Lets try this again, 45 Smith and Wesson help please.

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paradigm76

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Hi group,

I was hoping someone can give me some accurate information that I inherited recently due to a passing in my family. I would like to know all about this gun regarding its age and background and maybe an approximate value. This was my great grandfathers pistol, I never knew him but do know that he was from England and fought in the Boer War and moved to Cape Breton. I am not sure if this was his gun from the army or just something he had for around the farm. Thanks.






 
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That is a Mk II Hand Ejector 2nd Model, was chambered in .455 Webley. Due to the excellent photo's you have attached there appears to be no work done to re-chamber it to .45 colt. With the broad arrow marking, it saw service in WWI for sure. Smith produced about 60,000 of them for the British Government and lots were issued to Canadian Soldiers as well.

A wonderful revolver to shoot, I have two, and very accurate. The .455 load launched a 265 grain bullet a little under 800 FPS so it is quite a formidable "Stopper".

Ammunition is available from time to time and it is produced in modern loadings. Easy to reload as well.
Sorry for your family loss, this is a great piece of history and should be lovingly cared for and above shot and enjoyed!!

Scott
 
m39a2 said:
Ammunition is available from time to time and it is produced in modern loadings. Easy to reload as well.
Sorry for your family loss, this is a great piece of history and should be lovingly cared for and above shot and enjoyed!!

Scott
Click to expand...

Believe it or not, here in Victoria, ammunition is an "off the shelf" proposition for the 455, both gun stores have it in stock (probably not surprising, really)
 
MK II is the British (and Canadian) method of saying what version the firearm is. .455 Webley is the designation for the calibre and round the pistol is designed to fire.

Mk I would be the first version, Mk II the second version, etc, etc.
 
This is what it can do...
images
...;)
These are the dimensions...
images

this is a comparison between the Webley and Colt cartridge...
images
. Colt left, Webley right.
 
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Thanks for the info guys, anyone know of a value or where I could go to get it appraised? I live in Calgary now. Maybe a place here or online?
 
Sadly it's not worth as much as it could or should be. I see them on the EE for $450 to $650. Yours in in nice condition so it would tend to go for the higher end.

Despite the information given about loading and ammo availability not everyone has ready access to the ammo or components in MOST areas. So this tends to hold down the price somewhat. The same gun chambered in .45ACP or .45Colt would be worth another $100 to $150 easily.
 
I found out that there should be 3 spots where the serial number is located and found the last one under the barrel, the number matches the other two but this one has what looks to be a B and then a space and then the serial number, anyone have an idea what the B stands for?
 
According to my copy of The Standard catalog of Smith and Wesson the MK II 2nd model were made from 1915 to 1917. Serial numbers range begin at 5000-6000 and runs to 74755 with 69,754 manufactured in total. From both MK I and MK II 14,500 were made for Canadian use and 59,150 for the British army. With the US entry into WWI production switched to the Hand Ejector US Army Model 1917 in .45 acp of which 169,959 were made between Sept 17 1917 and Jan 1919.

Parts of the S&W catalog are available online at Google books. You might check there to see if the section on these guns is included.
 
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BCRider said:
Sadly it's not worth as much as it could or should be. I see them on the EE for $450 to $650. Yours in in nice condition so it would tend to go for the higher end.

Despite the information given about loading and ammo availability not everyone has ready access to the ammo or components in MOST areas. So this tends to hold down the price somewhat. The same gun chambered in .45ACP or .45Colt would be worth another $100 to $150 easily.
Click to expand...

I never see those ones. :(
 
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