Have a couple of 1910s, one in .303 British and the other a .280 Ross. Have tried to assemble these incorrectly and on these two you would have to beat the bolt with a heavy hammer to get the bolt in any distance. The same applies to others I have handled.
Some early Ross rifles were also manufactured in England by, if memory serves, Lancaster.
Bill
Bill - you correctly point out that it is not easy to get a Ross to accept an incorrectly assembled bolt. This is one of the reasons the reports of mishaps have been controversial. Ross himself thought it was appropriate Darwinism and his comments on the matter were often not compassionate toward the victims of a bolt mishap.
As far as some of the early Ross rifles being manufactured in England, that is also subject to debate. There are sporters with Ross's name on them that came out several years before he put out his first catalog. The Lancaster marked Ross sporters are a good example and I will post pictures of one soon. Mine is marked Ross and it was made in Hartford Connecticut - as marked on the receiver. The barrel is marked Lancaster and there are British proofs on the barrel. I think the best explanation is that Ross sold the actions to Lancaster and I believe they made up the rifles to their specifications. I also have a Scotch Deerstalker done up by Westley Richards. I seriously doubt Westley Richards ordered a complete rifle from Ross and threw the barrel and stock away. Rather, I am confident Ross sold the action (or the barreled action) and they made up the rest of the rifle. More to come.
