Reloading the .455 Webley/Colt

Considering the cost of the .455 cases, buying the correct dies will pay in th long run. I think the Lee dies use parts from the .45LC
 
lister said:
After reading around a bit it seems that some manuals say to drop one full grain of powder when going from the long .87inch case(MK1) to the shorter (MKII) case. So it makes sense that if I have load data for the shorter case I can add one grain to the range given and load the longer case.
Make sense?
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Be very careful with that kind of thinking!
I'd stick with the loads listed, regardless of the case size, considering that the factory MK2 loads have a muzzle velocity of 650 fps.
The Colt New Service is probably the only revolver that's strong enough to withstand hot .455 loads.
(many of the 455 Colt New Service revolvers had their cylinders reamed to accept 45 Colt)
Handloads.com has this to say.
http://www.handloads.com/loaddata/d...&Weight=All&type=Handgun&Order=Powder&Source=
Given the difference in the data, I'd definitely go 10% less powder to start then work my way up. KD
 
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455

I have been using 45 colt dies (I had them already) to size the brass and 45 ACP dies for the rest of the reloading process. The 45 ACP sizer can overwork the brass especially if you are like me and using old balloon head Dominion 455 Colt brass - 60 plus years old.
 
dixda said:
Be very careful with that kind of thinking!
I'd stick with the loads listed, regardless of the case size, considering that the factory MK2 loads have a muzzle velocity of 650 fps.
The Colt New Service is probably the only revolver that's strong enough to withstand hot .455 loads.
(many of the 455 Colt New Service revolvers had their cylinders reamed to accept 45 Colt)
Handloads.com has this to say.
http://www.handloads.com/loaddata/d...&Weight=All&type=Handgun&Order=Powder&Source=
Given the difference in the data, I'd definitely go 10% less powder to start then work my way up. KD
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Yeah, I know that kind of thinking can get you in trouble!;) Just wondering if you guys had seen that before.
I'm using a S&W 1st model hand-ejector (Triple Lock), not looking for hotloads by any means.
I'll check that link, thanks. Any other loads, keep 'em coming.
 
Does anybody know if a Dillon .45 Colt crimp die can be screwed down far enough to work on .455 cases?
 
In a pinch it sounds like the .45 acp dies will work but the price and scarcity of the .455 brass is it really worth it. I will just buy the correct dies and be done with it.
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New production hornady brass is readily available and pretty cheap for the .455 MKII
 
^^^^
that's what I have as well. Works well.

I loaded 2 slightly different batches. Haven't tried them yet, but here's what I have-
3.6gr. (range given-3.4-3.8gr) Bullseye, from Handloads.com, with a 265gr HBRN bullet.
I loaded the same for both batches, but I used 2 sets of brass-one set large pistol primer, the other small pistol primer. Looking forward to seeing if there's a noticable difference between the two.

Thanks for the help, and keep posting any loads you guys have tried.:)
 
For those interested-
I went and tried my small vs. large primer loads. No noticeable difference in performance. Both grouped nicely at 25 yrds. The group was a bit high to the left, but that's either me or my fixed sight Smith.:)
Time to load more.
 
I have had my best results with Unique, but they are low pressure loads. I am not sure how well Blue Dot would work , as I always thought that was a high pressure powder.
If you are loading the shorter cases, consider keeping the overall length the same as the long cases. That should result in almost identical case capacity. Might be possible for some bullets.
What are you using?
 
Copied from my post on the antique forums....
Finally got to loading up a few different bullet designs for my mkII Webley with 4" barrel and was a little shocked. I tried a BP roundball load a few weeks back and accuracy was terrrible. My latest loads were light smokeless loads.

Load #1. 265gr .454 HBRN webley bullet (from Ellwood Epps) in front of 5.5gr blue dot. Target shows rounds inside of 18-20" at 10 yards. Lots of unburned powder in barrel.

Load #2. 265gr mkII factory loaded headstamp 1931. Groups on target at 10-12" at 10 yards.

Load #3. 200gr cast keith style .452 SWC (from smokepole), lubed with my own toiletbowl beeswax lube mix, seated tight in front of 5.5gr bluedot. 6 shot group at 10 yards was 5 inside of 2.5" and a 6th flyer 3" left of that group. Lots of unburned powder in barrel though.
 
Thought I would consolidate some of my Webley reloading trials I have done in an appropriately titled thread:

Testing was with a chrony - ambient temps between 15 and 18 degrees C, again using Unique powder pushing both the 265 grain RNHB bullets and the 255 grain (cowboy style) FN bullet in the shorter Hornady/Fiocchi MKII Brass OAL 1.27 and 1.10 respectively. The 10 grain weight difference between the 2 bullets did not make an appreciable observed difference in speeds.

Average results were as follows:
4.9 grains of Unique powder -540 ft/sec calculated muzzle energy(based 265 grain bullet)-172 ft/lbs
5.2 grains of Unique - 620 ft/secs - 226 ft/lbs (approximates factory spec closest)
5.6 grain of Unique - 710 ft/sec - 297 ft/lbs (I don't advocate going here as this load exceeds factory spec but is well under proof load)

An interesting side note - using the longer Dominion MKI brass with same OAL slowed down bullet speed on average by 40 ft/sec.

I have also recently trialled a cast 180 grain hollowpoint sized to .454, OAL 1.10 with MKII brass with following results:

6 grain Unique shows average 740 ft/sec - 219ft/lbs
6.5 grain Unique average 825 ft/sec - 272 ft/lbs( again exceeds factory spec but is well under proof load)
 
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