Ross Rifle Mk I
Country: 
CanadaManufacturer: Ross Rifle Company (Quebec City)
Canadian straight-pull bolt-action rifle in .303 British, adopted by the Dominion of Canada militia in 1903; renowned for long-range accuracy but infamous for jamming in trench conditions.
Ross Rifle Mk I
Community
Data trust
- Reliability
- Unverified
- Sources
- Sources pending review
Identity
- Designation
- Ross Rifle Mk I
- Alias
- Ross Mk I / Mk II / Mk III
- Manufacturer
- Ross Rifle Company (Quebec City)
- Country
- Canada
- Year
- 1903
- Category
- Sniper rifle
- Status
- Historic
Ballistics
- Caliber
- .303 British
- Muzzle velocity
- 808 m/s
- Effective range
- 550 m
- Maximum range
- 2700 m
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 775 mm
- Overall length
- 1320 mm
- Empty weight
- 4.48 kg
Mechanics
- Operating system
- Otturatore rettilineo (straight-pull)
- Bolt / action
- Bolt-action manuale
Feed
- System
- Caricatore interno a piastrina
- Standard capacity
- 5 rounds
Fire modes
Historical profile
Designed by Sir Charles Ross and produced in Quebec City from 1903 as Canada's national rifle, after London refused to license the Lee-Enfield to Canada.
The Mk III (1910) was issued to the Canadian Expeditionary Force in WWI; accurate to 1000 yards and prized by snipers, it failed in the mud of the Somme and Ypres due to the straight-pull system's sensitivity to dirt and chambers mismatched with emergency British ammunition.
Replaced by the Lee-Enfield SMLE as early as 1916; ~420,000 produced. Mk III* sniper variants remained in use until 1945 and Ross match rifles dominated Bisley between the wars.
Variants
Main users
Canada · United Kingdom (training) · Imperial Russia · USA (training WWI)
Key components
- ●Stock — Shoulder rest.
- ●Receiver — Weapon body with internal mechanisms.
- ●Grip — Primary grip.
- ●Magazine — Cartridge feed.
- ●Barrel — Guides the projectile.
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