colt new service

[bps540]

recently unearthed a colt new service in 455 eley.
it has a 5 1/2 " barrel, smooth wooden grips, & a highly polished blue finish.
this revolver is in beautifull condition with a 5 digit serial #(68***)
i'm not familiar with the 455 eley cartridge or this old revolver, can you gentlemen enlighten me?

 

[green]

Produced c1914-15. Colt made about 60000 NS in .455" Eley (Webley) cal 1914-17 for British Empire. Would originally have checkered hard rubber grips.

 

[NAA]

Colt New Service

Nice find... I know where there is an original Colt New Service in .45 Colt with 5 1/2" barrel that is RCMP marked for sale... pricey but another nice piece for collectors of RCMP stuff or just nice old Colt double action wheelguns...

 

[dan belisle]

I have pretty much the same revolver, 455 Eley (sometimes called 455 Colt) is basically another version of the 455 Webley (you can use Webley ammo in it). Mine has both British army cavalry proofs and RFC proofs (it got around, I guess). - dan

 

[John Sukey]

Mine is marked to a lt. in the Royal Engineers.
I don't shoot it much because it hurts my hand due to the shape of the grips.

 

[GrantR]

I'm with John: of my various .455 revolvers, the Colt New Service is the "least favorite", due to poor feel/fit in the hand. The Webleys are the "coolest", with the MkVI Webley being the nicest of all to shoot, though the S&W Hand Ejector comes close in that department ....

 

[OLD RSM]

Grant
I think the same way I have the 3 Revolvers as well. Webley Mk6, S&W Mk2 Hand Ejector and Colt New Service
Cheers Gerry

 

[Lee Enfield]

I suspect the John & GrantR don't have manly length fingers? ;-)

My belief is that the Colt was designed for mounted use while wearing Cavalry gauntlets. My opinion is that unlike most guns requiring oversize grips (ie the Smiths) the Colt is perfect...

I extensively shot pins with my 2nd model Smith & a pair of my .45 Colt New Services (they figured that a "new york reload" was cheating;-). I found that the application of a Tyler T-Grip made most of my issues go away with the Colt (the Pakmeyers suck).

While the cylinder latch of the Colt tends to make an impression upon my thumb, the Smith just cut it to the point of drawing blood...

For me, the Smith IS downright painfull with factory 255gr .45Colt & original grips.

Regards D

 

[John Sukey]

That's odd, cause my Smith in .455 is fun to shoot.

 

[Lee Enfield]

That's odd, cause my Smith in .455 is fun to shoot.

Ah.... .455 @ 650'/sec
Try it in .45 Colt 255gr @825, you might change your mind...

One of the guys shot pins with his MkVI Webley .455 with WWII Ball.

The bullet didn't finish penetrating the plastic covering. He kept the pin for his mantle. It has a hollow base protruding from just off dead centre....

D

 

[John Sukey]

People aren't made of plastic.

 

[hoote]

455 comments

Like the cartridge. Fun to shoot. Hornaday has apparently made a run of solid head brass which will make reloading a lot safer than old Dominion baloon head stuff. Made a find a few years ago when a local guy made a trip to England and brought me back 200 rds of solid head MKII brass (shorter than 455 Colt). Small charges of smokeless powder burn much better in the smaller case. Hornady also makes a very soft 255 grn. lead bullet sized .454 which works very well. RCBS makes a hollow base 265 grn. mould that duplicates the original design. Favorite gun - one of the first 1500 guns shipped by Smith to England in 1914, Smith Triple Lock in minty condition.