Fiocchi Webley 455 Ammo - any good?
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I got a chance to chrony a couple of boxes of factory Fiocchi 455. It was a consistent 573 feet/sec at 10 ft, with very little variation. As I suspected, it's not as particularly hot as everyone on the web would lead you to believe. The original MKII spec round had a similar 265 grain RBHB lead projectile propelled at 630 ft/sec . That resulted in a relatively anemic 225ft/lbs of muzzle energy. Generally the Fiocchi round has poor penetration, little over an inch in a soft Poplar tree. It has a relatively soft coated lead bullet that won't break a part(there is just not enough energy). I would be surprised if it managed 4-5 inches into ballistics gel. Fiocchi 455 is not a self defence reliable round(if that is what the OP is asking). I will speculate that the perception of hot ammo is mostly from the felt recoil of the large projectile.
If your looking for a nasty paper puncher and real "hot loads" for your Webley you will need to reload.
Try the Lyman Devestator bullet mould that produces 180 grain hollow point bullet sized to .454 inches ready to fire out of your favourite Webley. Assuming some relatively soft lead (20:1 lead/tin). 180 grain HP pill , OAL 1.10 with MKII brass and 6 grain Unique shows average 740 ft/sec, while it had good penetration the retrieved bullets only showed mild expansion, .52 -.6 inches diameter ( at minimum a 50 cal hole ).Original 12,000 psi pressure rated MKI-II revolves should be able to easily accommodate this load.
6.5 grain brought the speed up to an average of 825 ft/sec or alternatively stated 17.5% (~2,000 psi)above standard Webley 455 pressures= 455+1/3P (don't play with this load unless your willing to damage your gun or yourself)
Bottom picture illustrates the significantly improved expansion at .7-.85 inches. . Penetration was very good - 24 inches of water (four 6 inch water filled milk jugs) which is apparently equivalent to approximately 12 inchs of ballistics gel.
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