Webley wobbly

[Hatchett]

Saw a Webley Mark VI at a gun show today. I've been looking for one, any one, for a while now so I got excited until I tried it out. The whole thing felt shaky and loose, including the hinge holding it shut, like the barrel would tip forward and back ever so minutely. The cylinder had a startling amount of play also. I know they are supposed to except for when the trigger is pulled fulling back, as if it was just fired, but even in that mode it had far more play than any of my other revolvers at rest.

The dealer was asking 450 and I couldn't even open the thing to see if it was cut for .45 or in the original caliber because of the zip tie. It seemed like the pretty safe bet to turn it down, but I'm still partly kicking myself because I've wanted one so long and it was a price I could afford. Supposing I had bought it and it did have issues, is that something that is possible to correct?

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

Zip ties are cut for inspection all the time, and then replaced. No reason not to inspect a gun; the dealer has extra ties. If he refuses to do that, pass on the gun. A fair amount of "wobble" is expected on Webleys. They are all old, but most are safe. The MKVI I had maybe wasn't as loose as that one, but maybe for $400 I'd have taken a chance on it.

 

[Dave T]

The looseness you felt is part of the reason the break top design has not flourished. I'm sure there are "tight" Webleys in existence but I've never handled one.

Dave