sight was on the I*, II,II*. MkIII was on the "Rifle Ross MkII with Sight Ross MkIII" and II4*.

 

[smellie]

John, I have a Ross with the sight-collar you describe. Ramp etc on the sight looks rather like a Lange sight from a Gew98. You set the major distances on the slide and then fine adjustment with the collar. My rifle also has the threaded firing-pin/cocking-piece.

Butt is stamped prominently with a date: 1906

And somebody CHOPPED THE WOOD!

Oh well, I got it for $140. Bullets hit the target point-first, too!

 

[Drachenblut]

Very neat. Let us keep these pieces of Canadian History alive!

Cheers,
D