[Pathfinder76]

Back to the topic at hand, here is John Burns thoughts on the article.

"One thing to remember about Ross is he did not do a lot of elk hunting while he lived in Colorado.

I know he killed a bull while guiding Elmer Keith when he (Ross) was around 20. Elmer and he did a double on 6 point and a spike. Elmer shot the spike because he wanted the better meat.

Elmer was using his .338 KT which is the 338 Lapua before there was even the slightest inkling of the Lapua. He used the old 275gr Speer RN and that bullet broke up and didn’t exit the bull but killed it very well. Elmer told Ross that was his 50th bull and gave him the fired case.

Ross killed his bull with his .375 H&H. Don’t know what bullet.

The pair of bulls was around 500yds but this was long before lasers.

Ross killed a bull with his .416 Rigby and it stayed on its feet long enough for more than one shot. This was in the late 80s or early 90s.

Ross also hunted with his .33 G&A in Montana but didn’t get a chance to shoot a bull with that rifle. This was a Don Allen Dakota and the first time I saw it Ross was getting ready for this elk hunt. He had been working on the zero and I remember him firing 3 shots at 200yds and placing all his shots on a 2 inch dot from a cold bore. The load was 225gr X bullets or possibly 225 Failsafes at 3200fps.

He may have done more elk hunting but not that I know of until moving to Oregon.

In Oregon he now gets to see maybe a dozen elk killed per year and the reality of hard recoil and bad shots is sinking in. The more elk you see killed, generally the smaller gun you recommend for elk hunting, within reason. Something about living and learning.

The 33 G&A was the first designed and Ross used the case that Remington later turned into the 300 Ultra Mag. Remington then moved the shoulder back on the following 338 Ultra Mag reducing capacity somewhat to prevent 300ultras from being loaded in the 338 chambers.

There was no way Ross would design a 30 cartridge with more capacity than the 338. I suspect Ross never owned a 30 G&A or a 300 Ultra. I at least never saw one while at his place in Colorado.

The idea of using an improved .404 was pioneered by Jack Lott with the .460 G&A and Ross was probably the first to use the case with the smaller 338 and 30 cals. This in turn led to the use of that case shortened for the WSMs.

My recollection was that Ross may have drawn up shortened versions before Jamison did his little patent trick but never pursued them because of the lack of advantage of the short actions in the real world. IE who wants a short action.

All of the above is just my remembrance of a lot of conversations over the shooting bench and is subject to my interpretation.

In all likelihood Ross knows more about guns in general than anyone who ever lived. In some areas he is defiantly not the leading expert but the breadth of understanding will amaze you.

I can remember him spending a whole day or more just to load a few cartridges for one of his pinfires to use it to hunt the monster whitetails on the Platte River or letting me shoot at a mile with the 300-416 Rigby that Mel Forbes of Ultra Light built him.

If he comes across as a guy with a big ego just remember there is some basis and justification for the attitude.

As everyone who reads his stuff can tell he can talk the talk and I my experience he can also walk the walk."

John Burns
Greybull Precision LLC