Name : Ross Rifle
AKA : The Canadian Straight Pull
Caliber : .303 British
Capacity : 5 Rounds
Weight : 9.87lbs or 4.48kg
Length : 50.6in or 1285mm
Action : Straight Pull, Manually Operated Repeater
Origin : Canada
Sir Charles Ross was a wealthy Scottish landowner, not content with simply maintaining the wealth he had inherited from his family, he set out to make his own fortunes he studied engineering and agriculture and had a keen interest in having his own businesses. Ross had a passion for firearms and had taken out patents on an automatic pistol and even an automatic rifle in 1896. While at Cambridge he took out a patent for a straight pull bolt action rifle but it was an overly complex rifle and thus it was the stepping stone to the rifle for which he would become famous or perhaps infamous. through 1896 and 1897 Ross produced in London and improved on his new straight pull bolt action design also Ross traveled to Canada that same year to develop and improve the design again which would then become the model 1900 sporter.
Ross was then called up for military duty to fight in the Second Boer War. Upon his return he pushed the British Army to consider adopting his rifle as a replacement for the Lee Metford / Lee Enfield Rifles, though it was rejected. It was found to be unreliable, though accuracy was exceptional, it was deemed unsuitable for the hard knocks and conditions that other contemporary service rifles could handle. During an unfortunate political clash between Britain and Canada, the designs and licencing for the Lee-Enfield rifle to arm Canada were denied. Ross who was a small arms adviser to the Canadian Government put forward his rifle. Cautiously the Canadians decided to evaluate the rifle in the hands of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, who found in excess of one hundred faults with the rifle. Instruction was then given to Ross to improve the rifle and in 1907 the Ross Rifle MKII, after it was adopted for official military issue in 1905. Improvements continued and the Ross model 1910 become widely accepted as reasonable weapon and was the primary weapon of the Canadian forces in France during the First World War.
Then the storm hit, in France Canadian troops found that the rifles straight pull action became clogged easily and jammed to the point it was common for troops to discard their Ross Rifle and try to acquire a Lee Enfield from the battlefield. Another major issue was the bolt, incidents were reported that it was possible to reassemble the bolt after cleaning with parts inserted the wrong way and still fire the rifle, causing the bolt to come flying backward at the user. Douglas Haig submitted orders in 1916 to have the rifle offically removed from service, though some were retained for sniping, as accuracy was one of the few great features of the rifle. It would go on to be a popular target rifle after the war, this perhaps is the realm where the Ross truly belonged.
INTERESTING FACT : At one point the British refused to allow Canada to make the Lee Enfield to arm their troops, but in the early stages of World War Two it was the British who were desperate to acquire anything to equip the home guard and many Ross Rifles were sent by the Canadian Government.
PRO's : Collectable, Accurate, Many variants, Good hunting rifle
CON's : Awful military rifle, hard to maintain in combat, no real advantage to straight pull.
AKA : The Canadian Straight Pull
Capacity : 5 Rounds
Weight : 9.87lbs or 4.48kg
Length : 50.6in or 1285mm
Action : Straight Pull, Manually Operated Repeater
Origin : Canada
Sir Charles Ross was a wealthy Scottish landowner, not content with simply maintaining the wealth he had inherited from his family, he set out to make his own fortunes he studied engineering and agriculture and had a keen interest in having his own businesses. Ross had a passion for firearms and had taken out patents on an automatic pistol and even an automatic rifle in 1896. While at Cambridge he took out a patent for a straight pull bolt action rifle but it was an overly complex rifle and thus it was the stepping stone to the rifle for which he would become famous or perhaps infamous. through 1896 and 1897 Ross produced in London and improved on his new straight pull bolt action design also Ross traveled to Canada that same year to develop and improve the design again which would then become the model 1900 sporter.
Ross was then called up for military duty to fight in the Second Boer War. Upon his return he pushed the British Army to consider adopting his rifle as a replacement for the Lee Metford / Lee Enfield Rifles, though it was rejected. It was found to be unreliable, though accuracy was exceptional, it was deemed unsuitable for the hard knocks and conditions that other contemporary service rifles could handle. During an unfortunate political clash between Britain and Canada, the designs and licencing for the Lee-Enfield rifle to arm Canada were denied. Ross who was a small arms adviser to the Canadian Government put forward his rifle. Cautiously the Canadians decided to evaluate the rifle in the hands of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, who found in excess of one hundred faults with the rifle. Instruction was then given to Ross to improve the rifle and in 1907 the Ross Rifle MKII, after it was adopted for official military issue in 1905. Improvements continued and the Ross model 1910 become widely accepted as reasonable weapon and was the primary weapon of the Canadian forces in France during the First World War.
Then the storm hit, in France Canadian troops found that the rifles straight pull action became clogged easily and jammed to the point it was common for troops to discard their Ross Rifle and try to acquire a Lee Enfield from the battlefield. Another major issue was the bolt, incidents were reported that it was possible to reassemble the bolt after cleaning with parts inserted the wrong way and still fire the rifle, causing the bolt to come flying backward at the user. Douglas Haig submitted orders in 1916 to have the rifle offically removed from service, though some were retained for sniping, as accuracy was one of the few great features of the rifle. It would go on to be a popular target rifle after the war, this perhaps is the realm where the Ross truly belonged.
INTERESTING FACT : At one point the British refused to allow Canada to make the Lee Enfield to arm their troops, but in the early stages of World War Two it was the British who were desperate to acquire anything to equip the home guard and many Ross Rifles were sent by the Canadian Government.
PRO's : Collectable, Accurate, Many variants, Good hunting rifle
CON's : Awful military rifle, hard to maintain in combat, no real advantage to straight pull.
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