.455 Webley reloading for New Service

wbaad said:
That is a beautiful smith there! Still has nice deep blueing. Very lucky.
Also is that a name on the barrel??
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Yes, named on the barrel to a Lieut. with the "29th Canadians" [29th Bttn CEF - Vancouver, B.C.]

SW455e.jpg


SW455Red.jpg


SW455d.jpg


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:canadaFlag:
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NAA.
 
the original case was designed to use black powder. This is the length that was later commercialized as the 455 Colt. when the boys went to smokeless, ( cordite) it was found to burn better in a shorter case, hence the 455 mk 11 designation for the latter round. the Lyman 1960 load manual lists 5.0 -6.0 grains of Unique behind a 260 grain cast bullet.
however in my opinion that is too much, as I have managed to effectively turn one on my 2nd model HE s into a five shooter using that powdercharge behind a 255 SWC sized to 454 as far as I am concerned, Bullseye is a much safer proposition.. Ross Seyfreid had better results using Titegroup see February 2002 issue of Handloader.

Also be aware that the proof designation for the last, and stongest Webley tip up revolvers is rated in English long tonnes. therefore, altho it has been done many times, in actual fact , converting one of these guns to fire the Acp round is equivalent to using a steady diet of proof loads in the gun Safe shooting :)
 
Johnn Peterson said:
I'm of the opinion that anyone into handgun shooting,;) at some point in time, should own a .455:). To that end, I picked up a Webly Mk. VI a while back.
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You're absolutely right....and after seeing your Webley and NAA's beautiful Smith, I tought I had to post a Colt (well 2) in .455.
Note the original .455 ammo package.

OK

 
jsmurd said:
...Also be aware that the proof designation for the last, and stongest Webley tip up revolvers is rated in English long tonnes. therefore, altho it has been done many times, in actual fact , converting one of these guns to fire the Acp round is equivalent to using a steady diet of proof loads in the gun...
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I couldn't remember where I'd seen the article I was thinking of when I posted about this but I've found it, here on the British Military Forums, written by Grant Rombough, who also posts occas. on CGN. The pics speak for themselves! :)
 
MWP said:
zywina, would you mind describing the differences you have found using the Lee universal expander?

thanks.
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The case expander in the Lee die set does not bell the case on the newer Mark 11 cartridge is to short and there is not enough adjustment to bell the short 455 cases. It works well on the old 455 Colt and old Domonion Mark 1 cases though.
The Lee universal case expander set makes this possible. I don't have an RCBS set, so I have no idea if there set has the same problem?

Cheers Dale Z!
 
I also read somewhere that you can modify an HKS 25 speedloader (designed for .45 Auto Rim) to take the Webley case. I haven't tried it myself yet as I don't have a spare HKS 25 but I've found that the Webley rim is a snug "interference fit" in mine. It looks like it would be easy enough to remove the knurled knob (remove the tiny roll pin) and polish out the HKS "cylinders" by a couple of thou to allow the .455 cases to slip in easily. Alternately you could sacrifice a kidney or other vital organ and wait patiently for an original Prideaux speedloader to appear.

:) Stuart
 
That's interesting. My .455 Lee carbide die set, which I purchased new about 10 years ago, expands the shorter MkII cases without a problem. I wonder if Lee modified the expander die at some point to make it work with the MkII cases?

best,
Marv (MWP)



zywina said:
The case expander in the Lee die set does not bell the case on the newer Mark 11 cartridge is to short and there is not enough adjustment to bell the short 455 cases. Cheers Dale Z!
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very nice guys! lots of info and lots of nice photos. i'll have to get a couple posted.
Right now due to my location gunpowder is basically non existent except for the lb of unique that I have, so i'll have to make do. I'm not looking to take out any large critters, so a low power load will be just fine.
 
Heres a couple. Has about .1% blueing and the rest is a very nice dark brown patina. Mechanically very nice shape though! photos might not do it justice.



 
Oooh... very nice indeed! (If I may be allowed to quibble, a lighter background would help.) Indeed no blueing but the patina lends it a certain air of venerable respectability (!) As to powder being non-existant, it's not all that plentiful elsewhere either, at least reasonably locally. I've been waiting for months for W231 and an interest in Blue Dot has been quashed. Might have to gird my loins and place a substantial order with Higginson's (who should also have the Lee dies for you.) But even a pound of Unique will last you quite a while once you get the other stuff in hand.

:) Stuart
 
The last time my buddy drove south I requested a list of reloading supplies, but everywhere he went was out of powder! There is nobody up here that carries any reloading supplies. What I have is what I ordered from henry at budget SS.
 
josquin said:
Oooh... very nice indeed! (If I may be allowed to quibble, a lighter background would help.) Indeed no blueing but the patina lends it a certain air of venerable respectability (!) As to powder being non-existant, it's not all that plentiful elsewhere either, at least reasonably locally. I've been waiting for months for W231 and an interest in Blue Dot has been quashed. Might have to gird my loins and place a substantial order with Higginson's (who should also have the Lee dies for you.) But even a pound of Unique will last you quite a while once you get the other stuff in hand.

:) Stuart
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I think W231 was discontinued and is now re-branded as HP-38 - no?
 
Claven2 said:
I think W231 was discontinued and is now re-branded as HP-38 - no?
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That's news to me. I've seen no mention of this on the 1911 or S&W forums and it's still listed on Midway's website although "out of stock due to high demand" with a 6-8 week delay. Same with HP-38. I know that they are in fact the same powder, just under different names and have both been available for quite some time. I've been waiting for W231 for over 6 mos. from Rustywood.ca. Surely he would have subbed HP-38 if 231 had finally been discontinued...

(@ yodave: But then, I drive a Ford, so maybe I've just been shut out.)
 
Working out a deal on a nice .455 hand ejector. Still waiting for some loaded ammo from canam to test it the mighty colt. It's been too cold (-40) to play around with old guns outside :(
 
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