Canadian Great War Grail (for me at least) in hand

[RangeRover]

After six months of waiting for paperwork to clear the return of this rifle from the U.S. to Canada (an unusually long time for such a process), I am now the proud owner of a Ross Mk III, and so hope you'll pardon me for wanting to share the news.

It's a 1916-production rifle, so too late for actual time with the CEF in Europe, but I'm pleased to have this is a representative sample, given so many have been cut down to become hunting rifles.

Here's the Mk III (in the middle) posed with its predecessor Mk II, a 1910-production 5* also repatriated from the U.S. and marked to the Fort Garry Horse and the Victoria rifles (at top) alongside, for scale, my Canadian-marked SMLE at the bottom.

[Borden Battery]

Nice item and nice to see one return to Canada. Here are a couple websites related to the Ross Rifle and then its replacement. Borden Battery

Equipping the Canadian Expeditionary Force

"The Ross Rifle, initially adopted by the Canadian Militia in 1905 and finally withdrawn in 1916, was the most controversial piece of equipment used by Canadian troops in the First World War. Inadequacies or shortages in the early years of the war, in everything from uniforms and boots to horse harnesses, artillery shells and hospital supplies, resulted in accusations of corruption and led to multiple official inquiries."

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/military/025002-6024.01-e.html

Lee-Enfield 1917 SMLE Shoot - YouTube Video

1917 BSA Lee-Enfield No1 MkIII* has ten rounds put through it. [CEF Study Group - Oct 2010]

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=tfulvd2EwVw&feature=related

Shooting M-10 Ross Rifle - YouTube Video

Five rounds from the M-10 Ross short rifle. The famous Canadian rifle of early WW1, that had a second go around in WW2 with home guard formations. [CEF Study Group - Oct 2010]

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=Isric5uX3xU&feature=related

[TonyE]

A very nice rifle. Is the chamber marked as N, E or LC?

I would very much like a Mark IIIB, but they are very hard to find, even here in the UK. I recently fired a friend's Mark III, one of the ones recently re-imported from India, and it was extremely accurate.

Let us know how it shoots.

Regards

TonyE

[4thGordons]

Might I ask what the scope is showing at the bottom of the picture?

Chris

[RangeRover]

TonyE...the chamber is stamped with a small "E" as you can see from the photo below, to indicate the enlarged chamber.

4th Gordons...the scope is pretty ordinary I'm afraid. It's just a Weaver K3, mounted on a Fulton & Son no-gunsmith mount on my RCMP-marked Long Branch No. 4. (kind of looks the part, though, I think) I had all the "Canadians" out for a photo, and cropped the older and later service rifles out of the photo (see below)

[4thGordons]

4th Gordons...the scope is pretty ordinary I'm afraid. It's just a Weaver K3, mounted on a Fulton & Son no-gunsmith mount on my RCMP-marked Long Branch No. 4. (kind of looks the part, though, I think) I had all the "Canadians" out for a photo, and cropped the older and later service rifles out of the photo (see below)

Yes it does - I have one too!

What are the details on the MLE at the top.....? nice looking rifle.

Chris

[RangeRover]

Thanks Chris.

The MLE is an 1896-dated Enfield Mk 1 (no star). S/N 1336, so early in production, and marked with the Canadian M&D (Militia and Defence) stamp on the buttstock.

It is in completely original trim. Offset front sight, unaltered rear sight, volley sights intact and even all matching. No regimental markings on the butt tang, just a rack number, so no idea who it belonged to originally.

What are the details on the MLE at the top.....? nice looking rifle.

Chris

[59165]

Was the Ross the one that liked taking your jaw off or putting a big hole in your shoulder or am I thinking of another bundook???

Dave.

[RangeRover]

Yes, the Ross Mk III has a bolt that can be mis-assembled incorrectly and if someone was somehow able to get the mis-assembled bolt back into the receiver, it would not engaging the locking lugs and was responsible for some instances of blowing back out of the action.

It should be stated, though, that mis-assembly and the subsequent re-insertion takes some doing, and is usually hard to miss.

Around the time of the second war, a number of Ross rifles still in service had their bolts pinned/riveted to prevent mis-assembly.

Nothing to be afraid of now, though, as there's lots of good information, including photos, illustrating how to re-assemble the bolt correctly should you wind up with an un-pinned bolt (this rifle, incidently, is un-pinned).