Webley Mark VI questions

[krs]

You mean "Very even loss of blueing", right? LOL!

It's a nice looking old girl with what I'd call honest loss of finish although I've never seen one that was still holding it's original finish. A friend had one that he'd cold blued pretty well, though the british steel didn't take the blue all that well so it was a little blotchy on the larger surfaces and convinced me to never try it.

No, I've never owned a chrono although now that they're so inexpensive for good ones I don't have an excuse.

When I was shooting seriously I used a Handgun club chrono a couple of times and the same load worked out at between 730 -750 fps from my match 1911. I'm more or less convinced that the Bullseye powder as made by Alliant today is a hair softer than the Hercules Bullseye I used to use so I'd guess that even with the inch longer barrel the cylinder gap and the lighter powder keep my velocities at or below my old loads.

Seems safe anyway. I fire the pistol recreationally - and usually after a practice session and I'm tired. It's a sort of wind down to pick up the old world revolver and fire a few clips slowfire in a gentlemanly manner.

 

[Steve Lee Parsons]

.45acp Webley MK VI

I've been firing .45 acp's from my MK VI for years, with good results. A well balanced, comfortable shooter.

 

[unspellable]

Commercial target loads don't necessarily run any less pressure than a service load. They typically use less powder but faster powder and end up in the same pressure range. (Smokeless powder requires a certain amount of pressure to burn consistently.)

As stated above, the Webley was meant to take a hollow base bullet that would expand into the rifling like a mini-ball. With the proper load they will drive tacks. With a 45 ACP load they are lousy. (I once retrieved a 45 ACP slug from the back stop after it went through a Webley. It had rifling grooves on only one side.)

I don't know why so many were cut. Back when they came on the market Dominion loaded the 455 Colt (Civilian version of the military's 455 Webley cartridge.) and I used to just go down to the local gun shop and buy them off the shelf. They won't head space in a Webley that's been cut.

If using 45 ACP brass, I'd recommend moon clips over the rimmed brass. Cutting the cylinder greatly weakens the extractor star. The moon clips will spread out the load on it.

 

[DrakeGmbH]

Commercial target loads don't necessarily run any less pressure than a service load. They typically use less powder but faster powder and end up in the same pressure range. (Smokeless powder requires a certain amount of pressure to burn consistently.)

I've definitely noticed a difference (at least in felt recoil) between military and commercial loads. The old MkVI and MkVIZ FMJ's have quite a bit more bark than Fiocchi and Hornady's offerings. Very little noticeable difference between MkVI and MkVIZ, though. I need to invest in a chrono one of these days to chart the differences.

Dominion loaded the 455 Colt (Civilian version of the military's 455 Webley cartridge.)

The .455 Colt was actually a .455 Mark I case loaded with nitro powder (as in the later Mk's). The case was shortened from MkI to MkII as cordite did not require as much case volume as the earlier blackpowder used in the MkI. Attached is a shot comparing some .455 cartridges I have.

You're spot on about the headspace issues with cut cylinders - the firing pin won't even reach the primers. Apex offers uncut cylinders from time to time - I bought one a few years back to restore one of my 1917 Mark VI's to shooting condition. The reason so many were cut was ammo familiarity. Not many folks had heard of '.455 Webley' but most knew the venerable '.45 Auto'. 'Converting' these old warhorses to a cartridge with a household name made them much more marketable. The trouble is, firing .45 ACP from a Webley isn't a matter of if, but when it will fail. I have a damaged barrel and latch as evidence of that.