Adams Revolver

Dogleg

Dogleg

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I have an original Adams Mark 1, in 44 Adams I believe. The confusion there is the registration says .455 Webley. An RCMP collector confirmed that it was police stamped, which matches the family story that was handed down with it. It belonged to my grandfather many years ago.
Some guys from the muzzleloader club suggested that I get it deregistered, as legally it didn't need to be. Up until recently I saw no reason to do so, but with all this talk of a handgun ban I am rethinking that position. I have always planned to give it to my son someday, who is named after his great-grandfather that he has never met.
If the unthinkable happened, would my chances of being able to keep the old heirloom revolver be better if it was deregistered? Thanks in advance for any help or thoughts.
Dogleg
 
You're in trouble man. I better take that off your hands.:D :D
You should be able to get it out of the system with one quick phone call to the cert. ammendments office.
It'll be yours forever probably.;)
 
Rodagra,
Thanks, that is reassuring and is what I'll do at the first opportunity. The thing about family heirlooms is that one is not really the "owner", more like the guardian of something that by extension belongs to a whole lot of us. I would really hate to be the one that broke the tradition. Much the same applies to the rather ancient cavalry saddle and chaps that came from the same source. Those should be safe though. :D
Dogleg
 
green said:
Adams should be in .450" Adams calibre.
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Also made in 44 cal., actually .442, not .429 I believe. Adams revolvers also made in .31 caliber.
450 Adams was a cartridge used in some RIC models, but not to my knowledge in Adams original revolvers. This is from memory and some reference material, so I stand to be corrected.
 
rodagra said:
Ok, I'll buy that.:D
Were they all caliber stamped?:confused:
Click to expand...

Well, this one isn't stamped. Must be a British thing :confused: Heck, for the first I don't know how many years I thought it was a .455 Webley since that was what the registration said. Could I determine the actual caliber from bore or chamber measurements? Not that I have any ideas about shooting the old thing, but now that I don't know anymore, I have this overpowering need to know again. Make sense?:D
Dogleg
 
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Dogleg:

One reason that your revolver is identified as a .455 might be because the .450 Adams cartridge was actually .455 caliber! (As was the .476 Enfield revolver cartridge, for that matter ...) So, if you ever did wish to fire the old girl, it would be entirely possible, using modest powered black powder loads made up from shortened .455 Webley cases.

The following diagrams of bullet and case dimensions for the early British service revolver cartridges, scanned from "The Webley Story", will nicely illustrate what I am saying - compare the casing dimensions (esp. at the case mouth) and bullet diameters ....

wbstrya.jpg


wbstryb.jpg


wbstryc.jpg


wbstryd.jpg
 
GrantR,
That'll work! I'm stuck in Northern B.C. at the moment on a drilling rig, but will measure the bore and chambers as soon as I get back home to Saskatchewan. That might be spring though.:( Perhaps burning a little powder through the old girl might not be out of line, esp since as an antique it apparantly isn't legally even a gun.
Dogleg
 
The problem with antique guns in Canada is that, although they may be exempt from registration, you still must comply with all other legal restrictions affecting that type of firearm - i.e. in the case of a handgun, that presumably includes storage, security, transportation restrictions, etc. There is a school of thought which holds that, because of the somewhat contradictory wording of some of these provisions, you can ignore them with respect to an "antique" pistol (i.e. that you shouldn't need an ATT, and can carry it without restriction, and can shoot it anywhere - not just an "approved range", etc.) However, as a lawyer, while I agree that such arguments can be made, I'm not convinced they'd be successful, which is what really counts!

Still, old guns like this can be a hoot to shoot! I only have two at present which are "antique" (an .476 Enfield NWMP revolver and a .450/.455 Webley "W.G. Target" revolver) but I've got some others which also shoot .455 rounds - both a MkV and a MkVI Webley, a Colt New Service, and my S&W Hand Ejector. I'm set up to load for them - brass is fairly readily available nowadays, Lee Precision make a very economical set of .455 loading dies, and "over-the-counter" bullets can be used (e.g. cast or swaged .454 bullets for .45 Colt and such will work, though perhaps not with optimum accuracy), though I also have a semi-custom mould which produces a close copy of the MkII .455 Webley bullet. So, if you think you'd like to get started with shooting the old gal, keep me in mind for advice and such....
 
Yes, it would probably be better to just follow the rules rather than trying to stretch the envelope. It could be fun to load up some ammo if it is as simple as trimming back some Webley cases. I sure wouldn't need many just to try it out.

Dogleg
 
Grant R wrote" There is a school of thought which holds that, because of the somewhat contradictory wording of some of these provisions, you can ignore them with respect to an "antique" pistol (i.e. that you shouldn't need an ATT, and can carry it without restriction, and can shoot it anywhere - not just an "approved range", etc.) However, as a lawyer, while I agree that such arguments can be made, I'm not convinced they'd be successful, which is what really counts!

Well me not being a Lawyer and not wanting to argue with one i would point out the regs say

*Antique firearms can be discharged where its legal to do so* It doesnt say *anywhere*
So if you can legaly shoot a firearm target shooting on crown land to site it in it follows the way its writen which is Vauge, that you could discharge an Antique firearm where you can discharge any modern firearm.
But being smart about it and being responsible is the right aproach :D
The big thing is they can be transported about without any permits or lience so to me Transporting can include alot of options. Do i want to be iresponsible and see how i would do in a court of law? Not really! ;)
 
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