1873 lebel

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cdm123

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I have a 1873 Lebel revolver that I purchased from a fellow CGN er. It was sold to me with a few boxes of Fiocchi 455 MK11 ammo. Can I use moon clips with this combo? Thanks for any information.
 
Best bet would be to check with the seller.

The Webley cartridges are pretty similar to the 11mm in some dimensions so maybe it's been reamed to use them?
Shouldn't involve moon clips unless it's reamed for rimless shells like 45acp.
 
I'm guessing it's a MAS 1873?
If it's been reamed to chamber .455 MKII you shouldn't need moon clips as the .455 Webley cartridge is rimmed.
I've never seen one with the cylinder shaved for moon clips to accommodate .45 ACP. In all the ones I've seen, the cylinder is reamed so that the .45 ACP round head spaces on the case mouth similar to the Ruger Blackhawk .45 ACP cylinders.
 
If it were altered to make room for clips, you would have to remove the cylinder to load the gun. Can't see any advantage in that.
 
The issue is that some cartridges sit lower than others and don't fire reliably, I have only tried once with ten rounds or so but this was to be my Just in case gun after being in an uncomfortable situation with wild life and I want to know it will go bang when needed.
 
Is the rim of the .455 thinner than that of the original 11mm? If so, the conversion may have created an excess headspace condition. With a round like that, it wouldn't be a safety issue, but the misfiring you are seeing could be the result.
 
Go get a box of 45 Schofield brass and reload them. You'd need to shorten them, but the thicker rim will make them 'prouder' in the cylinder. Not much of a risk as far as outlay, maybe 30 $ for the brass.
You'd have to dyck with them a tad, but it'd work well IMO
A handfull of fired 45 LC would be easier to source though. 15 $ tubing cutter and you'd be ready to experiment.
 
tiriaq said:
Is the rim of the .455 thinner than that of the original 11mm? If so, the conversion may have created an excess headspace condition. With a round like that, it wouldn't be a safety issue, but the misfiring you are seeing could be the result.
Click to expand...

the cartridges sit noticeably lower also I notice there is a machined line in the cylinder well beyond the edge of the cartridge that shells may have been intended to rest against?
 
11mm French Service has a .055" rim; .455, .030. .025 difference. With stacked tolerances, maybe that is enough for misfiring. Adapting the Schofield or Colt cases could be a solution.
I wonder if the laddie with the reamer ran it in too far?
 
If it's cut funny, a run of 'one off' brass from a 45 Sch or 45 LC would be the ticket.
PITA, but what do you do?
I've an oddball Frontier Bulldog that fits trimmed 444 Marlin like a dream...and nothing else well. Sigh, get 444 and cut it down. As an unexpected bonus though, the brass adds to the strength somewhat.
 
cdm123 said:
the cartridges sit noticeably lower also I notice there is a machined line in the cylinder well beyond the edge of the cartridge that shells may have been intended to rest against?
Click to expand...

It may have been reamed for .45 ACP. Try one to see if it seats correctly in all six chambers. If it does, then you just need to work up some mild loads for it using soft lead bullets.
I'm sure you know this already, but do NOT shoot factory .45 ACP out of it.
 
Orion said:
It may have been reamed for .45 ACP. Try one to see if it seats correctly in all six chambers. If it does, then you just need to work up some mild loads for it using soft lead bullets.
I'm sure you know this already, but do NOT shoot factory .45 ACP out of it.
Click to expand...

If you reload, and are handy...build yourself some 45 Autorim. Buying seems a bit tough at this point.
Doubly so if you also have a 45 ACP in a modern handgun, the potential for disaster is too great.
The Antique I previously aluded to will digest BP 44 magnum loads, the potential was too scary to continue that nonsense after I acquired a Mare's Leg in 44 Magnum
 
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