Just won an auction on a .280 Ross M10. I'm anxious to get my new toy in hand. Just sourced some brass and a shell holder. I found a local contact with an unused RCBS die set that he is willing to sell.
I'm going to have fun bringing this old girl back to life! I'm a huge fan of aperture sights and this rifle comes equipped with the pop-up peep. I'd love to have a Lyman 50 but I would probably have to sacrifice an arm and a leg to get it!

The obsolete cartridge gods have been smiling on me lately. I was able to track down a set of RCBS unused 280 Ross dies at a gun shop 1 hour from my house. I won an auction for 280 brass on Gunbroker. 13 cases for $26. I also found a NOS RCBS 280 Ross shellholder on eBay for $20.
I loaded up some ammo today. 145gr Sierra BT + 57 gr 3031 should be just over 3,000 fps. Once the rifle arrives, I will have to borrow my friends Labradar to see how the load checks out.

Make sure you know how to assemble the bolt together correctly!

Just a Heads Up!

Hip

For sure! I've watched videos and read as much as I can find on the subject.

The 280 Ross uses a slightly larger 7mm bullet than the usual standard of .284.
The Ross uses a .288d for some reason.
But some have reported decent accuracy with using .284d bullets.
Each rifle is different and only range use will tell.

That pop-up rear aperture sight is called a
'Porter Sight' on the 1910 Ross Sporter.
An option for the rifle but quite a few seem to have it.
The open rear sight is quite something. A single standing blade simply marked to 500yds.
I guess it's supposed to shoot rather 'flat' !

I've had so-so results with mine with .284 bullets in the past. Brass I made from 300 Win Mag fireformed on the belt.
A set of RCBS dies for 25$ at a gunshow.
My loads were starting loads from 7mmRem Mag listings.
The flying bolt thing is possible if you assemble the bolt incorrectly. But you really have to be ham handed and then on topof it be totally unaware of the fact that something is not right when operating that bolt to make it happen.
But I guess some did.

Many have had the 'rivit fix' done to them.
A simple rivit placed in the bolt body to block one of the spline tracks so the bolt can only go back together one way,,,the correct way.

The bolt head should ALWAYS be extended from the bolt body as the bolt feeds and closes. The bolt head then turns, closes and locks on the camming action of the inner bolt spline rails.

My 1910 is all apart now for a face lift. I wish the bore was better. I had thought of a rebore to 30cal. A 30/280Ross or 35/280..
But I'll leave it as is. It's just a range toy after all.


Have fun, they are great rifles with a lot of history.
The same cartridge in a rimmed (Flanged) version for use in dounble rifles and single shots
was called the .280 Lancaster.
Sometimes the .280 Lancaster Nitro Express.
The Chas Lancaster Rifle Makers Co brought that one to the market place with their DR's.

Just tryin' to keep ya safe!

Hip

Thanks for all the info. My rifle does have the Porter pop-up aperture sight. I would love to find a Lyman 50 but I might as well be looking for hen's teeth. I have some reloading data on the 20 Ross. I have also pulled up some 7x 61 Sharpe and Hart data which is of equal case volume. I did some loads with .284 bullets. I'll wait to see how the rifle performs before I worry about .27 or .288 bullets. I'll slug the barrel after it arrives and make a measurement.

Great purchase.
Please keep us posted on your progress.
Larry

My Ross arrived at my dealer today and I was anxious to pick her up and take a look. I'm happy to say that the bore is pristine! Bluing has some high edge wear and there are some expected dings and handling marks in the wood. Compared to my Mannlichers, it is a big gun. I suspect that I'll appreciate that depending on how many rounds I put through her at the range.
It is missing the front sling swivel and I would like to track down the correct swivel for the rear. Hopefully, I will get a chance to test her out at the range on Sunday.

Very nice example of the Ross rifle, hope it shoots as good as it looks. I'm sure you'll get a lot of enjoyment experimenting around with loads and hopefully use it on some animals.
Keep us posted.

Hello Gents
I loaded ups some cartridges for my Ross and went off to the range today. Loads were composed of 140 Sierra spire points and 57.0 grains of 3031. I fired several rounds. This load resulted in flattened primers and sticky ejection. Looks like I will need to start lower and work up.
I know that most folks form brass from 375 Ruger, but I picked up some 300 Winchester Mag cases at the range today and decided to do some experimenting. I was able to easily resize the cases in my 280 Ross dies and then I trimmed them to length. The empty brass functioned in my rifle and seemed no different then my purchased brass formed from 375. The magnum belting did not see to pose any problems in regards to loading and extraction.
Is forming brass from a 300 Win Magnum an option for the 280 RosS? If so, how do I go about this in a prudent manner so that I don't put myself at risk.
Thanks in advance.

You size the 300 Win Mag in the 280 Ross FL die.
Then Trim.
That's it.
The rest of the formation will occur during the first shot--fireforming.

The Belt dia of the 300WM is the base dia of the 280Ross cartridge.
Leave the Belt in place on the 300Win Mag cases.

The Belt will keep the 300WM case perfectly centered in the 280Ross chamber.
Upon firing, the brass just ahead of Belt will expand and fill the 280Ross chamber,,,fireform.

This freaks some people out to think that fireforming brass just ahead of the belt is done.
But it does, and it fills the Ross chamber perfectly and any other portion that it may need to do so.
SO when you extract the now fired 300WM case , you have a 280Ross case.
It will look a bit odd with the Belt on it and the brass expanded just ahead of it to the same dia. But it is strong and will stand many reloads.

The 300Win Mag rim dia is just under the standard rim dia of the 280Ross case.
But in my and others use of the case, it doesn't seem to bother feed/extraction/ejection. The bolt/extractor hasplenty of grip to function with the 300Win Mag cases as long as it hasn't been altered for any reason and has normal tension on the case head.

A simple road to 280Ross brass.

I use 7mmRem Mag STARTING Load data and stay there. No issues with flattened primers, extraction, etc.
It's just a paper puncher for me, so the target is dead in it's tracks every time.
If hunting, I think even a min load out of a 7mm Mag would do for most things around town.
You can always experiment and go up from there.

I gotta get with it and get my 1910 back together, in shape and back on the range.

Thanks for the response 2152hq. I have to say that forming the brass into 280 seemed almost to easy. I'm sad that there weren't any more 300 Win Mag cases at the range.
Do you use a reduced load for the first charge after forming the brass?

No reduced load on the first reload/fire forming round.
I've always just used the same starting load for the 7mm Rem Mag w/the bullet weight you are using

Fills the case out nicely w/no issues as far as exess pressure indicators.

I bought a box of new 375Ruger unprimed brass at one time thinking I would form Ross brass from it.
But I never did get around to it.
Quite a few steps in the process from what I read about it at the time.
The 300WM is easy and works just fine for me.

Don't know where that box of 375 Ruger brass is.

..Should be good for somethin' even if I never use it.

Great! I'll head out to my man cave later today and load some up. I probably will get this rifle ready for next years PA deer season.

I had an opportunity to take the Ross out to the range last weekend. I have to say that I am impressed with how the rifle functioned. This is my first straight-pull bolt action. It is a pretty slick system!
As with my other older hunting rifles, the front sight is almost impossible to see and the rifle was printing 6-7 inches high at 100 yards. I fabricated a Partridge style replacement front sight this weekend. This style has worked well for me on all my other hunting rifles. Next time that I go to the range, I will try to regulate the height for the Porter peep and the rear leaf. The stock finish was dry so I've been giving it some rubs with my oil finish.

I had the day off from work and I decided to take the Ross out to the range. I'm very pleased with the new front sight. Very easy to see and it is regulated with the Porter peep sight. The rifle definitely shoots better with .287 or .288 bullets rather than standard 7mm bullets. My best group at 100 yards was with Quality Cartridge 150 gr. Game-StopR bullets and 53.0 gr of IMR4064. The Ross is a very pleasant rifle to shoot.