Ross Rifle

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Ross Mk III Model 1910 - .303 British

The Canadian Ross Rifle shares a dubious distinction along with the Chauchat of being one of the worst weapons deployed during World War I. The straight-pull bolt-action Ross was initially designed by Scottish-born Sir Charles Ross, inspired by the Mannlicher M1895, as a target rifle for the civilian market. It was initially pitched to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in its Mk I form, with 1,000 rifles being sent for testing in 1905: this led to rejection in 1906, with the RCMP producing a list of 113 defects (it is, needless to say, unusual for a rifle to have more defects than components), including a defective bolt lock that allowed the entire bolt to simply fall out of the rifle and internal springs so badly tempered they were described as being "soft as copper." This led to rejection and the redesigned Mk II in 1905, later reinforced as the Mk II* to handle the new .280 round.

In 1910, another new version was produced, the Mk III, also known as the M1910 or Model 10. This was a full redesign with none of the major components interchangeable with previous models, swapping the Mauser-like two-lug bolt to a multi-lug locking system, and easily identified by its exposed Enfield-like magazine. After being turned down for a production licence for the Lee-Enfield and unable to purchase then because all production was reserved for the Boer War, Canada decided the Mk III Ross should be pressed into service as a military rifle with the Canadian Army.

This was a mistake.

The more complex straight-pull mechanism very quickly proved highly sensitive to debris and mud, neither of which were in short supply in WW1, with reports of rifles locking up so completely that soldiers could not even free them up by stomping on the handle. One Canadian Lieutenant commented that it sometimes took five men to keep one rifle in action, while a Major described the weapon as "contemptible." Even worse, unlike the Mk II it was possible to assemble the Mk III's multi-lug bolt with the the bolt head rotated 180 degrees from its correct position, which would allow the rifle to close and fire, but prevent it from locking. If fired in this condition, the bolt would immediately shoot backwards right into the rifleman's face, often causing serious injury and sometimes even death (if the rifleman survived, he would also probably have a case head separation to deal with and a sheared-off locking lug even if the bolt stop prevented the bolt completely exiting the gun). A safety rivet was later added to prevent misassembly, though the rivet also did a lot to prevent disassembly and only made the cleaning problems worse. To add to the woes of Canadian soldiers, the bayonet lug was of poor quality to the point that firing the weapon would often cause a fixed bayonet to fall off. Often Canadian soldiers would scavenge Lee-Enfields from casualties rather than use their issue weapons.

While it was hopeless as a standard infantry arm, it found a place with snipers, who tended to be able to take better care of their weapon and appreciated the greater accuracy over the SMLE, though they were less keen on its tendency to jam if fed ammunition that was not perfectly clean. While Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence Sam Hughes attempted to turn the matter into an issue of national pride and repeatedly ignored reports of serious issues with the Ross, eventually the evidence against the gun proved overwhelming: Hughes was forced to resign in 1916, and most Ross Rifles were pulled back from the front line to be used as training weapons in order to free up Lee-Enfields for use in combat. On their entry into the war, the US military received stocks of Ross Rifles for the same purpose.

Surplus Ross Rifles were used during the Second World War, though not by frontline infantry: instead, they were issued to coastal defence units, the Canadian Navy, the British Home Guard and Metropolitan Police, and suchlike. The Soviet Union also acquired some through lend-lease, though it is not particularly clear what they did with them.

The Ross was also the basis of the promising Huot Automatic Rifle, a drum-fed gas-operated select-fire light machine gun cheaper to manufacture than the Lewis Gun, but the war ended before the Huot could enter service and it was largely forgotten.

Specifications

(1903 - 1916, 1939-1945 (non-frontline use only))

• Type: Rifle

• Caliber: .303 British, .280 Ross (Sporter model)

• Weight: 9.6 lbs (3.9 kg)

• Length: 52 in

• Barrel length: 28 in

• Capacity: 5 round integral box magazine

• Fire Modes: Straight-pull bolt action

• Variants: Mark I (1903), Mark II (1905), Mark II .280 (1907), Mark III (1910), Mark IIIB (1914)

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The Ross Rifle and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Sniper	Pyotr Sobolevsky	The Soldier	With sniper scope	1931
	Boris Shlikhting	The Captain
		Russian and British soldiers
Joe Kidd	Clint Eastwood	Joe Kidd	Sporter Model 1910	1972
Michael Collins		IRA Rebel	Mk. III	1996

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Notation	Release Date
Verdun	"Ross Model 1910 Mark III"		2015
Sniper Elite 4	"Ross Mark III"	"Allied Forces Rifle Pack" DLC	2017
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3		Not usable	2017