My British "fun guns" Enfield and Mk VI revolver

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Checkman

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Well here are my British "Castoffs". The rifle is a BSA SMLE Mk III* (mfd. 1916) that was sporterized by Bubba. The Webley Mk VI was manufactured in 1925 and is a 45 acp conversion, but it works and it's in very good shape considering it's age.

So what's up with this motley display you ask. Well I like both of them. Yes I own a very nice milspec Lithgow SMLE Mk III* (mfd. 1918) and I have many S&W revolvers that were manufactured in the past thirty-five years.

But these two pieces just appeal to me. You can imagine them being used by some hunter in the Michigan Upper Peninsula during the early fifties. A working man driving a twenty year old pickup getting his deer meat to feed his family. They aren't pretty and they aren't "sleek" but they work. Even if they aren't American made.

Or perhaps they are being used by a British grower in Kenya during the Mau Mau Uprising. Not as well off as his neighbors, but a man determined not to be taken down without a fight. Or perhaps his counterpart in Malaysia during the Communist Uprising.

Just imagine the Sporterized Mk III* as oneof the Lee Speed sporters.

Anyway I like them. Thought I would just share.
 

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Oh you read my mind. I can already hear the John Williams score. Just don't expect me to type it.
 
I'm proving my nerd-ness here, but a webley makes me think immortal, time-travelling Eagle Squadron pilot.
 

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Absolutely. Torchwood is great. It might be British, but it's still great. Along with Dr. Who. Nerds of the world unite.
 
Checkman, I like what seems to be one of the points of your post: when you need a weapon, the weapon to hand is not neccesarilly the weapon of choice... but on the right hands it can get the job done.
 
I use full moon clips in my Webley. Even faster. Although I mostly used 45 auto rim rime for the right feel. Too bad most of these guns have been modded to 45 acp.

webley.jpg
 
matt87

Checkman, I like what seems to be one of the points of your post: when you need a weapon, the weapon to hand is not neccesarilly the weapon of choice... but on the right hands it can get the job done.
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Thanks matt. I'm actually a big fan of British firearms. Despite your country's recent domestic policies regarding firearms I like much about England - even if I don't always understand your country. :confused:

Rest assured if I had a spare 85,000 British Pounds laying around I'd buy a Westley-Richards double rifle in a heart beat or pehaps a Purdy bolt action. But I spent my last 100,000 Pounds a few weeks ago so I'll have to wait until my next Payday. ;)

I have actually been inspired to creat a fictional English character thanks to my British firearms. He has the last name of Rigby ( I grew up in the small town of Rigby, Idaho) and is an Inspector in the Kenyan Colonial Police during the Mau Mau Uprising. He's older and is a veteran of both the Western Front and was an "auxie" during the Irish Rebellion. Webleys, Lee Enfields and Greener shotguns play a significant role.

However I've been slowed down because of research into Kenya during the Colonial Era and the Mau Mau. It's a very complicated subject and not one that lends itself to alot of over the top heroics. I probably shouldn't tackle such a topic. I'm not British, I've never been to Africa and I'm an American Cop not an Inspector in a British Colonial Police Force. One should write what one knows about, but it's fun. So what the heck.

GunTech

I load my 45 acp down to the .455 Mk I specs. Approximately 5 grains of Hodgens. It's a very mild load so my old warhorse dosen't get beat up. I won't shoot factory loaded 45 acp through it. Anyway I bought it mainly for the sake of owning the great old revolver. It's actually one of my Holy Grails if you can imagine such a thing. I'm still pleased to gotten it.

And I believe from the response that my thread has generated there are other fans of the great old Webley. Nice to know that I'm not alone.
 
I have a bit of a thing for Martini actions. Just something about them that exudes Victorian engineering... strong, simple, slightly flawed, and does one job (the one it was designed for) well. (Yeah yeah I know, Martini was Swiss, Peabody was American, but I think the Martini became English by adoption... after all, we are a mongrel nation, so what's wrong with that? :D)

I'd love a collection of Martini-action guns... Martini-Henrys of course, maybe a Martini-Enfield for shooting more often (ever priced .577/.450 over here?), a couple .22 Martini target rifles, and to round it off at least one Greener police shotgun. If the laws over here were different, there are also some Martini-action pistols around...

I've designed a couple of modifications to the Martini action too... perhaps I should patent them, sell them to a manufacturer and buld my collection on the proceeds :D
 
The Martini-Henry is great. I had a chance to shoot a friend's a couple of years ago. I put three rounds through it and called it quits. I felt like I was in Zulu , but that 577 has some kick in it's recoil. Loved the big clouds of smoke though.
 
The Martini-Henry is great
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Agreed.I really have a thing for them too, and REALLY want to get one, but I have personally seem some fakes being sold from dealer I always considered reputable, so I am REALLY leary of getting hosed, as I'm no expert on them, so I'm sure theres plenty of fakes that were much more well done than the obvious I was able to catch, that I would have no idea werent real.And honestly, a fake one that looked real enough to me would really be a big deal (ignorance is bliss), but I am concerned about it blowing up in my face if the 12 year old Pakistani kid who made mine way back when used crappy steal!

As for the Webley's, I really like them too, and plan to get one eventually.They appeal to me in the same way the 1895 Nahants do. so darn ugly that they swung back to good lookin again.....:D
 
know somebody who owns three Martini's
one as a wallhanger
one he uses to fire blanks for re-enactment
one he live fires
all the same age all the same condition welcome to the wonderful world of British fire arm laws :confused:
copper who advised him that this was the best solution as firearms have to be in an approved safe not on display and blank firing weapons are treated as a differently to weapons that fire live rounds.
copper also stated its an obsolete calibre so basically harmless :eek:
changed his tune slightly when pointed it can chuck a .577 round nearly a mile :evil:
mind you the same expert gave him an allowance of 500 rounds .223 500 rounds
5.56mm 500rounds .308 and 500 rounds 7.62nato:D
so not exactly well versed in fire arms:banghead:
 
Webley .38

I recently aquired a Webley in .38, I got the gun cheap and am awaiting its arrival. Is this such a bad caliber Webley? and why?
 
he wasn't being sneaky the guy genuinely thinks 5.56 and .223 are different calibres:uhoh:
they did advertise the firearms licensing job in the local paper no previous knowledge of firearms laws required:uhoh:
 
Farnorthdan
I recently aquired a Webley in .38, I got the gun cheap and am awaiting its arrival. Is this such a bad caliber Webley? and why?
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The 38 S&W, also known as the 38/200 (the caliber and weight of the original issue round) isn't a blockbuster round. But it works and it is still being made by American ammo companies. Not sure which ones. This was the main issue revolver during WW2 for the British forces. The .455 caliber Webley was a backup.

Do not try to shoot 38 special through the 38/200 Webley. The 38 special round is actually a little smaller then the 38 S&W.

As far as hitting power who cares? It's a Webley revolver. Like an English Bulldog so ugly it's appealing.
 
Oh you read my mind. I can already hear the John Williams score. Just don't expect me to type it.
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allow me:

dun-dadun-duuuuuuuun, dun-daduuuuuuuuun, dun-dadun-duuuuuuuuun, dun-dadun dun DUN! :D


Indy didn't carry a Webley, though. ;)
 
He had a Webley in The Last Crusade. And it looks like he's carrying a webley in the new one coming out this summer.Now whether he'll actually use it or just drop it remains to be seen.
 
from the arrsepeida why the 38 sucks

A break action six-shot revolver based on the Webley Mk6 but in .38 S&W rather than .455 calibre. The Enfield No.2 is a well made and accurate revolver but .38 S&W is a Nancy Boy cartridge in comparison to the butch and manly .455 and is best suited to disposing of unwanted kittens and hamsters, rather than bringing down charging SS stormtroopers.

The version of .38 S&W used was called .380/200 in British parlance: it was a .38 S&W cartridge with a big 200gn bullet at 630fps (giving an unimpressive 175 ft-lb) (instead of 145ish gn at 685fps, developing an even more paltry 150ft-lb, and indeed Smith & Wesson had already superseded it with the .38 S&W Special around 1900.)

Why they adopted the whimpy .38 S&W and not the more adequate .38 Spl (158gn doing 950 fps & generating 430ft-lb) is a total mystery. Apparently there was a dominant school of thought in the British military that heavy, slow bullets were better manstoppers than faster, lighter ones, even though this is contrary to most informed opinion. In addition, the long 200gn bullet was alledgedly a little unstable and tumbled when it hit bad guys (where've we heard this before?)

The original British specification for a submachine gun, or 'machine carbine' as they were called in British parlance at the time, was that it should chamber .380/200 to simplify ammunition supply issues in the field. But then someone pointed out that this was a totally ridiculous and unworkable suggestion.

It is however doubtful whether anyone other than the owner has ever been hurt by a pistol wielded by an officer. Data from WW2 shows that pistols caused more injuries to those who carried them than to the enemy [See The Face of Battle by John Keegan for instance] After all, the reason an officer gets a pistol is so that he doesn't go shooting at things but rather works out what his men should be shooting at.

As a wartime economy measure (and as a sop to the cavalry who wouldn't wear a closed holster & complained that the hammer spur caught on bits of the tank when bailing out), the hammer spur was deleted and the revolver was made double-action only (No.2 Mk.1*). As a further economy, the trigger safety was deleted (normally a bar blocks the striker unless the trigger is correctly pulled so that if the pistol is dropped or the hammer is thumbed back & dropped accidentally it doesn't go off), thus rendering the revolver not drop safe (No.2 Mk.1**).

So, there you have it - the Enfield No.2 Revolver: yet another one of many procurement mysteries.

In the early '70s I was issued one of these as a personal protection weapon, whilst I worked with the UDR for two weeks. I was issued six rounds of 1950s dated ammo. Before handing it back to the armoury I fired the six rounds: two were misfires, two just managed to get the bullets out of the barrel, one fired correctly and the other round lodged in the barrel.
 
In the early '70s I was issued one of these as a personal protection weapon
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You clearly misunderstood the purpose of the weapon. You thought it was a gun (that fires bullets). It was really an ornate club, with the potential to fire said bullets to start races. :p

And yes, Indy used a Webley in the Last Crusade.
 
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