Just picked up a nice War Finish Webley MkIV

I think most Enfields were skimpy on the fit and finish ;) None were marked as such. The No.2Mk!** was the cheapest model ever made, most were later upgraded to No.2MkI* as the ** model was deemed to not be safe enough for regular use ;)
 
Yes, that's exactly what it means. Though by WW2, the lead 200gr projectiles had been changed for a 178 - 180-grain (12 g) jacketed bullet.

The new round was known as the .380 Revolver Mk IIz, but they still marked the guns .38/200.

Interesting!:)

I suppose they never changed the designation because the cylinder and chambers were probably still designed for the 200 gr. bullet.
 
Well, I had it out to the range today. I brought hte camera, but hte batteries died before I could take a photo :( Shot some .38 S&W, some .380/200 and some .380MkIIz. The MkIIz was WW2 era stuff, lots of split cases, hard primers, hang fires, etc. Hard to gauge its accuracy as it was low-quality wartime stuff and the hangfires didn't help.

The .38 S&W probably shot the best as it was high-eng Winchester nickle-plated case stuff, unjacketed lead bullets.

The .38/200 shot almost as well as the .38S&W and was 1930's era Dominion made stuff.

Ultimately, I'll be into reloads using Winchester cases and cast bullets, probably SWC's.

Some of the ammo was corrosive so I had to partially disassemble the revolver and clean the cr@p out of it. In the process, I realized the cylinder lock is also stamped matching on the inside ;)
 
I just picked up the same one as claven2s,Mine has a higher serial # but in the same great shape,Can anyone give me a rough idea of the value?
 
War finish Webley

I also have one of these models, mine was the issue pistol of Flt Lt Hart Massey, of the RCAF, the pistol came to me c/w all the webbing, and appears to be unfired, Hart was engaged in the design of escape kits, and other stuff during WWII for downed air crew, and generally had an interesting war, regards Bully
 
Finish suffered on a LOT of wartime weapons, but Webley & Scott were the only ones who actally stamped WAR FINISH on their products. They were working at maximum speed and they didn't want anyone to think that what they were making was indcative of their normal peacetime practice.

Remember also, W&S did almost ALL the work on modding their basic small-frame revolver to MOD specs. The Army adopted the gun, then the Gummint announced that there would be NO production contract, that Enfield would make the guns! They did this in the '30s to ALL the manuacturers. Vickers Guns would be made at Enfield, also spare parts. Same for (BSA and Savage) Lewis Guns. Same for Colt and S&W revolvers, Colt automatics; EVERYTHING was to be done at the Government plant to save the Government money. There was a great deal of anti-arms-manufactuers feeling at that time: Merchants of Death and all that. The Government took advantage of that to save money and punich the evil-doers at the same time, forgetting conveniently that if the Government hadn't started the freakin' war in the first place, the gunmakers wouldn't have had a market! The CRUNCH came in 1940 when Rommel and Guderian rolled through France in 5-1/2 weeks, the toolroom at Enfield was trying to do absolutely EVERYTHING at the same time..... and the Long Room, where the rifles were built, had not been completely convertd from Number 1 manufacture to Number 4 manufacture.

What actually kept Britain IN the war was a single fact: BSA had kept an entire plant tooled up to build the Number 1 Rifle (SMLE) since 1918.... without a farthing of Government aid! The Government gave BSA exactly ZERO orders for rifles from the end of 1918 through to the Spring of 1940..... at which point they demanded a million rifles RIGHT NOW!!!!!!

But Webley & Scott (who also made the W&C Scott shotguns: equal in quality to any other maker's BEST guns) had been shafted regarding the revolver contract and they even got the shaft over repairs and parts for the guns they had built from 1887 through 1918. They had sued the Government for development costs and were awarded 300 pounds: HALF their actual machine-shop time cost, nothing for ideas and designs. And they got screwed on the manufacturing contract and they hadn't forgotten it. They were TICKED. So they made up a stamp for the super-rush War Two revolvers...... and it said WAR FINISH.

I have one myself and it is a lot of fun to shoot.

The load I am using is a.38S&W casing and a small primer with 2.1 (two-point-one) grains of Bullseye and a 158-grain cast SWC slug seated to the OAL of a Military BALL round (seated out). I have a W&S, a pre-Victory S&W, an Enfield No. 2 Mark I*, a Mark I** and have jus got a Mark I and this is what I feed them all. In the first 4, 6 rounds at 15 yards will give a 5-shot group under 2 inches with a single flier, all 4 guns. The original Mark I I have not shot yet; its turn is coming up later this week.

Hope this helps.
 
my grandfather

saw many webleys used in the second world war. he thought that they were outstanding. one of his tank commanders used one to shoot two germans off of his tank. His phrase for its effectiveness was "It knocked the pr!cks right down". My buddy has one that i have been in envy of for years. happy shooting claven
 
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