Good Old Days - An Excellent Rifle for Rs. 300

[Vikram]

Shooter50,

Thanks for the edification.

Best-
Vikram

[miroflex]

That 280 is for the 280 Ross on a Mauser action, a great Canadian design originally intended to replace the military .303 rifles with its straight pull action. ...

Nothing wrong with the cartridge though, it were the bullets that were to blame. The cartridge had great case capacity enabling upto 3000fps with 140 grain bullets. ...

The arrival of the 270 win in 1925 practically ended the 280 Ross, though with modern bullets there is much that this cartridge could achieve
All the Best

Thank you Shooter 50 for a very interesting resume of the .280 Ross and its capabilities and limitations. The tragic fate of George Grey underscores the point very well.

Regards.

[TwoRivers]

Hi Herb,


It is unlikely to see a revival although the Russians had tried to popularise the .280 cartridge after the Second World War for big bore rifle shooting in international competions. What a pity as it is a fine and versatile cartridge even if the rifle it was designed for was flawed.

Regards.

The Russians used the M1910 Ross action barreled to the 7.62x54 R cartridge for biathlon competition. Am not aware of them using any 7mm/.280 cartridge. Which is a caliber seemingly missing from the line-up of Russian cartridges. Two of their hunting cartridges used a case similar, but not identical, to the .280 Ross case.
Do you have any source to your information?

[timmy]

Nothing wrong with the cartridge though, it were the bullets that were to blame. The cartridge had great case capacity enabling upto 3000fps with 140 grain bullets. But bullet technology was not prepared for these velocities in the first decade of the 20th century.

This surely is a great point regarding a very important issue. Back in those old "classic" hunting days, cartridges were often noted more by how the bullet held up, as opposed to the excessively mathematical analysis we see today, in which some ignore this vital point. The exceptional performance that increased velocity imparts makes similarly exceptional demands on bullets.

In the past few decades, new bullet designs have begun to fill this gap, which previously was only addressed by Makers like Brenneke and Nosler.

The nail on the coffin was when in 1911, George Grey brother of Lord Grey the then British foreign secretary on a hunt in Kenya fired 5 rounds from his magazine 280 Ross (Similar to the one shown) into a charging Lion. The Lion did not stop and George Grey died in hospital.

Thanks so much for this detail. I find the Edwardian era and WW1 to be a most fascinating time, and to me, Grey was by far the most interesting member of the Liberal Imperialist triumvirate that controlled so much of British policy leading up to that confict. I didn't know this and find it something that needs looking into.

[miroflex]

Hi Herb,


It is unlikely to see a revival although the Russians had tried to popularise the .280 cartridge after the Second World War for big bore rifle shooting in international competions. What a pity as it is a fine and versatile cartridge even if the rifle it was designed for was flawed.

Regards.

The Russians used the M1910 Ross action barreled to the 7.62x54 R cartridge for biathlon competition. Am not aware of them using any 7mm/.280 cartridge. Which is a caliber seemingly missing from the line-up of Russian cartridges. Two of their hunting cartridges used a case similar, but not identical, to the .280 Ross case.
Do you have any source to your information?

Hi Two Rivers,

I remember reading this in a book on rifles. I'll see if I can locate the reference but this may take time as I am in Allahabad and the book is in Dehradun. It is possible that the writer had mistaken the adoption of the Ross action for the .280 Ross cartridge.

Regards.

[Amit357]

There is no way to calculate the so called inflation in the firearm price because of one simple fact and that is the BAN ON THE IMPORT for the last 24 years or so. Had the import been allowed the price would have been reasonable and one could even calculate by the "Abhijeet formula" !!

Now there is NO WAY to calculate the price, one of the threads on this forum said that a Llama .32 was sold for Rs.5.5 L !!!!! And was bought by a well known IFG member !!!!! Now this is SUPER INFLATION !!

best,
RP.

,Hi Rajesh,just to add a few words to that,its not just super inflations,its also the easy availability of money,in the days mentioned above how many people had Rs 300 to spare,today with a piece of land selling for Rs8,00,00,000/- per acre,a house selling for 15,00,00,000/- a Llama for 5.5 Lacs ,is really no big deal,had gone to Delhi,saw a 44 Mag,asking price Rs 40 Lacs ,someone would have picked it up by now,friend picked up a 700 ADL for Rs 10.50 Lacs,if import was open one could have had a MRP for weapons,there used be a list price as the one above,posted by reputed dealers to their regular customers,now the prices are super obscene,as people have money to spare.The Licensed Arms holders must be just .15 % of the entire populace and most of them have money to burn,it is just the label of Exclusiveness that has got the SUPER INFLATION in work.Best Amit

[Banduksb]

There was a time when India was the destination market for many well made guns. A .404 for around Rs. 350......

"Mahomedally Noorbhoy" are they still around?











My Mauser made around the same time i.e. early 1920's, no complaints about the quality of this gun for Rs. 300, it still functions flawlessly after nearly a 100 years.





Herb

Dear Herb,

I was last proprietor in the 7th generation of MOHEDALLY NOORBHOY, Bandukwala, Bombay. The business was closed down in the year 1987. After 130 years of glorious Establishment (1857)

Please oblige me with the xerox copy of the Mahomedally Noorbhoy catalogue. I will pay all the costs. Thank you.

[Vikram]

Banduksb,

Herb lives in Canada. Since you too live there, perhaps you should get in touch with him.

[herb]

Bandukhsb, I wish I had the original catalog. If I am not wrong I got the pictures of the catalog from an old book I have (Original Mauser Sporting Rifles). I will check my book and confirm. The book also mentions a few other retailers from India like Lyon & Lyon Calcutta etc.

In the past I have seen these old catalogs come up for sale on ebay and is a goot source for these old out of print materials.

[Banduksb]

Yes, For present eBay does not have any posts. The last got sold in April 2020. I will keep trying.

[Banduksb]

Herb,

Your catalogue show the previous address of Mahomedally Noorbhoy. Though I knew the location. Did not know that it was-the Nawroj Building.
Thanks.

[marksman]

Just for Info, I bought my F.N. Mauser 30-06 for Rs.4400/ after selling my .315 IOF for Rs. 2500/ in the year 1977. Had purchased my Brno Model 2 earlier for Rs.2000/ some time in 1971 built in the same year and friends abused me for over paying and spoiling the buyers market. Am I glad now. These beauties are still with me in original condition.

Marksman