1st Generation Target Rifle ???

[rox]

John Powell of Reigate a Gunsmith and Match Rifle shooter of some repute

...and a TR one, considering he's won the Queen's Prize.

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[rox]

HPS Target Master ammo is very good in both my target rifles, the other one is a Lee Enfield No4 Palma Match Envoy, and somewhat cheaper than the current RUAG. Handloads are prefered and I have used a pretty hot combination of SMK 155s and Vit N140 in the past with excellent results.

As you may know, currently Target Master is itself "a pretty hot combination of SMK 155s and Vit N140".

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[targetman]

...and a TR one, considering he's won the Queen's Prize.

Indeed he did, in 1967.

[Dougan]

Hi again Targetman,

I've just looked up an M1910 Ross - if it's in original condition, it would be a shame not to leave it that way. On the site I was reading, it said that although it had been replaced by the Lee Enfield due to the 'trench' conditions, the snipers still kept some. The photo on the site wasn't very good, and you can't see the action - any chance of a photo?

Btw: I bought my Enfield from John Powell (and my Voere) - Charles, who works for him, is a member of my TR club - I would say 'small world'...but I think the shooting community is....

[targetman]

Dougan....indeed the shooting community seems like a "small world" although I often forget that not everybody knows everybody that I know, if you see what I mean...

Sadly I lost all my pictures when my PC crashed due to a virus, I was only able to retrieve a few truncated files. The pictures of the Schmidt Rubin I had posted on another forum a couple of years ago so was able to retrieve them, I have posted pictures of the Ross on a forum last year but I dont think they are too good but will retrieve them now and attach to this post.

[targetman]

Found another one with a BSA/Martin target sight...

Plus a couple of pictures of a Ross that I wish I had.....

[Dougan]

Thanks for the photos Targetman.

I've not seen one before (or can't remember). Is it a 'front locking bolt'? I've not paid much attention to historical rifles in the past, and the last few Bisley meetings I've been rushing around between shoots or buying stuff - at the next one, I must make time to look at all the guns on display....if I spot a Ross 'ripe' for converting, I'll get the contact details...

[targetman]

The Ross is a "straight pull" bolt action with front locking lugs. The lugs are of the interupted thread variety with in effect 6 locking lugs which give a wide area of contact and make for a very strong action.

Despite it's reputation for failure, gained during WW1 and completely false, the Ross action is one of the strongest military actions ever made. Originally in .280" it was the first real high power military rifle and in it's original form was proof tested at 40 tons per square inch, double that of a modern target rifle.

It's reputation as a military arm is one of failure and in part well deserved, it was an excellent and accurate rifle much favoured as a snipers rifle but was a failure as an infantry weapon due to it's very complicated bolt action which could not tolerate mud or dirt and would just jam up. Also they were built to fine tollerances and variations in the .303" ammunition between what the Canadians arrived with in France and what they were issued with also caused jams.

It has an interesting history to say the least......not many rifles can be shown to have bought down a government, which is what happened to the Canadian government during WW1.

I will take some better pictures soon and post them.

[ovenpaa]

I did read the biggest problem on the early ones was the ability to re assemble the bolt incorrectly with catastrophic results, is this correct?

[targetman]

In truth, it is just possible to assemble the bolt in such a way that the rifle is capable of chambering and firing a round without being properly locked. However it is not easy to do it, I have tried and quite frankly you would have to be of the "rock ape" school of engineering to achieve it.

Having said that, I was offered a Ross, by a dealer, it had just come back from the proof house and the bolt head was in the wrong position relative to the action body. Somehow the extractor claw, which is similar to that on a Mauser, had been disengaged from it's slot on the bolt head and the bolt head had been unwound from it's helical cut threads by 1/2 a turn and thus presented itself to the action in the wrong position. Now, it would be possible, just, if you were the afformentioned rock ape, to assemble it, but given the difficulty in doing so it should be readily apparent that some thing was not quite right.

All in all, it is a fine and accurate rifle, the first military rifle to have a rear mounted peep sight, but it has a few failings that make it not a good infantry weapon. It is heavy and unwieldy and rather long, like the P'14. In rapid fire the rear portion of the locking lug slams into the bolt stop and can get deformed, which is another reason why they jammed.

Primarily it was designed by Sir Charles Ross as a competition rifle and it cleaned up at Bisley before WW1 in it's original .280" calibre. What might have been after WW! we will never know, as Ross was out of business. Over the years though a few Ross actioned target and match rifles have been used at Bisley in .303" Magnum and .303" Streamline and in the early 1970s Dr Christopher Roads, Deputy Director of the Imperial War Museum was using one in 7.62 in Match Rifle competitions.

The Russians even used the M1910 action for their 7.62X54R Running Deer rifles in the Olympics

As you may gather I am an enthusiast of the Ross :lol: :lol: :lol: