Webley WG

jethunter

jethunter

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Been searching for a long time and finally I have a new to me webley WG, chambered in .455/.476. Bore slugs to .455" and it chambers S&W Schofield cartridges just fine. Overall excellent condition except for some fore and aft play in the cylinder. Rotational lock up is excellent.

The revolver is marked "Army and Navy CSL" and it came with a cool old service holster that I assume is British officer's kit.

I'll post some pictures for the webley addicts this evening. :D
 
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All WGs ive owned had play like that in that type of cylinder retaining cams.
I think its normal.
nice gun, thats a keeper!
 
dingus said:
All WGs ive owned had play like that in that type of cylinder retaining cams.
I think its normal.
nice gun, thats a keeper!
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It is a beauty alright. I can't see any wear on the cylinder retaining pieces at all, looks like it's actually made that way but i wasn't sure. Thanks for the info!
 
Ser# is 14###, which I think makes it 1896 or 1897 manufacture. Webley manufactured WG revolvers in both round (bird head) and square butt variations concurrently. Before I found this one, I looked at a round butt type WG that I wanted badly until I found out it was made in 1899.
 
Mine is ser 11### http://s1121.photobucket.com/albums/l507/Mr9Guns/?action=view&current=WG.jpg I believe made in that 1896-1897 timeframe as well I do have an antique status letter for it. Mine doesn't have the Army Navy CSL marking on the top but it has a marking saying "WG" Army Mosel on the left side of the topstrap. Not entirely sure what the difference is. Very nice guns pleasent to shoot if you can get ammo for them.
 
The markings on mine just mean that Webley wholesaled it to a retailer by the name of . Army & Navy CSL. They were a retailer who sold a lot of kit to British army officers who had to buy their own uniforms and sidearms back then.
 
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9Guns said:
... Very nice guns pleasent to shoot if you can get ammo for them.
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Unaltered .45 S&W Schofield chambers and shoots fine in mine. That's a reloading proposition but a real easy one. .45 S&W brass is easy to get or make from .45 colt brass. .454" bullets meant for the old Colt Single Action Army are easier and less costly to buy than the HB webley bullet and shoot well in mine. I paid about $120 for 1000 soft cast bullets, including shipping.

I have 3 unaltered webleys that accept the thicker .45 colt/S&W rim - a MKI .455 (had to shorten the brass a bit), RIC .476, and this WG .455/.476.

The .45S&W gets an honest 100-150 fps velocity gain over the .455 webley MKII at the same pressure level. My .45 S&W load is hitting 870 fps in this 6" WG, at only 11,000 psi peak pressure.
 
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braun said:
Jethunter, what's your load?
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6.5 gr Unique, .45 S&W Schofield case (STARLINE), 250 gr .455" (unsized .454 soft cast bullet), CCI primer. COAL= 1.255". Quickload estimates 11,300 psi.

Note that this load is for the .45 S&W Schofield cartridge ONLY and should not be used in either .455 Webley brass or the .45acp/autorim brass.
 
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jethunter said:
6.5 gr Unique, .45 S&W case, 250 gr .455" (unsized .454 soft cast bullet), CCI primer. COAL= 1.255". Quickload estimates 11,300 psi..

Note that this load is for the .45 S&W Schofield cartrige ONLY and should NOT be used in .455 Webley brass or the .45acp/autorim brass intended for use in antique webley revolvers, as they will produce much higher pressure in these cartridges.
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Longer cases are working fine for me too. Mine being a 45acp Mk1 Webley, 45 win mag brass shortened to 1" is used, the extractor groove on these cases can be put into modified moon clips. The 1" length was determined by cylinder measurement, you don't want the case mouths butting into the cylinder taper.

This one gets shot a fair bit, so my interest is in keeping pressures way down.
2400 does well for accuracy, 10.5 grains with a .454"/250/swc about equals original ballistics with soft pressures and some unburned powder left in the bore. 11 grains delivers low 700's fps with nice accuracy, thats as high as I'll push it though.
Have try'd the 2400, reduced to 9.5-10gr, in acp and ar brass, but it is not as good on target as unique.

One thing about the bulky slow burners ... a double charge ain't gonna go un-noticed, the overflow will litter the load block.
 
Army and Navy Co-Operative Society Limited sold just about any item of military and/or sporting kit, mostly to officers far, far from home. You see a few rifles and even shotguns with their address on the things. At one time you could buy just about anything you wanted through them, from a shaving kit and a soap dish to a Burberry coat, with any kind of firearm you could ask thrown in for good measure. Must have been wonderful, all that stuff coming from Home when a chappie was posted on the North West Frontier. Fortnum and Mason did much the same thing for the troops, just with quality preserves and jams and coffees and so forth, as did (and does) Harrod's.

Neat thing was that all this stuff was MAILED..... and nobody got killed. Imagine ordering a shotgun with 500 rounds, a revolver with 250 and a rifle with 500 rounds, along with 10 pounds of Stilton cheese and a dozen pots of jam...... and having it actually GET THERE!!!!

Clearly, the 19th Century knew something which we have forgotten.

BTW, Jethunter, that is one beautiful toy! Russet leather holster argues for military spec. A slather of Kiwi and a wipe with a polishing cloth will have it looking as good as the gun. Is it marked in any way? Keeper, for sure.
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Thanks Smellie. I didn't notice any markings on the holster but i didn't look very closely either. I'm away from home working so a closer inspection will have to wait a while.

Do you know if this holster is the right type to be period correct for when the revolver was made, in about 1896 or 1897? The references I have seen refer to similar holsters as "Mk6" holsters. Do you know if that is a reference to the MKVI webley service revolver or something else?

I will polish the holster but i want to give it a light cleaning first, probably just a wipe with a damp cloth wetted in soapy water to remove surface soiling, and let it dry well before applying the polish. The leather is in very nice condition if it's over 100 years old, in fact the whole rig looks to have been cared for very well over the years. Too bad it can't talk and tell us where it has been.
 
jethunter said:
T

I will polish the holster but i want to give it a light cleaning first, probably just a wipe with a damp cloth wetted in soapy water to remove surface soiling, and let it dry well before applying the polish. The leather is in very nice condition if it's over 100 years old, in fact the whole rig looks to have been cared for very well over the years. Too bad it can't talk and tell us where it has been.
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You might want to use saddle soap for cleaning old leather - it's a very mild soap that contains natural oils and moisturizers that help prevent the leather from cracking/splitting. Regular soap tends to dry out leather..

Any shoe repair place should have it in stock.
 
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