Panzerschwein
member
Guys this is just a fun little thing I've been thinking of recently. What if somebody today were to use a Webley revolver (specifically a Mk IV in .38/200 caliber) for home defense? You might ask yourself "why?," and I say to that "why not?" Well there may be some reasons for either argument, and I will present those. But first, a picture:
Here you see my Webley Mk IV service revolver displayed how I would keep it for personal defense usage, mind you in a home with no children. Imagine the user's bed is to the left of the image. The revolver is ready to be grabbed at a moment's notice, and there is a flashlight available to use the "Harries Method", google that if you don't know what it is. You also see some HKS-10 speedloaders which are designed for S&W K-frame .38/.357 revolvers and others. These speedloaders work well for the .38/200 ammunition you see inside of them. This is a 176 grain .361" diameter FMJ bullet traveling roughly 700 FPS and generating just under 200 ft-lbs of muzzle energy.
Clearly, this isn't a "barn burning" load, and it's usefulness for home defense may be hampered by a possible overpenetration risk due to it's non-expanding nature. This could be a concern depending on your living conditions. While not great, I do believe that with good shot placement it would prove effective. But, there is another .38/200 load which was an earlier service cartridge for the British military, and this was the one that gave the cartridge it's name. This would be the 200 grain lead round nose "Mk 1" cartridge. Originals are very hard to find and are collector's items, but one company still manufactures both the loose bullets and loaded ammunition:
http://mattsbullets.com/ammunition/...roducts_id=4&zenid=3he6l4n5a62gluckr6lbef9ol6
As you can imagine, this is a heavy for caliber loading. It utilizes a very long bullet. This load was the original one issued for Webley Mk IV and Enfield .38/200 revolvers and was eventually replaced by the FMJ load mentioned above, the FMJ being dubbed the "Mk 2" load. This original exposed lead load was generally well thought of in terms of it's effectiveness on human targets. The general theory behind this was that the long heavy bullets weren't well stabilized by the barrel's rifling, and the bullet would tend to yaw and tumble upon hitting flesh. It moves along at a sedate 650 or so FPS and generates again just less than 200 ft-lbs of energy.
Now if I had to pick which load I'd personally use for home defense, it would indeed be this heavier 200 grain Mk 1 load. While I have yet to see or personally perform any ballistics tests on this load, research shows that the change to the Mk 2 FMJ load was seen as a downgrade in effectiveness by those who actually had to employ these revolvers in close combat during World War 2.
Now that we've talked ballistics, let's talk about the primary reason why I think a Webley wouldn't be a bad defensive revolver even today. That is the top break loading method. When you press a latch on the left side of the revolver, this allows the barrel to be tilted downwards. When this is done, the ejector star rises up and extracts the cases. When the revolver is opened quickly, the cases will be ejected smartly from the cylinder. Upon full opening the ejector star snaps back down and allows for a reload. I personally think this method of unloading is a bit quicker that a revolver with swing-out cylinder, but it is not without it's quirks. Failure to open the gun quickly enough will result in some cases not being thrown clear. Even with a fast opening, I still occasionally get one or two cases that don't want to come all the way out, and I have to pluck them out manually. In general though it is a rapid and reliable system.
Reloading can take the form of using loose cartridges (obviously), speedloaders, or speed strips. I won't go into detail for each method as they are largely used the same way as on a swing out cylinder revolver. I prefer speedloaders for home defense usage and speed strips for concealed carry. When the cylinder is fully loaded with ammunition, simply snap the barrel back into position and continue shooting. With practice and the mentioned HKS-10 speedloaders, I find reloading to be very fast , slightly faster than even my practiced hands and a S&W Model 64.
Now I don't need to go into much detail on the reliability of a Webley revolver. These are well built and robust military sidearms, and like other revolvers, are not ammo sensitive and share the same reliability benefits. This Webley has been 100% reliable over the few hundred various .38 S&W and .38/200 loads I've fired in it. It has a smooth double action pull and a very nice single action pull.
So this was just a basic overview of some of the attributes of a Webley .38/200 service revolver in relation to possible home defense usage. While it may not be ideal, I think with the right shooter it would get the job done nicely. I currently am using my Makarov PM for home defense duty as well as CCW, but in an emergency I'd have no qualms about pressing the old Webley into the defensive role now that I've had a chance to shoot and handle one. They are also very enjoyable guns to just shoot for fun.
Thanks for reading!
Here you see my Webley Mk IV service revolver displayed how I would keep it for personal defense usage, mind you in a home with no children. Imagine the user's bed is to the left of the image. The revolver is ready to be grabbed at a moment's notice, and there is a flashlight available to use the "Harries Method", google that if you don't know what it is. You also see some HKS-10 speedloaders which are designed for S&W K-frame .38/.357 revolvers and others. These speedloaders work well for the .38/200 ammunition you see inside of them. This is a 176 grain .361" diameter FMJ bullet traveling roughly 700 FPS and generating just under 200 ft-lbs of muzzle energy.
Clearly, this isn't a "barn burning" load, and it's usefulness for home defense may be hampered by a possible overpenetration risk due to it's non-expanding nature. This could be a concern depending on your living conditions. While not great, I do believe that with good shot placement it would prove effective. But, there is another .38/200 load which was an earlier service cartridge for the British military, and this was the one that gave the cartridge it's name. This would be the 200 grain lead round nose "Mk 1" cartridge. Originals are very hard to find and are collector's items, but one company still manufactures both the loose bullets and loaded ammunition:
http://mattsbullets.com/ammunition/...roducts_id=4&zenid=3he6l4n5a62gluckr6lbef9ol6
As you can imagine, this is a heavy for caliber loading. It utilizes a very long bullet. This load was the original one issued for Webley Mk IV and Enfield .38/200 revolvers and was eventually replaced by the FMJ load mentioned above, the FMJ being dubbed the "Mk 2" load. This original exposed lead load was generally well thought of in terms of it's effectiveness on human targets. The general theory behind this was that the long heavy bullets weren't well stabilized by the barrel's rifling, and the bullet would tend to yaw and tumble upon hitting flesh. It moves along at a sedate 650 or so FPS and generates again just less than 200 ft-lbs of energy.
Now if I had to pick which load I'd personally use for home defense, it would indeed be this heavier 200 grain Mk 1 load. While I have yet to see or personally perform any ballistics tests on this load, research shows that the change to the Mk 2 FMJ load was seen as a downgrade in effectiveness by those who actually had to employ these revolvers in close combat during World War 2.
Now that we've talked ballistics, let's talk about the primary reason why I think a Webley wouldn't be a bad defensive revolver even today. That is the top break loading method. When you press a latch on the left side of the revolver, this allows the barrel to be tilted downwards. When this is done, the ejector star rises up and extracts the cases. When the revolver is opened quickly, the cases will be ejected smartly from the cylinder. Upon full opening the ejector star snaps back down and allows for a reload. I personally think this method of unloading is a bit quicker that a revolver with swing-out cylinder, but it is not without it's quirks. Failure to open the gun quickly enough will result in some cases not being thrown clear. Even with a fast opening, I still occasionally get one or two cases that don't want to come all the way out, and I have to pluck them out manually. In general though it is a rapid and reliable system.
Reloading can take the form of using loose cartridges (obviously), speedloaders, or speed strips. I won't go into detail for each method as they are largely used the same way as on a swing out cylinder revolver. I prefer speedloaders for home defense usage and speed strips for concealed carry. When the cylinder is fully loaded with ammunition, simply snap the barrel back into position and continue shooting. With practice and the mentioned HKS-10 speedloaders, I find reloading to be very fast , slightly faster than even my practiced hands and a S&W Model 64.
Now I don't need to go into much detail on the reliability of a Webley revolver. These are well built and robust military sidearms, and like other revolvers, are not ammo sensitive and share the same reliability benefits. This Webley has been 100% reliable over the few hundred various .38 S&W and .38/200 loads I've fired in it. It has a smooth double action pull and a very nice single action pull.
So this was just a basic overview of some of the attributes of a Webley .38/200 service revolver in relation to possible home defense usage. While it may not be ideal, I think with the right shooter it would get the job done nicely. I currently am using my Makarov PM for home defense duty as well as CCW, but in an emergency I'd have no qualms about pressing the old Webley into the defensive role now that I've had a chance to shoot and handle one. They are also very enjoyable guns to just shoot for fun.
Thanks for reading!
