Webley .455 to .45 conversion??

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Forgive the question, but I have never had a .45 acp converted Webley to look at closely, nor .455 ammo to compare to 45 acp or AR.

To shoot 45 acp, is it just a matter of shaving the cylinder for moon clips or do the chambers need to be reamed too? Instead of shaving the cylinder for moon clips, what about using .45 AR?

Thanks for any info.
JB
 
Please note that I have no personal knowledge or experience to answer your question. However I have recently been doing some research myself, after seeing some .45acp Webley revolvers in the antique EE.

Please read the following:
hxxp://britishmilitariaforums.yuku.com/topic/9296/CAUTION--455-REVOLVERS-ALTERED--SHOOT-45-ACP--45-Auto-Rim#.Tu9emmD5mjU

Cheers
 
I don't know that it's a conversion I'd give serious consideration to. I have three 45 ACPs, two semi autos and a SA revolver and have fairly recently acquired a Mk. VI Webley in 455.

455WebleyMarkVI.jpg


There's a number of reasons why I'd be tempted to leave yours as is;
  • 1st, I don't see much to be gained as they're pretty close.
  • 2nd, Hornady 455 brass is available, as are dies and with a l;ittle scrounging, appropriate bullets.
  • 3rd, last but not least, the bore diameter difference between the two calibers and I think would have an adverse effect on the conversions accuracy.
 
I wouldn't alter an original gun. As with other antique items, an original gun is almost always more valuable and collectable than one that is modified.

.455 ammo also is available. I've been shooting the Fiocchi factory ammo (with good results so far) and also bought a set of Lee dies for reloading. Wholesale Sports has the Lee anniversary reloading kits on sale right now, which makes getting into reloading relatively inexpensive. They don't have the .455 dies, but other retailers have them. Various sellers have the brass and bullets.

Since I'm rather fond of my hands and eyes, I would not shoot factory .45 ACP ammo in a Webley. So if one has to reload anyway, why not reload .455?
 
Don't modify your .455 webley.
go buy fiocchi .455 factory ammo, or dominion if you want to shoot factory.
You should go buy the reloading materials for .455, hollow based bullets are optimal.
 
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Johnn Peterson said:
I don't know that it's a conversion I'd give serious consideration to. I have three 45 ACPs, two semi autos and a SA revolver and have fairly recently acquired a Mk. VI Webley in 455.

I've got one them .455's in a semi auto!:evil:

To the original poster, as others have posted: Don't do it! Not worth the time or money. If you don't reload, or know somebody who does, Take that saved gunsmithing money & stockpile the factory stuff that's available now... Save the brass & sell it on the E/E
Click to expand...
 
DANCESWITHEMPTIES said:
Johnn Peterson said:
I don't know that it's a conversion I'd give serious consideration to. I have three 45 ACPs, two semi autos and a SA revolver and have fairly recently acquired a Mk. VI Webley in 455.

I've got one them .455's in a semi auto!:evil:

To the original poster, as others have posted: Don't do it! Not worth the time or money. If you don't reload, or know somebody who does, Take that saved gunsmithing money & stockpile the factory stuff that's available now... Save the brass & sell it on the E/E
Click to expand...

:)That's not an item you come across every day. I've seen a few at local gun shows over the years, very few.
Click to expand...
 
I wouldn't bother with a conversion - with antiques, you can sell your original and buy a shaved 45acp gun and have money left over. If you convert your gun you lose the money you spend paying for the work and the value of the gun is decreased, so it hits you two times.
 
The cyliner is shaved, no reaming needed.

You shouldn't shoot full power .45acp in the webley .45acp conversions. I think someone already gave a link to follow for a full explaination, but the reason is that the MKI/II webleys were designed for the .455 cartridge, having a max pressure rating of approx 12,000 psi. Most factory .45acp runs 17,000+ psi. You should only shoot downloaded .45acp in the webley conversions, and therefore you need to reload to do that, so you may as well reload .455 webley as .45acp.

In canada doing the conversion won't affect current value, although it could affect future value. Currently the converted pieces are actually worth about the same or even a bit more than the unconverted revolvers because the market here is for shooters, not collectors. I doubt this will change in the near future but one thing we do know for sure is that you can't make it original again after you modify it.

There are a bunch of .45acp webley revolvers around. Sell yours and buy a .45acp converted revolver if you want to have a .45acp would be less expensive and you'd be saving one more original .455 webley from being desecrated.
 
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always reload if you have a .45 acp webley.

i saved these pics from a post here a while back, Remember......light loads!!!

2md09b4.jpg


2khw15.jpg
 
I've shot my .45 ACP converted Webley, but only with hand loads. DON'T use factory loaded .45ACP. I wouldn't convert a .455. Keep it the way it is. I'd reload to cut costs and save your face and gun. They still make factory .455 though.
 
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