I found a nice shady place in the yard to take these pics of a 1918 dated Webley MkVI that I recently bought.

The gun came with the brown leather flap holster, Sam Browne Belt and lanyard. It's in fairly good shape and is still chambered in the original .455 calibre.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: digi-shots,

Cool. Congrats.

Nice hardware, and pix!

Didn't know that these guns
used Man From U.N.C.L.E.
shoulder rigs

Very cool, Linda. Outstanding photos as always.

Are you gonna shoot it or is it a 'queen'?

- Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Shugart:
Very cool, Linda. Outstanding photos as always.

Are you gonna shoot it or is it a 'queen'?

- Jim

I'm actually looking forward to shooting it! You're looking at the only .455 ammo I have... the "6 bullets" in the photo! Have you priced .445 ammo lately? One of the local shops here in town has a box of .445 Fiocci (?) ammo in .455. I need to make sure it's ok and not too powerful. I wrote down the specs on the box... it's here somewhere. Our local range had a small problem and was out of commission for awhile. I think it might be up and running again.

Terrific find. It is unusual to find one that has not been converted to .45 ACP. All those excellent accouterments only add to it.

Bill

Beautiful shots Linda. The Fiocchi 455 is loaded lighter for the old guns. It will function fine in yours. You can even shoot it in the Mk I's.

I was lucky to find 5 boxes of it in a small shop in western Va. Bought all of it last winter. He had ordered it years ago for someone and they never picked it up. I think I paid $28 a box. I understand some are getting close to $50. Not sure of the current prices. You may want to shop around. I wouldn't shoot any original ammo. Just too hard to find.

I'm waiting for a Mk VI Enfield now with Austrailian Navy markings. Will post pics when it arrives.

Take Care

Thanks, Bruce!

I'm going over to the shop this evening and will probably pick up the Fiocchi. They also have 3 or 4 boxes of WWII vintage .455 still in the sealed carton. I was hoping to find some WWI boxes but haven't come across any yet.

What do you think of the holster and Sam Browne rig? It's got that nice "used" look but not abused or worn out.

Linda,

I agree with Bruce that the Fiocchi ammo will work fine in your gun, but it is not "lightly loaded" by any definition. Fiocchi advertises a 262 grain bullet at 850 fps. This gives a power factor of 223 and a muzzle energy of 420 ft-lb. I wouldn't use it in any Mark 3's or earlier, but your Mark 6 was designed for smokeless powder and will handle it. Original factory Mark I and II cartridges were more lightly loaded because of the large number of old guns out there at the time (early 1900's).

For example:

MK I - 265 gr @ 699 fps - PF=185 and E=287 ft-lb
MK II - 265 gr @ 581 fps - PF=154 and E=199 ft-lb
US Commercial Load - 265 gr @ 770 fps - PF=204 and E=349 ft-lb

If you decide to reload the Fiocchi empties, be sure to match the original bullet design (I think Lyman makes the correct mold). The 265 grain bullet is hollow based. A flat based bullet could cause overpressure problems given the very short MK II case.

Buck

Graf & Sons lists both the Fiocchi and Hornady ammo. The only source foe unloaded brass I found is Bertram Brass carried by Midway at $1.27 per cartridge case. Costs more than the loaded ammo.

I would think that the Remington 45 Colt lead bullet would be good for reloading. Per one review on Midway this is a hollow base bullet. The price appears relatively reasonable by current standards too.

Rich,

The modern .45 Colt is normally sized to 0.452". The Webley throats and barrel need 0.454"-0.456". I think that a proper size from a custom caster will be needed for accuracy.

BTW, the standard MK II bullet looks like a Minie ball in cross-section. It's a big hollow base.

Buck

Linda-

Tres cool!

One of these was my first handgun, at age 13.

T-Star

Just to clarify...

It is not necessary to have a hollow based bullet to reload the .455 MK II. Flat based bullets can be used, but you have to start with lower charges and work up, looking for pressure signs. Seating depth is critical.

One load given in Barnes (V.6) is a 250 gr Lyman #454424 over 3.0 grains of Bullseye yielding 710 fps, PF=178, E=280 ft-lb. The #454424 is an old, out of production design, but molds can be found on the auction sites. I suspect the newer #454190 would work OK. There are probably others, as well. The critical thing is sizing the bullet to match the throats, and cautiously working up the load.

Buck

Very very nice. Somehow in the back of my mind though it seems to me that a detachable shoulderstock runs afoul of some federal thing. I've been known to be wrong quite often before though.

Haggis is correct with regard to his comments on Fiocchi 455. Do not run too much of it through what appears to be a nice original Mk.6. Pistol shooters here in the U.K. (where you're not allowed to do anything any more,) were pleased to see Fiocchi 455 when it first appeared in the early eighties. However, many of them learnt that the best thing to do with the rounds was to pull the bullets and use the cases to reload their own. They were hot rounds and consequently very innacurate even in the hands of competent 'shots' who had been used to reloading their own .455 by then. I recall in 1997 running some through my own. It was the first time I had ever fired a 455 and all I noticed was more recoil and bullets holes all over the card. I switched to loading my own with a 218g hollow based (and almost as hollow nosed) bullet (half in/half out) with 5.1g of Unique and at point of aim the group was good and tight.
There is a very limited amount of Classic pistol shooting still practised legally in the U.K. at so called 'designated sights' and the .455 is a popular calibre. No one at Bisley e.g. would dream of using Fiocchi factory ammo', especially if they're trying to hit the centre of the target 20yds away from 'offhand,' and preserve an old revolver.
There is plenty of information out there on milder but accurate loads for the .455. Worth digging it up.
Meanwhile, congratulations on a nice and interesting find. Over here in the seventies and early eighties, Mk.6's were dirt cheap and under appreciated. I remember that most of us thought the same way about Model 28's too.......