Do you own a 455 Webley?
- Thread starter CanAm
- Start date
Reloading .455
Fiocchi still make MkII .455 cartridges, and they seem to sell in the US in the $35 to $45 range foir a box of 50 rounds .... Hornady now also make it - here's a Cabela's listing for it at US$17.99 for 20 rounds -
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0037464215974a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=webley&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=webley&noImage=0
Don't know if anyone in Canada is importing any of this current-production stuff, or might be induced to do so, but I imagine that the price would be pretty steep! (Saw one Canadian listing for a 50-round box of Fiocchi .455 cartridges, apparently 1980's production and being sold as "collectible' for $175.00!)
Unless CanAm actually does arrange to get .455 ammo for us Canucks, as already mentioned by John Sukey if you want to shoot your revolvers much you'll have to set up to reload for 'em. The loading dies will be the least expensive part, actually, because Lee-Precision make a decent set of .455 carbide dies which is readily available (for example, price from Wholesale Sports is $32.99.)
New Hornady cases can be obtained from Buffalo Arms in Idaho (owner Dave Gullo is an ex-pat Canadian, apparently, and gladly ships north of the border) - http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,3862.html
Nobody is making the longer MkI Webley/.455 Colt cases at present, but Buffalo Arms does sell them made from .45 Colt cases (which involves thinning the rim from the front, as well as shortening them, so it definitely isn't an easy home project for most folks) - http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,414.html
Lead bullets for .45 Colt (preferably .454" diameter and in the 250gr. weight range, cast as soft as possible) work quite well in .455 revolvers. Remington currently produce a fairly inexpensive ($13/100) swaged .455" 250gr. bullet, though buying them via 'mailorder' could prove pricey, I guess. Here's the Buffalo Arms listing for those - http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,413.html
FWIW, Buffalo also sell the correct Webley-style 'long-nose' hollowbase 265 gr. .455" bullet - but they aren't cheap ($23.25/50) - http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,4141.html
That bullet is cast by a limited-production RCBS mould -
It is not cheap (currently over US$100) but I have one to help feed my numerous (ten or more) .455 revolvers ..... Buffalo Arms listing - http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,5323.html
Here's a picture of bullets from that mould, together with some cartridges as follows (left to right) -
- Factory load .455 Mark II.
- Factory load .455 Mk I (in this case, actually a Dominon .455 Colt cartridge - but that is really just a North American commercial designation for the Mk I cartridge.)
- reload in a Dominion .455 MkI/Colt case, bullet from the RCBS mould.
- reload in a .455 MkI/Colt case formed from .45 Colt brass, same bullet.
(Since taking that picture, I have acquired a bunch of the Hornady MkII brass, but don't yet have a photo of any loads using it.)
Fiocchi still make MkII .455 cartridges, and they seem to sell in the US in the $35 to $45 range foir a box of 50 rounds .... Hornady now also make it - here's a Cabela's listing for it at US$17.99 for 20 rounds -
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0037464215974a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=webley&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=webley&noImage=0
Don't know if anyone in Canada is importing any of this current-production stuff, or might be induced to do so, but I imagine that the price would be pretty steep! (Saw one Canadian listing for a 50-round box of Fiocchi .455 cartridges, apparently 1980's production and being sold as "collectible' for $175.00!)
Unless CanAm actually does arrange to get .455 ammo for us Canucks, as already mentioned by John Sukey if you want to shoot your revolvers much you'll have to set up to reload for 'em. The loading dies will be the least expensive part, actually, because Lee-Precision make a decent set of .455 carbide dies which is readily available (for example, price from Wholesale Sports is $32.99.)
New Hornady cases can be obtained from Buffalo Arms in Idaho (owner Dave Gullo is an ex-pat Canadian, apparently, and gladly ships north of the border) - http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,3862.html
Nobody is making the longer MkI Webley/.455 Colt cases at present, but Buffalo Arms does sell them made from .45 Colt cases (which involves thinning the rim from the front, as well as shortening them, so it definitely isn't an easy home project for most folks) - http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,414.html
Lead bullets for .45 Colt (preferably .454" diameter and in the 250gr. weight range, cast as soft as possible) work quite well in .455 revolvers. Remington currently produce a fairly inexpensive ($13/100) swaged .455" 250gr. bullet, though buying them via 'mailorder' could prove pricey, I guess. Here's the Buffalo Arms listing for those - http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,413.html
FWIW, Buffalo also sell the correct Webley-style 'long-nose' hollowbase 265 gr. .455" bullet - but they aren't cheap ($23.25/50) - http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,4141.html
That bullet is cast by a limited-production RCBS mould -
It is not cheap (currently over US$100) but I have one to help feed my numerous (ten or more) .455 revolvers ..... Buffalo Arms listing - http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,5323.html
Here's a picture of bullets from that mould, together with some cartridges as follows (left to right) -
- Factory load .455 Mark II.
- Factory load .455 Mk I (in this case, actually a Dominon .455 Colt cartridge - but that is really just a North American commercial designation for the Mk I cartridge.)
- reload in a Dominion .455 MkI/Colt case, bullet from the RCBS mould.
- reload in a .455 MkI/Colt case formed from .45 Colt brass, same bullet.
(Since taking that picture, I have acquired a bunch of the Hornady MkII brass, but don't yet have a photo of any loads using it.)
A Webley and a New Service (ok, it says 455 Eley, but still). Great old guns. - dan
For all practical purposes (i.e. very small, and somewhat variable, differences in length, etc.) .455 Webley MkI, .455 Eley and .455 Colt are the same cartridge ....
".455 Eley" was a British commercial designation, and ".455 Colt" was a North American commercial designation ... (The Dominion Cartridge Co. marketed their loads as ".455 Colt", rather than using either the "Webley" or "Eley" designation. I have one or two old Dominion cartridge boxes at home .... if memory serves they say, in smaller print, that the cartridges are suitable for revolvers marked with the other designations.)
Also, all British .455 service revolvers introduced after the adoption of the shorter MkII cartridge (i.e. the Mk IV, V and VI Webley revolvers) were for obvious logistical reasons intentionally chambered to accept the longer MKI cartridge. As an aside, commercial models marked .476/.455 will accept both MkI and MkII cartridges, but with only rare exceptions those marked .450/.455 will accept only the shorter MkII service cartridge.
There is a guy in Alberta who is now a dealer for Fiocchi. He stocks .455, nagant revolver ammo, 7.63 luger and a couple of others. He had a table at the recent Vernon show. I seem to remember around $50-60 a box, but I wasn't paying too much attention, since I don't have a Webley yet, (I want one thought).
I don't think he has a website, but trades under the name of Eagle City Trading Post. I have a card with his phone number is someone wants more details
I don't think he has a website, but trades under the name of Eagle City Trading Post. I have a card with his phone number is someone wants more details
