Should I sell my Webley?

[rs525]

I previously posted my thoughts on the Webley MK IV .38 revolver that I bought a couple months ago but now I come to you all with a question. As much as it is fun to shoot and reload via the top break, I'm thinking of selling the gun due to lack of parts and ammunition and instead using the money to purchase the creme de la creme of all snub nose revolvers: the Colt Detective Special. It's more commonly available in both parts and ammunition and supposedly (haven't shot one myself) has a much better trigger. Should I go for it or keep the Webley?

 

[J-Bar]

Sell. Don’t look back.

Yeah, I know. You love Webleys. How many Webley lovers are there compared to S&W lovers, Colt lovers, geez High Standard lovers for crying out loud…

If you find a buyer, close the deal, buy your Colt and a lottery ticket while your luck is hot.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Nice Webleys aren't common, presume it is .38 S&W; how are you feeding it?
Yeah, Dick Specials are neat as well; loved 'em since Highway Patrol, and got one years ago. Which I don't shoot...Smith makes better snubs, IMHO.
Hang on to your Webley, and save up for that Colt...you don't have a line on one this instant, do you?
Moon

 

[rs525]

Nice Webleys aren't common, presume it is .38 S&W; how are you feeding it?
Yeah, Dick Specials are neat as well; loved 'em since Highway Patrol, and got one years ago. Which I don't shoot...Smith makes better snubs, IMHO.
Hang on to your Webley, and save up for that Colt...you don't have a line on one this instant, do you?
Moon

No nothing at the moment, just considering. It is a .38 S&W, I use PPU 145 grain lead ammo.

 

[MosinT53Hunter]

Just remember, if you let it go, it will be so much harder to find one like it again when you get that itch again.

 

[.455_Hunter]

Eat ramen, buy the Colt...

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I'm a big fan of the Webley and Enfield revolvers but if you need to sell the Webley to finance the Colt DS I would do it. I happen to own both and the Colt is a very good shooting and accurate snub nose revolver!

 

[Tallball]

No. Never sell a gun that you really like.

You have the rest of your life to find the Colt. It doesn't have to be right away.

 

[wcwhitey]

I get where you are coming from about ammo. I will mention that there are not that many who will work on an older Colt if it were to need it. It’s a hard choice but I agree with .455_Hunter eat Raman. Prices are getting stupid crazy for anything revolver related. Although I do not see prices dropping with gas prices and inflation that prices will stabilize a bit, that is after all the tax returns have been spent. I spent a long time with the one or the other financial strategy. Although I don’t regret ever selling as there was a reason at the time I did part with some gems that if I knew the cost to replace them I might not have.

 

[AlexanderA]

Two months isn't really a long enough time to own it. Let it simmer for a while.

 

[rs525]

Two things. 1: I plan on putting more ammo through the Webley to see if it's worth keeping. 2: If I do decide to sell it and get a Detective Special, which version is best, the first version with the skinny barrel and unshrouded ejector rod, or the second version that's a little bigger with the shrouded ejector rod?

 

[mcb]

I would rather have the Webley than a Colt but I am no lover of Colts. I own two Webley's and zero Colts (revolvers or otherwise). The availability of parts and ammo has never been a deciding factor on a gun purchase for me. Part can almost always be had or made and there are very few cartridges that cannot be source if you are a reloader. That said its your gun and your money so you do with it as you see fit and enjoy which ever you end up with.

 

[bannockburn]

rs525

I have had both revolvers and unless you're on to some real hot deal on a Colt Detective so you need cash right away, I would say hang onto the Webley and save for the Colt. A decent Webley, even with the War Finish, is getting harder to find and more costly when you do find them. If ammo availability is a problem maybe consider taking up reloading.

As far as the DS having an unshrouded or shrouded ejector rod I guess it's kind of your call as to which one has the greater appeal to you. An unshrouded one would go great together with your vintage Webley. For myself I prefer the shrouded version; it looks so sleek and aerodynamic that it really gave the DS a much needed, modern looking makeover for the iconic snubnose revolver.

 

[Reloadron]

I previously posted my thoughts on the Webley MK IV .38 revolver that I bought a couple months ago but now I come to you all with a question. As much as it is fun to shoot and reload via the top break, I'm thinking of selling the gun due to lack of parts and ammunition and instead using the money to purchase the creme de la creme of all snub nose revolvers: the Colt Detective Special. It's more commonly available in both parts and ammunition and supposedly (haven't shot one myself) has a much better trigger. Should I go for it or keep the Webley?

Since I am not you I haven't a clue what you should do. Me? What would I do? I would keep my Webley and save my nickels and dimes and buy another revolver. You have had the Webley a few months and already are considering something else? I do have a Colt Detective Special and it's a fine snub nose revolver. Mine is pre the ejector shroud. Anyway, I can't say what you should do. I can only say what I would likely do.

Ron

 

[Jim Watson]

Jeff Cooper's Embarrassing Question: What it it FOR?
The DS is certainly the better concealed carry weapon, compact and with a wide range of .38 Special hollowpoints to choose from.
But the Webley, a service revolver in the mild old .38 S&W, is probably more fun as a "centerfire plinker."

And as one wit said, "If you can afford one gun, you can afford two guns, for a while at least." Side by side comparison.

 

[dh1633pm]

I love Colt's. The new ones are sweet. I have always regretted selling firearms with a history. Later in life I have done by best to collect them back. At much greater cost. Best advice is get what you like and will enjoy.

 

[doubleh]

If I liked the Webley I would hang on to and save for the Colt as the Webleys aren't just laying around in every gun shop. On second thought I would save for it's S&W competitor which IMO has the Colt beat.

 

[commygun]

As I posted on here a few days ago, I recently bought a fourth Mk. IV to scratch the same itch that led me to buy (and, alas, get rid of) three successive ones over 15 years ago. This one cost more than the other three did put together. They're not going to get any cheaper and, if the gun really speaks to you at some level, you're better off keeping it.

Of course, I've made the same mistake with multiple Tokarevs, Makarovs, Sig P225s/P6s, and Sig P239s. Slow learner, indeed.

 

[Pat Riot]

My opinion, keep the Webley. Save for the Colt.

 

[RevolvingGarbage]

Keep the Webley and wait for the Colt. If you handload proper ammo for that Webley, you will enjoy it more. It’s also going to hold its value and may surpass the value of a Colt DS in similar condition at some point in the near future.

I have a Webley Mk.VI in .455 and an Enfield in .380/.38S&W. I also have a 1966 Colt Cobra which is of course a very close relative of the DS. I got that Cobra ( in gorgeous condition) for about half of what the Webley I have is worth, or almost exactly as much as I paid for my cosmetically unsound Enfield.

I like the Cobra, and it certainly has a lighter trigger than either of the top breaks mentioned but in total there’s no way I would say the Colt is worth giving up the old warhorse revolver.

 

[Risky buisness]

Dang it guys, stop telling him to keep it....
My '42 enfield needs a bunkee

 

[Walkalong]

Two months isn't really a long enough time to own it. Let it simmer for a while.

I agree, but I sold one the same day I bought it once, just hated it, cool gun that it was.

Wish I had a nice Webley, so I’d probably keep it.

 

[THEWELSHM]

It will sell mate, and happiness is a purchase away..

Thewelshm

 

[halfmoonclip]

As regards the Dick Special, the older ones with the bare ejector rod appeal to me, especially if you aren't going to 'buffalo' anyone with it, and bend the rod. If it was good enough for Broad Crawford, it works for me!
I've been at this a long time, and look back at guns I've traded (6" S&W M25 target, dammitdammitdammitdammit.....), yeah, you want to hang on to the Webley.
God willing (and the cricks don't rise), you'll have time for more guns.
Moon

 

[wcwhitey]

The First Generation Det Specials were not +P rated as +P was not yet a thing. I do not know for sure if there was any structural difference with the later shrouded versions. I too like pencil barrel revolvers for the nostalgia. Nothing says 1940’s like a pencil barrel Colt or Smith.