Webley Pryse?

jethunter

jethunter

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Anyone have some knowledge or experience with these revolvers? I'm looking at a .476/.455 marked Webley Pryse with a +/- 5" bbl. I don't know much about them, hoping someone can answer a few questions. Are all the Webley Pryse (WP) revolvers antique, or are there models that are not antique? How shootable are they?

Thanks in advance!
 
I own one chambered in .450, I used to have one in .476/.455 and they are great shooters. I am more attached to the .450 as it was the one in better condition. Yes the webley pryse is an antique. I only us black powder in the cartridges in it as she an old revolver. Mine can get a 4-5 inch grouping at 20 yrds.
Hope this helps
 
I believe all of the Webley Pryse revolvers are antique. The one that I have is very accurate. My only problem with it is that with black powder, it tends to get fouling in the socket for the locking pins so that the little thumb levers don't close completely. With smokeless that would not be a problem.

cheers mooncoon
 
Price-wise, would you expect a .455 Webley Pryse to be worth more than a Webley Mk1 in the same condition, or about the same?
 
I have had about 6 Webley Pryses.
CFC Considers them all to be Pre 1898.
By Pryse i meen the guns with the two levers or paddles on each side of the action to keep the top closed.
A webley pryse and a webley MKI or MKII id expect to pay a few hunderd or more for the pryse.
There very nice looking guns and them two Paddles hoilding that action shut are strong.
I think the Webley no 4 pryse is the best made Pryse type gun.
Theres ALOT that look just like webleys but are Belgian knock offs from the same time period.
A Webley Pryse has No 4 stamped on it and the Side parts that come off the action to hold the Paddles are both Big on both sides on the paddle.
 
Thanks for the replies gentlemen, i've learned a fair bit.

Dingus, have you encountered any Belgian knock-offs that carried Webley markings (Webley flying bullet, "W & S"), or similar? And have you seen single action only #4s Or were they all double action?
 
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Webley also made guns which were sold under the name of other companies. My gun is labelled Wilkinson with their trade mark but I am sure was made by Webley and sold in the white to Wilkinson for finishing or possibly sold finished straight from the Webley factory labelled that way as a bulk sale to Wilkinson. Not unlike the guns that you see with the names of hardware stores on them as the apparent maker

cheers mooncoon
 
Here is the one I just made a deal on. Model 1886(i think) marked ".476/.455".

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It needs some cleaning and polishing, but described as excellent bore and mechanically sound. Not Webley marked, only "I. HOLLIS & SONS, LONDON" which is another one of the firms that retailed Webleys under their own name.

It's paid for and application sent off for the antique letter, now the waiting begins... :(
 
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jethunter said:
Here is the one I just made a deal on. Model 1886(i think) marked ".476/.455".

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It needs some cleaning and polishing, but described as excellent bore and mechanically sound. No Webley markings, "I. HOLLIS & SONS, LONDON" which is another one of the firms that retailed Webleys under their own name.

It's paid for and application sent off for the antique letter, now the waiting begins... :(
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I had one exactly like yours cept mine was 450 not 455/476
Looking at the length of your Cylinder it looks 450 to me its to short for a 455 loaded round.
If it is 455 then its just barely long enough for the round.
The 450 was a Shorter round all the Hollis Pryses i seen were 450 not 455/476.
You will know once its in your mits.

If its marked Hollis & sons it could be a webley frame tho hollis used both Belgian and webley frames.
There not Marked Webley tho as Hollis bought the bare frames then finished them himself then sold them under his name.
One thing you will notice theres no Sear pokeing out behind the Trigger,
Hollis used the same type of action a Webley MKI uses.
Thats why theres no sear pokeing out like you see on No 4 Webley pryses
Yes i have seen Belgian guns use a Type of flying bullet but not the Same as Webley.
I had a few belgian pryses that were as good as any Webley so it dont really mater.
If its marked Hollis its a decent quality Pryse.
 
Yeah I noticed the cylinder looks kinda stubby and I did ask the seller about it before we made the deal. He says it's marked .455/.476, and he's been 100% reliable in the past. But my bottom line was that either .455 or .450 will be fine with me.
 
The firearms tech finally got back to me about the antique letter i requested for this revolver - said it was "sticky" because I. Hollis & Sons made revolvers into the 1900s. Does anyone have or know of some reference material that covers this?
 
jethunter said:
The firearms tech finally got back to me about the antique letter i requested for this revolver - said it was "sticky" because I. Hollis & Sons made revolvers into the 1900s. Does anyone have or know of some reference material that covers this?
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I think all Pryse type Actions are Antique.
Yours is sticky because its not marked webley.
Hollis bought the actions from Webley but also bought Belgian receivers to.

I think your arguement should be that that type of latch design (the two Paddles) was not used after 1897.
They changed that type of latch back in the 1880s to use the one piece type Webley latch you see on all webleys from the MKI to the MKVI

Wilkinson changed to! he started with the two paddles then changed to the one piece webley type latch.

Try that arguement.
 
Unless it has belgian proofs on it, the gun was made in England and most probably by Webley. I think Webley supplied all of the Pryse style revolvers, in the white to makers like Wilkinson and Hollis for finish work and without Webley's name on them. Hollis would not have been buying and finishing obsolete guns in 1897.

cheers mooncoon
 
Theres lots of belgian Pryses around with English proofmarks that are made in Belgian.
I had 2 very nice Pryse revolvers that had London proofs on the barrels but were belgian made frames.
There was alot of tradeing going on between the two countrys gun makers.
 
Just a question - why are you waiting for the letter? You mean to take possession of the gun, or to go out and shoot it?

Correct me if i'm wrong, but the letter isn't a requirement - having published evidence printed off showing that particular model could not have been made after 1897, along with the regs/fact sheet should be more than enough to keep your gun out of the mitts of smokey. take that ol' beast out and put her through her paces! i just got myself a MkI webley this weekend and had it out the next day (given, it came with an antique letter, but my Belgian RIC didn't and i had her out too ;)). Post up some more pics of it once you get it, if you don't mind doing that!
 
dingus said:
Theres lots of belgian Pryses around with English proofmarks that are made in Belgian.
I had 2 very nice Pryse revolvers that had London proofs on the barrels but were belgian made frames.
There was alot of tradeing going on between the two countrys gun makers.
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Do you consider English pistols to be better/stronger than Belgians? Is there anything wrong with Belgian pistols? I have seen some for sale and I don't know what to think of them.
 
southwest maddog said:
Do you consider English pistols to be better/stronger than Belgians? Is there anything wrong with Belgian pistols? I have seen some for sale and I don't know what to think of them.
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Depends on the belgian gun makers. there were hunderds of belgian gun makers in the 1880s and some were not very good others were as good as any british gun makers even better.
you need to see who made it theres alot of very well made belgian guns i have a few there really well made others i wouldnt even shoot.
 
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