Took a quick look in my copy of "The Ross Rifle Story" and I stand corrected. Forgot that the factory did build 250 MKIII sniper rifles in 1915 based on the Warner Swasey musket sight (same scope as used on many Springfield 1903 sniper rifles in WWI). A second batch of 250 were completed in 1917 for a grand total of 500 sniper rifles.
This is what happens when you post from your work desk while eating lunch, w.o. a good reference book at hand!
Would love to see what your 'smith comes up with (wish my Pop had given me a Ross to play with when I was a lad)! And whatever you do, don't lose the original Sutherland sight on the MKII! That puppy's worth a nice dollar. The Martini crowd found out that these sights just drop onto their rifles, instantly improving the sight system. I even have one on my Martini .22 military trainer. Worlds better than the original sight.
BTW, just found out that I was high bidder on a Ross MKIII that "appears to have a frozen bolt head". Need another project! Got it right (sub $400) and the rest of the rifle looks good. Will post photos for Ross lovers when it arrives. I currently have a MKIII that I take to the range often and it will keep up with my Finn M/28-30. Hope this new acquisition can be salvaged!