When the Dealer Calls...

[2ndovc]

And says" Hey this guy just brought in a Webley. You want it?"

An hour later I'm on my way home with a really dirty, gummed up Webley MK IV.
It spent the weekend in a bucket of mineral spirits ( without the grips, of course). After a little more scrubbing
with a toothbrush and some Hoppe's it was working like new with a mirror bore. Finish is typical for
the WWII Mk IVs and it's all matching numbers. All for the heavy price of $225.





Shoots great with the Winchester 145 Gr LRN I have for just this type of occasion.

jb

[rjohns94]

Awesome

[Sixgun]

A deuce and a quarter? Not bad. One thing about the English guns.....they are a bit ugly (nothing personal Jason ) but they last and are true battle guns.

Whomever designed the Webley and the Enfield bolt gun sure had nothing to do with their beautiful double barreled shotguns.----6

[2ndovc]

You're absolutely right Jack. It's amazing how they can build some of the most beautiful firearms ever made and then make some of the most utilitarian looking shooters out there. However to my eye an Enfield No1 MKIII is one of the classiest looking rifles of all time. But that's just me.



jb

[Blaine]

So....is that a .45acp conversion, or the real one?

[2ndovc]

So....is that a .45acp conversion, or the real one?

The Mark IV's are .38 S&W Or 38 145/200 in the British designation.
I'd love to pick up another MK VI in .455, that's one I really regret letting go.

jb

[J Miller]

Jason,

That's a very nice pistol, always wanted one.

I realize this wasn't a Webley, but it was the same caliber.
I once had an early WW II S&W pre K frame with a 6" barrel chambered for 38 S&W. Other than factory ammo there was no bullets made that fit the .360" bore diameter of the pistol. In an article, I don't remember where it came from, it said to use the 148 gr target bullets sized to .358" in the .38 S&W.
So I got a brilliant idea. Since the grove dia was .360" I used the 148 gr HB WC bullet seated out to the same length as the factory ammo over a charge of Unique. The idea was that the skirt on the HB bullet would expand and make up for the difference between the bullet and grove diameter. Load data from an old Lyman manual.
It was a very accurate load with no leading, and hit to the sights of the old S&W.
Might be something to try with all those empty cases.

Joe

[Sixgun]

Dang! You really like those Enfields!

I remember back when you were just a little tyke.....late eighties or so......that dealers were selling new in the cosmoline packaging Enfields for like 2 c-notes. These were not rebuilds but new guns. Should have bought a dozen of them but back in those days I was barely able to afford beer money.----6

[Blaine]

So....is that a .45acp conversion, or the real one?

The Mark IV's are .38 S&W Or 38 145/200 in the British designation.
I'd love to pick up another MK VI in .455, that's one I really regret letting go.

jb

I guess I flunked Brit 101

[2ndovc]

So....is that a .45acp conversion, or the real one?

The Mark IV's are .38 S&W Or 38 145/200 in the British designation.
I'd love to pick up another MK VI in .455, that's one I really regret letting go.

jb

I guess I flunked Brit 101

Like 6 says, I was just a snot nosed kid when I started buying British surplus in the late '80s. Bought my first No. 4 when I was 13 or 14 from a guy in a Kmart parking lot. Imagine what would happen these days if I did something like that..
I had a couple dozen at one time. Kept the best and probably bought another Winchester.

jb

[gamekeeper]

When I worked for Westley Richards in Birmingham UK we sold Webley revolvers as well as other handguns, now thanks to apathetic British shooters who didn't stand up to be counted, those days are long gone.
I occasionally help out my local dealer, who can legally buy and sell "prohibited weapons" mainly for deactivation Only a few gun dealers can do this and require a license from the government called section 5, luckily I still get to fire various handguns and full auto stuff but being able to just go out and buy a bargain Webley like that Mk IV.is not possible and possession of one would get me 5 years in prison.
I'm not going to preach to the choir "here" but freedom is worth fighting for, using every possible means, whether it takes time or money or both, sadly I fear, most gun owners will be as apathetic as the Brits were.
Anyway, enjoy that Webley and put a few rounds down range for me

[AJMD429]

When I worked for Westley Richards in Birmingham UK we sold Webley revolvers as well as other handguns, now thanks to apathetic British shooters who didn't stand up to be counted, those days are long gone.
I occasionally help out my local dealer, who can legally buy and sell "prohibited weapons" mainly for deactivation Only a few gun dealers can do this and require a license from the government called section 5, luckily I still get to fire various handguns and full auto stuff but being able to just go out and buy a bargain Webley like that Mk IV.is not possible and possession of one would get me 5 years in prison.
I'm not going to preach to the choir "here" but freedom is worth fighting for, using every possible means, whether it takes time or money or both, sadly I fear, most gun owners will be as apathetic as the Brits were.
Anyway, enjoy that Webley and put a few rounds down range for me

If every one of the 80 million gun owners would vote for Trump he's win by a landslide, but you are right, and they won't. Disgusting.

[2ndovc]

Jason,

That's a very nice pistol, always wanted one.

I realize this wasn't a Webley, but it was the same caliber.
I once had an early WW II S&W pre K frame with a 6" barrel chambered for 38 S&W. Other than factory ammo there was no bullets made that fit the .360" bore diameter of the pistol. In an article, I don't remember where it came from, it said to use the 148 gr target bullets sized to .358" in the .38 S&W.
So I got a brilliant idea. Since the grove dia was .360" I used the 148 gr HB WC bullet seated out to the same length as the factory ammo over a charge of Unique. The idea was that the skirt on the HB bullet would expand and make up for the difference between the bullet and grove diameter. Load data from an old Lyman manual.
It was a very accurate load with no leading, and hit to the sights of the old S&W.
Might be something to try with all those empty cases.

Joe

Thanks Joe!
I did something similar with a Martini Cadet rifle that had been re-bored to .357 but it slugged out to .360 as well. The hollow base bullets did fairly well but I ended up having it re-barreled to .25-20 which has been a great little rifle. Which reminds me that I haven't shot that one in awhile. I see a range trip coming!

jb

[Pete44ru]

.

That surely qualifies you as a firearms EMT - great grab/work !


.

[Bill in Oregon]

I have had a couple of those over the years. They responded well to 200-grain bullets, for which the sights seemed to have been regulated. You did very well to get one with a great bore for $225.

[JohndeFresno]

To me, those Webleys are tres cool; especially the .455's.

I purchased a Mk VI from a Monterey, CA pawn shop in 1966 while I was in the Service - way before the Internet and instant information - thinking that it fired .45 ACP fodder. I sold it back the same week to the same pawn shop at a significant loss because there was no ammo to be had. I wonder how many other unsuspecting young soldiers that pawnbroker bilked? I suspect that he got his reward in the end.

Wish I had it now. Congratulations on your great purchase!

[Grizz]

I bought a webley thru the mail, delivered to my home, sometime in the 60s, before I had a crop of peach fuzz. Someone sold it after I left home before I could retrieve it.

I think, or thought, that the break action was for the horse riders so they could empty it at a gallop. True?

Wish I had that one back, along with . . . oh well.

[Merle]

And says" Hey this guy just brought in a Webley. You want it?"

An hour later I'm on my way home with a really dirty, gummed up Webley MK IV.
It spent the weekend in a bucket of mineral spirits ( without the grips, of course). After a little more scrubbing
with a toothbrush and some Hoppe's it was working like new with a mirror bore. Finish is typical for
the WWII Mk IVs and it's all matching numbers. All for the heavy price of $225.





Shoots great with the Winchester 145 Gr LRN I have for just this type of occasion.

jb

My Enfield really like the Magtech 146 gr - shoots to the sights at 25 ft or so.

[Ysabel Kid]

So....is that a .45acp conversion, or the real one?

The Mark IV's are .38 S&W Or 38 145/200 in the British designation.
I'd love to pick up another MK VI in .455, that's one I really regret letting go.

jb

+1

I have one in .38 S&W, but have always wanted one in .455!

Congrats Jason!!!

[1894c]

nice find, i love shooting those pistols... :)

[Rusty]

Didn't the Brits call them the .38/200? Same as our .38 S&W.

[Merle]

Didn't the Brits call them the .38/200? Same as our .38 S&W.

Yes they did, but only the earliest 00 gr lead bullet. There was some foolishness about the Hague Convention, so they developed a 178 gr FMJ, which they called the 380 MK 2.