Webley Mk 2 what smokeless is best?

Ranches

New member
Rating - 100%
17   0   0
Location
Southern Alberta
I have a Webley mk. 2, 2star, 6" barrel 455 cal. , and a webley mk.2 , 4" barrel 45 ACP . Both guns and bores in very good condition.Looking for G/N expertise on best load and bullet for each for max. hitting power but still safe . Thanks for any input.
 
I have two loads, both use 6grs. of Blue Dot.
One uses the mk1 length case with a 265gr swaged soft lead semi wadcutter hollowbase projectile, the other is a mk2 case with 210gr roundnose hollowbase projectile. Both are sized .452" I've found the blue dot gives a bit better load density and less of a pressure spike than the Unique.
They both crony about 650fps out of my 4" barreled mk2 with mk4 upper. The 210gr with mk2 case should reach close to 700fps when I'm done with load development.
 
Unique. It's pretty hard to beat IMO for this type of application. Just make sure you don't compress it. Trailboss and Unique will both pressure spike hard if they are compressed. In fact most of the pistol powders will - 700X, Bullseye, etc.

Also be sure you understand the difference between loads for .45acp used in a webley and 455 MKII loads used in a webley. The load data is not interchangeable. Sadly, quite a few people have not grasped this concept, but it is the equivalent of using 30-06 load data in a .308 casing. The Hornady manufactured MKII 455 webley brass has about 10%-15% less powder capacity than the 45 acp or 45 autorim.

Using the 265 gr HB bullet, Quickload predicts the following pressures:
5.0 gr Unique in the 45acp case = 12,500 psi.
5.0 gr. Unique in the Horrnady MKII 455 case = 18,000 psi
4.4 gr Unique in the Hornady MKII 455 case = 13,000 psi.

Both your revolvers were designed for the 455 webley cartridge which has a max pressure rating of 13,000 psi. Shooting hotter loads will damage your gun over time. They are tough old beasts but they will shoot loose if you get too wild with the loads.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom