Lucky me another slippery slope and a little danger

[Richard B]

Hi folks

I just took delivery of a Ross Rifle Model 1910 sporter(not converted military) in .303 British. During the initial conversation with this seller we had discussed that I was primarly interested in using this rifle for cast bullets. We agreed on a price but when he showed up to deliver the rifle he also included a lot of cast bullet gear that was not part of the original deal. I know what most of the stuff is but I do have some questions.

One of the items that he dropped off was an unmarked orange lubesizer that I guess to be one of the Lyman models as it came with Lyman top punches and dies. This is the slippery slope as it came with some dies in calibers that I do not own and I wonder if I have to do something about that.

Included was some .30 cal gas checks and I wonder if I can use them on .303 GC bullets?

I also received several ingots of mystery metal and I know that this seller used to cast for black powder muzzleloaders and modern rifles. Is there an easy way to tell if the ingots are pure lead or WW or X alloy?

The danger came in the Lee PP4 that he left. The pot was empty except for a few loose lead bullets at the bottom. Clearly the seller had intended to melt these down during his next casting session. I decided to remove the bullets until I could determine if what alloy they were. Among the bullets was a live .22lr shell that had fallen into the pot and if I had just turned it on the results would have been a disaster.

My thanks to all the memebers on this board who have posted warnings about checking things twice and the danger of foreign objects in lead pots and made me cautious.

Now I have a lot of work to do. Will it never end??

[Echo]

Hi folks

I just took delivery of a Ross Rifle Model 1910 sporter(not converted military) in .303 British. During the initial conversation with this seller we had discussed that I was primarly interested in using this rifle for cast bullets. We agreed on a price but when he showed up to deliver the rifle he also included a lot of cast bullet gear that was not part of the original deal. I know what most of the stuff is but I do have some questions.

One of the items that he dropped off was an unmarked orange lubesizer that I guess to be one of the Lyman models as it came with Lyman top punches and dies. This is the slippery slope as it came with some dies in calibers that I do not own and I wonder if I have to do something about that.

Included was some .30 cal gas checks and I wonder if I can use them on .303 GC bullets?

Yes.

I also received several ingots of mystery metal and I know that this seller used to cast for black powder muzzleloaders and modern rifles. Is there an easy way to tell if the ingots are pure lead or WW or X alloy?

If you can scratch it with your thumbnail, call it lead, and you won't be far wrong. If you can't scratch it, or if the scratches are minute, call it harder-than-lead, and use it accordingly.

The danger came in the Lee PP4 that he left. The pot was empty except for a few loose lead bullets at the bottom. Clearly the seller had intended to melt these down during his next casting session. I decided to remove the bullets until I could determine if what alloy they were. Among the bullets was a live .22lr shell that had fallen into the pot and if I had just turned it on the results would have been a disaster.

Not necessarily a disaster, but certainly exciting, maybe entertaining. I once bought a box full of solder snippets - checked it, and found a half-dozen SR primers. Think about it...

My thanks to all the memebers on this board who have posted warnings about checking things twice and the danger of foreign objects in lead pots and made me cautious.

Now I have a lot of work to do. Will it never end??

Well, No, Never...

It sounds like you got a good deal from a guy who would be welcome on this board.

[Ed Barrett]

When you get a mold at a gunshow with a box of other stuff and you buy a rifle so you can use the mold, you know you are hooked!

[Bull Schmitt]

I have never been fortunate enough to own a Ross rifle. I do recall there possibly being some problems with them. I suggest you Google "ross rifle accident" and draw your own conclusions. YMMV

Bull Schmitt

[geargnasher]

Gear's Rules#12: If one accumulates more than 1,000 rifle or 2500 pistol cases of a given caliber, it becomes immediately necessary to purchase a gun chambered in that caliber, along with dies, moulds, sizers, top punches, powder primers, membership to a public range with a long enough rifle area, ad nauseum.

There is a corollary to gear's Rule #12 (let's call it the "slippery slope corollary") that states "if an individual aquires for free more than 50% of the equipment necessary to cast/reload for a single caliber it is necessary to purchase the remainder, plus a gun chambered for that caliber." Hopefully some sympathetic enabler will throw you some free brass to get you started with some of those other sizer diameters....
Or, I could save you the headache and any extra stuff he gave you not related to .303 you could give to me before you do something brash.... Just trying to help!:kidding:
Gear

[mold maker]

I've had 45-70 dies, brass, and molds for 3 years. I just bought the TD Springfield at the last show.
Ya gotta have something to look forward to.

[BD]

The really dangerous item in the bunch may be the Ross rifle. Is it a sraight pull? From what I've read about Ross, he lost his contracts, and reputation, as a result of numerous bolt to the head incidents with his straight pull design. I think there was even a short article concerning this in the American Rifleman last fall. Be careful with it.
BD

[Hip's Ax]

I believe on the earlier models the bolt can be assembled wrong and launch through the shooters head.

[Rockydog]

The second part of this article explains the Ross pretty clearly. RD

http://www.angelfire.com/ma/ZERMEL/303brit.html

[Richard B]

Thanks for answering my quesions Echo.

The early Ross rifles certainly had their problems that came to light in the First World War. The model 10 that I bought has a rivet through the bolt so that it cannot be reassembled incorrectly. The bore is minty and it comes with a receiver sight and a target front sight similar to the Lyman #17.