Webley

[richhodg66]

I have a thing for top break revolvers, can't explain it, but they ooze cool to me.

I've wanted a Webley a long time, preferably one of the big bore ones, although a good deal on a .38 S&W might work. Yesterday, a .45 one presented itself. No lanyard ring or even a provision for one and the barrel was shorter than most I see, leads me to believe it was not a military one. A bit more than I can afford at the moment, but I doubt it'll move real fast.

I believe there are multiple .45 calibers these have been chambered in (.455 Webley, .450 Eley, .450 Adams, etc.). Much as I like them, I'm not real knowledgeable. What are things to look for?

 

[Outpost75]

Pictures would sure help. Particularly of any markings.

 

[richhodg66]

The shop is in another town. I'll have to look closer at it when I go back over there.

 

[CZ93X62]

Having owned a Webley Enfield 38/200 example for close to 20 years, I understand their appeal. They are very easy to empty and refill of cartridges, perhaps more so than their swing out cousins.
The 38/200 cartridge is no magnum, but it is a performance upgrade from the 38 S&W.
I have looked at one of the Uberti S&W repro top breaks to mess around with.

 

[Rushcreek]

A friends dad let us shoot his Webley .45 ACP revolver once when I was young. 55 years ago; still recall it!
Just a couple of years later I bought an Enfield DAO .38/200 revolver. We soldered a brass rod on top of the front sight to make it hit POA with my Lee Loaded 148gr HBWC.
Staging the DA pull correctly rewarded me with hits more often than just pulling it through!
My wife is deadly with her H&R 999. Top breaks are cool.

 

[Walks]

I've had a Uberti #3 Schofield for 20+ years. They are a great deal of fun.
They are NOT built for anything other then standard pressure loads. I always shoot Factory equivalent loads in My .45Colt, or even light "Cowboy" loads.
While I have never experienced My revolver "popping open" under recoil, some folks do complain about it happening to theirs.
It's why I only shoot loads that are put up in the starline .45Schofield brass. I Know those are light.

 

[CZ93X62]

I'm leaning toward a 5" in 44/40 WCF. That was an OEM chambering back in the day, per SCS&W.

 

[Missionary]

We have several pre 1899 SW break tops in 44 Russian. Yes they are fun and easy to reload fast.
Have a 1903 made New Service that was a 45 Brit but bored to 45 Colt. Works well. But a 45 Webley eludes us.
But have a 38 200 Webley. I would not want to get thwaped with that 200 RN cast of range scrap.

 

[L Ross]

We have several pre 1899 SW break tops in 44 Russian. Yes they are fun and easy to reload fast.
Have a 1903 made New Service that was a 45 Brit but bored to 45 Colt. Works well. But a 45 Webley eludes us.
But have a 38 200 Webley. I would not want to get thwaped with that 200 RN cast of range scrap.

Hell, I hate getting "thwapped" with a June bug on the motorcycle.

 

[Missionary]

June bugs are nasty ! ILL-Nois has a good supply when we are north. Our 71 BMW has a wind shield that gets cleaned daily.
The big ones down here are dragoon flies. Just after the rainy season (March) they hatch out by the thousands. The 250 Kaw gets well decorated every trip to the villages.
But that is the freedom / joy of 2 wheeling.

 

[KeithB]

A distant relative lived in northern Florida. They would get hatches of what I think they called "lovebugs" that were so thick they would plug up radiators and smear up windshields. Overheated engines, slippery roads, no visibility. Not dangerous in a projectile sense like a hard shelled bug but dangerous nonetheless.

 

[Snakeoil]

We start discussing Webley revolvers and in no time the subject moves to lovebugs in Florida. I think we have established a new standard for thread drift.

 

[Charles Graff]

Somebody, I disremember who, a fellow on one of our boards, sold me this former Singapore Police Webley a few years back for $150 clams. It was very little used and made in the early 1950's. Great shooter and loads of fun. I read somewhere, that these colonial police, were issued the revolver and 12 rounds of ammo. six in the gun and six in a pouch. Each years, they fired the six in the gun to qualify, replaced the rounds with those in the pouch and were issued six more rounds, for the pouch. The big take down screw has a round bottom and was designed to be removed with a British shilling coin. You see these buggered up by guys using a flat screwdriver. I ground a washer to fit and that works just fine.

Years ago, I came by a 5" Colt OP in 38-200 chambering. It was in fine shape, but I never shot it. It went by-by in the Great D-Vorce of 94. I don't miss the woman, but sure do miss about 50 handguns she got off with.

 

[CZ93X62]

We have several pre 1899 SW break tops in 44 Russian. Yes they are fun and easy to reload fast.
Have a 1903 made New Service that was a 45 Brit but bored to 45 Colt. Works well. But a 45 Webley eludes us.
But have a 38 200 Webley. I would not want to get thwaped with that 200 RN cast of range scrap.

Uberti makes a very close repro of the Russian variant. It's a handsome beast, and seems to be easier to find than the Schofield-lock repros.

 

[Thumbcocker]

I have been fighting off a craving for an Uberti #3 .44 Russian.

 

[Missionary]

Get one !!! We bought one years back and they are fun !
Get a 230 -250 slug for it. The lighter 200's lack a bit when they hit.
At 50 yards you get to watch it fly.

 

[CZ93X62]

The 44 Russian claims to run its 246 grain RN bullet in the 700 FPS ballpark. I have seem lots of 38 wadcutters flying downrange at similar velocities when the lighting is right.

One of the curious things about the next 44 caliber ideation from S&W in 1908 (44 Special) was that its 246 grain RN lead bullet didn't fly much faster than the Russian's. Maybe a 246 grain bullet at 700-715 FPS did enough good work as-is, and enhanced velocities weren't the object. Keep in mind that in much of our country before WWI 'The Law Of Flight' held sway during armed encounters--'If you (as a suspected felon) flee, I/we will fire upon you.' Under such rules, a handgun bullet was as much a marking pellet as it was a fight-stopping missile. Also, the roundball in 44 cap and ball revolvers didn't run much faster that 700 FPS when fired in the 1860 Army wheelguns--140 grains at 700 FPS. A cartridge like the 44 Russian or 44 Special shooting a bullet almost twice as heavy (246 grains) at 700 FPS would be a definite relative upgrade.

I've made similar remarks about the 30/32 and 38 handgun calibers of the early 20th Century. Perhaps the same rubrics apply to the big bores as well. Upgrades of the 44 Special were well under way by the 1930s in the hunting/bear protection venues by Mr. Keith.

By the 1960s those 'Rules of engagement' for cops and citizens alike had morphed in favor of criminals and predators, obliging victims or third parties to be directly threatened by the actions of an armed aggressor before deploying lethal force. Such persons are in need of immediate shut-down. Skeeter Skelton's 44 Special load--7.5 grains of Unique under a Keith 240 grain SWC--prompts 900-950 FPS. I believe it was published prior to the birthing of the 41 Magnum, which featured a 210 lead SWC police load at similar ballistics. I don't think that was accidental.

 

[JimE]

Speaking of Webley, some years ago I picked up a Webley Mark II “project gun” that I never really got in to. I found the parts in a box in a basement. The late owner had polished the blue off of everything and left it like that. It’s pretty much all here except a mainspring and the screw that the barrel and frame pivot on. I looked for help on the web but never turned up anything. The cylinder has been cut but I had figured out that I could shoot it with black powder in 45 ACP or AR cases anyway. In any case it’s an interesting piece of history, made between 1894 and 1898. There are lots of marks on it which could give clues to its history. I’m currently working on muzzle loaders and really don’t think I’ll ever get back to this one so I’m putting it up for adoption. If you’re interested send me a pm.

 

[ScottM65]

I have a shaved MkVI that I shoot with loads using autorim brass. I too would also like a Webley Mk IV 38/200.

 

[ScottM65]

Iver Johnson 38 S&W for another option, though get a later smokeless model.