Ross MkIII
Canada’s first domestically produced service rifle would be famed for its accuracy, as well as its abysmal reliability under the field conditions of Flanders.
The History
During the Boer War the Dominion of Canada was one of many constituents of the British Empire called to fight on the South African veldt. At this point in time the Canadians were equipped mainly with Lee Enfield MkI repeaters and Snider single-shot rifles, and attempts to get the new Short, Magazine, Lee Enfield (SMLE) rifle from the British were being consistently denied. So too were requests that a factory be set up for license production of the SMLE in Canada. This left the Canadians without a source of modern rifles to equip its armed forces.
The Ross MkIII features a microadjustable rear sight, with two open sights as well as an aperture, adjustable for windage and elevation. Also note the safety switch, located above the bolt handle. When to the rear, “Ready” is visible indicating the weapon is ready to fire, it can be rotated forward to expose the word “Safe”, locking the action and trigger
The Canadian Minister of Militia and Defense, Sir Frederick Borden, turned to Sam Hughes, who in turn contacted his friend, the Scottish entrepeneur Sir Charles Ross, who had recently set up a plant for production of straight-pull target rifles in the United States. Ross had been trying for some time to attract American military interest, albeit unsuccessfully. Hughes had befriended Ross while serving together in the Boer War, and Ross immediately offered to set up a factory in Quebec or production of his military rifles. This was accepted, with Minister Borden signing a contract in 1901 for 62,000 rifles.
The front sight is a blade enclosed by a round hood
Following this preliminary contract, a committee was formed to trial the Ross rifle, although most members, including Sam Hughes, were decidedly biased in favor of Ross. In the resulting tests of the Ross prototype against a Lee Enfield the Ross failed the overcharge test and the endurance test, while the British rifle passed all tests. Tests in Britain likewise ended in failure for the Ross.
Despite all of this, the Ross was approved, and the factory was set up in Quebec as promised. Sir Charles also had the added benefit of being able to begin production of sporting rifles again, all from a brand new, state of the art factory set up with Canadian government funds. Production commenced, even as the British began to push for the Canadians to adopt the same SMLE that had been denied them before.
The action of the Ross MkIII, showing the extractor on the side of the bolt, as well as the very thick chamber and exposed magazine
The Ross MkI entered service in 1904 and saw major failures almost immediately, including an explosion that blinded a soldier, along with a number of issues with parts breakage and poor extraction. This would result in the MkII rifle being adopted in 1905, which would perform better, although it still was not without issues. As problems mounted and became more public, Sam Hughes clashed with the public as well as the government in his support of the rifle. In 1911 Hughes would win the battle over the rifle, with his appointment as the new Minister of Militia and Defense following the election of a new Prime Minister.
A top-down view of the action
Concurrent to the election, Charles Ross introduced a new version of his rifle, which was adopted as the MkIII. Far more removed from the MkII rifle, the MkIII featured a number of notable features. It would not see major issue, however, until 1914, as Canada began to prepare its army for deployment in the Great War. Small issues added up as the trainees attempted to use the new rifles, and attempts by Ross to improve training of armorers were ignored by a government intending to get troops into the field as quickly as possible. Complaints also arose due to the length and weight of the rifle, which made it very cumbersome.
Other issues soon appeared, most notably that the variation in ammunition made under war conditions in England was not compatible with the extremely tight tolerances of the Ross, which had been built as a target grade rifle. This resulted in the bolts becoming stuck after firing, resulting in yet more issues. Soldiers forcing the bolts open in this circumstance, and due to inferior steel used in the bolt heads the force of this action could warp the locking lugs when the struck the bolt stop. This would in turn cause a perpetually increasing issue of the bolt getting stuck until it eventually seizes completely. Another issue regarding the possibility of misassemble causing a catastrophic failure will be detailed below.
The chamber markings on the rifle, identifiying it by its civilian designation, the Model 1910. Note also the “LC” marking, denoting an enlarged chamber modification done to allow for a wider variance of ammunition types
The rifle performed remarkably poorly in the fields of the Western Front, with reports of Canadian troops lying dead, killed while attempting to force open their jammed Ross rifles. The problem resulted in a loss of faith in the rifle so acute that despite orders the any Canadian soldier found with a Lee Enfield faced court martial still did not prevent the large scale discarding of the Ross. Despite the effors of Ross to correct the issues with the rifle, the British overall commander in the West, Sir Douglas Haig, eventually ordered the Ross pulled from service in 1916, shorlty afterward leading to the resignation of Sam Hughes and the nationalization of Ross’ factory in Quebec.
The bolt stop on the Ross MkIII was fitted with a combination bolt stop/cut off/bolt release patterned after the US Springfield M1903
Despite the general relief of the Canadian soldier at the withdrawal of the Ross, the rifle would remain in use with snipers throughout the war. The same tight, match grade tolerances that had doomed it in infantry service made it an ideal sniper platform. Notably, Francis Pegahmagabow, the top scoring sniper of the First World War, used one. A member of the Wasauksing First Nation in Canada, an Ojibwe tribe, he had enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force shorly after the start of the war, despite the disinterest of the Canadian Government in enlisting indigenous people at that time. Using a Ross MkIII without an optic, he would accrue a confirmed total of 378 kills, in the process becoming the most decorated indigenous soldier in Canadian history.
Francis Pegahmagabow
The Ross would remain in service through the interwar period as well, appearing in the Balkans as well as going into storage. Many would be pulled back into service with the British Home Guard after the Dunkirk Evacuation in 1940. This rifle is marked for use with a Home Guard unit, designated by its “HG” marking on the butt along with the “CY”, which the author believes indicates issue in the County of York. It is unclear whether this is in Canada or England, however.
The Home Guard unit markings on the butt of the rifle
The Design
The Ross MkIII is a straight pull bolt action rifle, similar to the Mannlicher M.95 covered previously here. It is a cock on close action, with a bolt head that is rotated via grooves inside the bolt carrier when the bolt is actuated. The bolt head notably features threaded locking lugs in a similar manner to an artillery piece, lending immense locking strength.
The rifle chambers the .303 British cartridge, with a capacity of five rounds in its single stack magazine. It is fed via the same five round chargers as the British standard issue SMLE rifle, although, interestingly, the guide is canted to the right side of the rifle. The bolt stop doubles as a magazine cut off in the same manner as that on the American M1903 Springfield rifle. When engaged, it simply prevents the bolt from moving far enough back to strip the next round from the magazine.
The barrel is very long and thick, lending itself for great accuracy at the expense of weight. This mates with the excellent sights to provide the rifle with its near legendary accuracy as well as one of its noted issues.
The bolt removed from the rifle. Note the case hardened bolt carrier, and the threaded locking lugs. The bolt head rotates 90 degrees and retracts an inch into the carrier to lock
Probably the most infamous problem of the Ross MkIII is that the bolt had can be inserted incorrectly into the bolt carrier. This will cause the bolt head to not rotate into lock when the action is closed, but not preventing the weapon from firing. Firing the rifle will thus cause the bolt assembly to be ejected out the rear of the receiver at high speed, presumably into the operator’s face. This is an issue that can be easily prevented by training, and was later corrected with a safety rivet, but the simple fact that it is possible to create this situation was problematic.
A few simple tests can be used to verify that the Ross bolt is locking properly:
When extended, the bolt head should have approximately 1 inch of clearance between it and the bolt body. If incorrectly assembled, it will almost touch.
When incorrectly assembled, the bolt will demonstrate resistance to being reinserted into the rifle, whereas if properly done it will enter without difficulty.
When closing the action, one can observe the bolt head closely, including through the lug channels on the sides of the bolt, to verify that the bolt head is indeed rotating.
The .303 British cartridge
This Example
This is an excellent example of the MkIII rifle. It is unit marked for a Home Guard detachment, but unfortunately this means that the typical Canadian military markings, including the date of manufacture, are absent. The rifle has been modified with the enlarged chamber, which was introduced in order to solve the issues that arose from the use of British ammunition. It does not, however, feature the safety rivet to prevent misassembly of the bolt.
A loaded charger clip
Opinions
The Ross MkIII is a heavy rifle, and is ungainly to match. Despite this, it is a very well built weapon, with immense locking strength and great accuracy potential. The rifle is likely the smoothest straight-pull type the author has encountered, being superior to both the Mannlicher M1895 and the Swiss designs. Its service as a sniper’s weapon speaks for itself, despite the infamous reliability issues. This leads to the conclusion that the Ross MkIII is an excellent weapon in specialized roles with an operator who is both familiar with its eccentricities, as well as the time needed for proper and consistent maintenance.
Canadian soldiers training with Ross MkIII rifles before shipping out to Europe
Observed Values and Frequency
Updated: February, 2024
AVERAGE VALUE (USD): $1,200 - $1,800
FREQUENCY: Very Rare
COLLECTOR’S NOTES: Difficult to date without stock cartouche