Numrich sells the follower arm spring. They have two left in stock as I'm posting this. Also there's a guy in Alberta, Canada who makes reproduction Ross rifle stocks. Ross Rifle Restoration. I had him make me a mk.2** stock, real work of art. Cheers.
Geez Bubba, couldn't he have just bought a break action single-shot .410 instead of destroying a fine rifle? Nice work and dedication bringing this back to life.
I can understand it being sporterized (they were dirt cheap and people just did whatever with them) but why would you actively make it a worse functioning gun in the process
After being phased out of service the variants of the Japanese Murata were sporterized and converted to shotguns in 1920's-30s Japan. Ive also heard of German peasants converting rifles to shotguns for hunting after the treaty of versailles. Dont get me wrong there were a lot of horrendous things done to rifles after ww2 but some of the conversions had their purposes and ads to the history of it
I own two of the Ross model 1905 mk II. Sadly, both were butchered before I came into possession of them.they are both smooth working and accurate. They are, despite being sporterized, fun to shoot.
I have one, sporterized of course. Though very dirty when I got it, after cleaning it functions fine. Mine still retains the original front sight hood and 28" barrel. An excellent old gun.
I wonder if this originated in the UK? It was common to convert military rifles to smoothbores at one point so that they fell under a shotgun licence rather than a firearm (more restricted) licence. The minimum barrel length stipulated being 24". Then further restrictions came in for shotguns and magazines couldn't hold more than 2 rounds without falling once again under a firearms licence, so they were either plated over or had their components removed and sometimes a wooden block put in to infill. Perhaps by making it a .410" it had some moderate practical use, a chamber cast would be interesting to see what that comes out to.
That could be it. I assumed it stayed in Canada or the US but it makes sense that it was left behind during wartime. There aren't any import markings, but it could have came back over prior to them being required.
Good evening, sir, again, I expressed my liking for your videos. My father-in-law in the world war two was an armour and your videos that I have watched are reminiscent of me talking to him about different rifles. He managed to abscond a Ross, 303, which was very accurate and very smooth action. Thank you again, sir take care God bless.✌️🇨🇦
I worked for a gunsmith that collected Ross rifles. I was fond of his 280 sporter. People cut down mi surplus when its cheap plentiful and made practical like modifying a personal tool - Often this was common after each world war, the guy who bought a surplus gun for hunting was putting food on the table on a budget and not a historian. I agree a 410 was a low, perhaps they found it practical to a wider variety of small game
My guess is this rifle spent a few post war years in the UK where small game hunting is much more accessible than big game hunting and the occasional big game animal the owner would have had a chance to take would have been handled with a .410 slug
I saw a carcano that was pre 1900 if I remember correctly. Somebody cut out the wood ahead of the action and shitty welded on aluminum then a picatinny rail then put a red dot on it.
Funny. I have a .410 converted barrel. I have a MK. II*** with magazine cutoff intact. I had trouble with it hanging up so I removed but kept it. I got lucky and bought a whole bag of spares and have sent some to people needing them. I love mine but you can see the rifle needed further development before it went into production. Mainly the bolt stop and magazine. The 1910 was much improved. One of these days I want to have a run of replacement barrels made. There's been discussion but nobody has done it yet. I would like to have a few barrels 3d laser scanned and converted to a file that a CNC lathe can use. Ross Rifle Restoration in Canada has been the source for some parts for mine. Slow but they are nice. He inlets stocks to fit his rifles. For whatever reason, my receiver fit the new stock poorly but everything else was fine. I chalk it up to variations in individual rifles. If you get over $100 in parts, you have to get approval from the ATF but it's not terribly difficult and doesn't cost anything, IIRC.
You could definitely try and find an original barrel, or get a Kreiger / Walther barrel blank turned. Definitely worth it, besides your current chamber isn't right with the shoulder being fire formed like that.😊
So I own a Ross Rifle Mk 2 with the full lenght barrel. The stock has been sporterizedl sadly, and, headspace is poor according to my gunsmith. Is there anyway to remedy this or is headspace a fact of life I have to deal with? Thanks for the beautiful restoration video!
Depends on how bad it is. If your gunsmith is checking with a typical no-go gauge then I'd ask they recheck with a field gauge. Or find a way to measure the headspace exactly. If it's truly out of spec there's not much you can do without replacing parts. Ross barrels have a very coarse thread so reinstalling the same barrel deeper doesn't work.
I'm so glad that the Springfield 1903A1 I impulsively bought was a relative walk in the park when it came to restoring compared to that poor Ross. The wood needed major de-cosmolining and the dents and scratches steamed and sanded out respectively. All the metal was in good condition. The front sight needed a shim to sit solidly. The sight ladder has a bend at 2500 yard mark but I haven't bothered to fix that. The bolt is an A3 bolt that came with it. I replaced the milled follower with a stamped one since they feed more reliably. I most recently replaced the original sights with #10 sights but don't worry all original parts have been neatly bagged and stored.
rimlock is an issue with .303, but not in the way expected original .303 cases should not suffer as much from the issue as they all feature a 45° bevel on the rear face of the rim (present on the CIP spec), allowing the rim of the top round to slide of the the bottom in case it would find itself behind modern production .303 cases (PPU, Remington, S&B) afaik do not have that feature, thus with these munitions greater care should be observed when putting them in the weapon
A random question. Due you have a carding wheel set up? If you do how did you set it up with a motor. I'd like to get one but I've been researching it and it appears that the rpm is important. Anyway fantastic video! I'm always looking forward to another of your videos!
The correct bayonet for your rifle is the Mark I which carries “08” on the pommel. You displayed the reprofiled Mark II bayonet which is marked “11” on the pommel. That only fits the Mark III Ross rifle. Note that this means US surcharged bayonets are Mark I models.
where did you get the cast bullets? These rifles were also sold on the civilian market as well, I have one with a sport stock but carved quite fancy. Also no sure if aware but the bolt has an issue where it can be disassembled and it will go back together again in an unsafe way such that when fired the bolt can be ejected on firing. Nice work on getting it shooting.
I cast my own using a Lee .312 mold. The Ross bolt that can be assembled incorrectly is on the Model 1910, not the 1905. This one is a pain to assemble but can only be done one way.
After being phased out of service and therefore obsolete, a number of Japanese Muratas were sporterized and bored out to various shotguns gauges in 1920's/30's Japan. I've also heard of German peasants converting gewehrs to shotguns to put food on the table after the treaty of Versailles. More common India converting Enfields to 410 for riot control. The original action probably wasn't converted to 410 by any state or organization but there still may be a cool story behind it if you can track it down.
Given your methodology i think headspace is a bit tighter than you think it is. The tape is compressable and will squish some as the bolt cams closed. Aluminum ducting tape is a better option but ideally you just get headspace gauges.
@rakumprojects I agree. I tend to be conservative with my headspace guestimations, but I only go off a reliable manufacturers gauge (ptg or clymer) for liability reasons. Headspace is a bit less critical than people think but I dislike lawsuits
Not sure if you have one or not, but a borescope pays dividends. Teslong make them for not much money - displaying (and recording if you wish) video to your phone.
I'm almost positive this is a .410 conversion. There are SMLEs converted to .410, allegedly for use by Indian police. This one isn't nearly as well done, but same idea.
Thats a harris dump magazine just dump the rounds in. There is no need to worry about rim lock as it won't happen as the follower does not have enough upward pressure to lock the rims.
@@IrishThunder2020 Then some one has replaced the spring behind the mag follower.. Maybe it is the operator.. I have owned a few dozen MkII's over the years both mil and factory sporters and have never had an issue...
I’ve gotta say, how do you bend a receiver? That’s hardened steel, I know the Ross receiver isn’t Mauser 98 level of bomb proof but still, maybe it got ran over or something
Unfortunately there's no single good source for parts for these rifles. You'd have to identify which type of cocking piece you have, the screw on or the pinned type, then find the firing pin that goes with it. Look on eBay, numrich, sarco, Apex, etc
At the time things like this were common. No one at the time thought they would become collectible That being said this one of the worst Bubba jobs I've seen.
Numrich sells the follower arm spring. They have two left in stock as I'm posting this. Also there's a guy in Alberta, Canada who makes reproduction Ross rifle stocks. Ross Rifle Restoration. I had him make me a mk.2** stock, real work of art. Cheers.
Thanks!
Thanks for this. I have a sporterized ross and was kicking around the idea of fixing it if I could ever find the stock
Geez Bubba, couldn't he have just bought a break action single-shot .410 instead of destroying a fine rifle? Nice work and dedication bringing this back to life.
Bubba wanted a project. It’s the same thought process that went behind all of those Mosin abominations in the early 2010’s.
The receiver on the shotgun was clearly bent. That is a slight hint at something that happened to it in the distant past.
It was probably already shot out, and had a bent receiver. At least converting it to .410 made it useful again. 🤷♂️
Insane to take a functioning "bolt" action rifle and demolishing it to make a single shot .410. My mind is boggled
I can understand it being sporterized (they were dirt cheap and people just did whatever with them) but why would you actively make it a worse functioning gun in the process
@@colemancampbell1908 yeah sporterized rifles are just a relic of a different time. I can easily see myself doing it back then.
India did something similar to Lee enfields back in the day@colemancampbell1908
After being phased out of service the variants of the Japanese Murata were sporterized and converted to shotguns in 1920's-30s Japan. Ive also heard of German peasants converting rifles to shotguns for hunting after the treaty of versailles. Dont get me wrong there were a lot of horrendous things done to rifles after ww2 but some of the conversions had their purposes and ads to the history of it
Bubba gon do wut Bubba gon do.
Man, fudd really went to town on this example
Bubba Fudd for sure
I own two of the Ross model 1905 mk II. Sadly, both were butchered before I came into possession of them.they are both smooth working and accurate. They are, despite being sporterized, fun to shoot.
Man that's a work of art! love old Military rifles.
Few rifles, as a percentage of the whole, were brutalized as often as Ross Rifles.
I have one, sporterized of course. Though very dirty when I got it, after cleaning it functions fine. Mine still retains the original front sight hood and 28" barrel. An excellent old gun.
Great work. Canadian snipers in WW1 were known to cut down the stocks. A long tube scope would make this one look the part.
I wonder if this originated in the UK? It was common to convert military rifles to smoothbores at one point so that they fell under a shotgun licence rather than a firearm (more restricted) licence. The minimum barrel length stipulated being 24". Then further restrictions came in for shotguns and magazines couldn't hold more than 2 rounds without falling once again under a firearms licence, so they were either plated over or had their components removed and sometimes a wooden block put in to infill. Perhaps by making it a .410" it had some moderate practical use, a chamber cast would be interesting to see what that comes out to.
That could be it. I assumed it stayed in Canada or the US but it makes sense that it was left behind during wartime. There aren't any import markings, but it could have came back over prior to them being required.
Good evening, sir, again, I expressed my liking for your videos. My father-in-law in the world war two was an armour and your videos that I have watched are reminiscent of me talking to him about different rifles. He managed to abscond a Ross, 303, which was very accurate and very smooth action. Thank you again, sir take care God bless.✌️🇨🇦
I worked for a gunsmith that collected Ross rifles. I was fond of his 280 sporter. People cut down mi surplus when its cheap plentiful and made practical like modifying a personal tool - Often this was common after each world war, the guy who bought a surplus gun for hunting was putting food on the table on a budget and not a historian. I agree a 410 was a low, perhaps they found it practical to a wider variety of small game
My guess is this rifle spent a few post war years in the UK where small game hunting is much more accessible than big game hunting and the occasional big game animal the owner would have had a chance to take would have been handled with a .410 slug
Really don’t see how it’s a “low” compared to anything else.
There is a company in Canada that make reproduction stock and other parts. It's called Ross Rifle Restoration, in Alberta.
I saw a carcano that was pre 1900 if I remember correctly. Somebody cut out the wood ahead of the action and shitty welded on aluminum then a picatinny rail then put a red dot on it.
Funny. I have a .410 converted barrel. I have a MK. II*** with magazine cutoff intact. I had trouble with it hanging up so I removed but kept it. I got lucky and bought a whole bag of spares and have sent some to people needing them. I love mine but you can see the rifle needed further development before it went into production. Mainly the bolt stop and magazine. The 1910 was much improved. One of these days I want to have a run of replacement barrels made. There's been discussion but nobody has done it yet. I would like to have a few barrels 3d laser scanned and converted to a file that a CNC lathe can use. Ross Rifle Restoration in Canada has been the source for some parts for mine. Slow but they are nice. He inlets stocks to fit his rifles. For whatever reason, my receiver fit the new stock poorly but everything else was fine. I chalk it up to variations in individual rifles. If you get over $100 in parts, you have to get approval from the ATF but it's not terribly difficult and doesn't cost anything, IIRC.
Sporterizarion should be considered a crime. All jokes aside.Its on thesame boat as burning books and desteoying paintings
You could definitely try and find an original barrel, or get a Kreiger / Walther barrel blank turned. Definitely worth it, besides your current chamber isn't right with the shoulder being fire formed like that.😊
I'm keeping an eye out. Ross barrels are fairly easy swaps since the thread pitch is so course.
@@rakumprojects I can keep an eye out for you as well, I'm really good at finding oddball stuff.
ASMR gun restoration noises to clean and maintain your gun too
So I own a Ross Rifle Mk 2 with the full lenght barrel. The stock has been sporterizedl sadly, and, headspace is poor according to my gunsmith.
Is there anyway to remedy this or is headspace a fact of life I have to deal with?
Thanks for the beautiful restoration video!
Depends on how bad it is. If your gunsmith is checking with a typical no-go gauge then I'd ask they recheck with a field gauge. Or find a way to measure the headspace exactly. If it's truly out of spec there's not much you can do without replacing parts. Ross barrels have a very coarse thread so reinstalling the same barrel deeper doesn't work.
I'm so glad that the Springfield 1903A1 I impulsively bought was a relative walk in the park when it came to restoring compared to that poor Ross. The wood needed major de-cosmolining and the dents and scratches steamed and sanded out respectively. All the metal was in good condition. The front sight needed a shim to sit solidly. The sight ladder has a bend at 2500 yard mark but I haven't bothered to fix that. The bolt is an A3 bolt that came with it. I replaced the milled follower with a stamped one since they feed more reliably. I most recently replaced the original sights with #10 sights but don't worry all original parts have been neatly bagged and stored.
rimlock is an issue with .303, but not in the way expected
original .303 cases should not suffer as much from the issue as they all feature a 45° bevel on the rear face of the rim (present on the CIP spec), allowing the rim of the top round to slide of the the bottom in case it would find itself behind
modern production .303 cases (PPU, Remington, S&B) afaik do not have that feature, thus with these munitions greater care should be observed when putting them in the weapon
A random question. Due you have a carding wheel set up? If you do how did you set it up with a motor. I'd like to get one but I've been researching it and it appears that the rpm is important. Anyway fantastic video! I'm always looking forward to another of your videos!
I do have one. I use a 1650 rpm motor and a 1/2" threaded arbor adapter. It's plenty fast, I'd avoid a 3400 rpm motor.
@@rakumprojects thanks for the response! Have you used it in any videos? I'd love to see the set up
@@rangerofmirkwood746 Yes, check out the Dutch Beaumont Restoration video, starting at 17:38
@@rakumprojects thank you! Keep up the great videos!
The correct bayonet for your rifle is the Mark I which carries “08” on the pommel. You displayed the reprofiled Mark II bayonet which is marked “11” on the pommel. That only fits the Mark III Ross rifle. Note that this means US surcharged bayonets are Mark I models.
where did you get the cast bullets? These rifles were also sold on the civilian market as well, I have one with a sport stock but carved quite fancy. Also no sure if aware but the bolt has an issue where it can be disassembled and it will go back together again in an unsafe way such that when fired the bolt can be ejected on firing. Nice work on getting it shooting.
I cast my own using a Lee .312 mold.
The Ross bolt that can be assembled incorrectly is on the Model 1910, not the 1905. This one is a pain to assemble but can only be done one way.
Thanks had only heard it referred to as Ross and not specific to dates.@@rakumprojects
Theseus says that you are making his job too hard and is going back to fixing ships! lol 🙃
Thank you for the video. I really enjoyed it. Have you tried getting parts from Ross Rifle Restoration from Edmonton, Canada?
Kind regards,
Denis
I saw they made replica parts. They're pricey though.
After being phased out of service and therefore obsolete, a number of Japanese Muratas were sporterized and bored out to various shotguns gauges in 1920's/30's Japan. I've also heard of German peasants converting gewehrs to shotguns to put food on the table after the treaty of Versailles. More common India converting Enfields to 410 for riot control. The original action probably wasn't converted to 410 by any state or organization but there still may be a cool story behind it if you can track it down.
The conversion of Mausers to shotguns was actually something done by gun companies to use up stocks of Mauser recovers left over from the war.
That’s awesome man I figured out how to fix my firearm btw
The Winchester? Nice!
@@rakumprojects yea one of your older videos helped me not even gonna lie
@@Slavking374 Awesome, glad to hear it helped you out!
Given your methodology i think headspace is a bit tighter than you think it is. The tape is compressable and will squish some as the bolt cams closed. Aluminum ducting tape is a better option but ideally you just get headspace gauges.
Good point. But better for it to be tighter rather than looser
@rakumprojects I agree. I tend to be conservative with my headspace guestimations, but I only go off a reliable manufacturers gauge (ptg or clymer) for liability reasons. Headspace is a bit less critical than people think but I dislike lawsuits
I loved this video! Thanks!
Not sure if you have one or not, but a borescope pays dividends. Teslong make them for not much money - displaying (and recording if you wish) video to your phone.
I do need to get one, it's on my list of future tools
I'm almost positive this is a .410 conversion. There are SMLEs converted to .410, allegedly for use by Indian police. This one isn't nearly as well done, but same idea.
I have an SMLE in 410. Unfortunately it's in extremely rough condition and not safe to shoot
If your ever absolutely desperate I know a place In South Africa that may have some parts
It’s called blunderbuss in Alberton Johannesburg
Many new straight pull rifles exist. Like blazer. And the steyr 2000
Thats a harris dump magazine just dump the rounds in. There is no need to worry about rim lock as it won't happen as the follower does not have enough upward pressure to lock the rims.
My ross MkII*** likes to say otherwise lol
@@IrishThunder2020 Then some one has replaced the spring behind the mag follower.. Maybe it is the operator.. I have owned a few dozen MkII's over the years both mil and factory sporters and have never had an issue...
13:40 - You, sir, need some HOLLOW GROUND screwdrivers.
They are parallel tip screwdrivers. Made by PB Swiss
Have you checked the smoothness of the action against a Swiss Schmidt - Rubin? If so, how does it compare?
It's probably about equal to my K11. Not sure how an 1889 or K31 compares.
I’ve gotta say, how do you bend a receiver? That’s hardened steel, I know the Ross receiver isn’t Mauser 98 level of bomb proof but still, maybe it got ran over or something
Looked like it might be a cut and rewelded receiver. That might account for the warplanes and grinding.
@@allenbalcom2191 could be, but to me it looks like a bend more than a misaligned re weld
Yeah, it's a shotgun.
Surprised you don’t use a set hollow ground screwdrivers for taking apart the firearms you show in your videos.
They have parallel tips. Made by PB Swiss.
Hi any ideal were to find parts need firing pin for mine thanks
Unfortunately there's no single good source for parts for these rifles. You'd have to identify which type of cocking piece you have, the screw on or the pinned type, then find the firing pin that goes with it. Look on eBay, numrich, sarco, Apex, etc
Do you take commissions?😂 I inherited an Arisaka with the blossom and anti-aircraft sights in tact but a cut barrel and stock.
Sorry, I'm too busy with projects of my own to take on any commissions
content: 10/10
narration: RIP
You have your work cut out for you.
At the time things like this were common. No one at the time thought they would become collectible That being said this one of the worst Bubba jobs I've seen.
Asmr for men
I'm not hating on you, I love your videos but you basically took the bolt out of the "old" rifle and put it in a "new" barrel
To sporterize a rifle should be a crime and punished by taking all old rifles and handing them to a museum or highest bidder.
Okay, bud
😐
Most of these conversions were done decades ago by men who are most likely dead.