I have a friend from work who has a 1916 Webley revolver that appears to have the shaved cylinder to accept .45 ACP on moon clips. I know very little about Webley's, his question is, can he still shoot .455 ammo, or has the shaved back of the cylinder affected the ability to do so.

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OGCA Member.

Good question!
Mine rattle a lot, but bet they would fire.

I have seen pictures of people who took a full moon clip and modified it, so that using the modified clip and 455 ammunition you could shoot the 455.



Me - I just light load 45 Auto rim and shoot it.

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I always take precautions

So how does the 45 ACP shoot in the Webley, is it accurate?

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OGCA Member.

Yes, he can, but depending on small differences in variables such as just how much was shaved and how long the hammer reach is (within tolerances), he‘ll likely experience more or fewer misfires. It all comes down to headspace and whether the reach of the hammer tip conveys enough force onto the primer.

This video contains a nice discussion and in the second half the practical solution:

I think the .45 ACP is a higher pressure round than the .455, so I'm not sure it's the safest route.

.455 Webley is pretty expensive. And .45 ACP pressures may be too much for it. Personally, I would only shoot it with reloads. If he doesn't reload, here is a perfect opportunity to start.

He could get some .45 Auto Rim cases and start at the beginning load, and he shouldn't go a whole lot higher. I haven't checked it in a while, but I think most reloading manuals keep their .45 AR loads pretty tame due to conversions like your friend has.

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You're shy a few manners.

I think you got the story turned around

Shooting .455, even out of a shaved .455, is the safest route precisely BECAUSE the .45 ACP loads are a higher pressure.

Muddyboot, I have a Webley MK VI. I realize some may not be concerned as long as the gun goes bang most of the time, but headspace is grossly excessive if .455 is fired in a shaved cylinder. I would advise your friend against it. There are machined steel rings available to replace the metal removed, in effect correcting headspace and allowing .455 ammo to be used without issue. I purchased one of these and have used factory .455 in my Webley with shaved cylinder. Operation was entirely normal, no misfires, no pierced primers, etc.

Attached a photo from the internet of the type of ring I purchased. I primarily use lightly loaded .45 Auto-Rim, or .45 ACP with Moon clips, in my Webley. But if the owner really wants to use the original ammo, the back-to-.455 conversion ring works well within my experience.

Attached Images

Back to .455 conversion ring.jpg (75.9 KB, 109 views)

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NRA Life, COTEP 640

Rock 185
Thank you for a great post, I think the back-to-.455 conversion ring will be the best solution for my friend. He is not really a gun guy, and wont be shooting the revolver that often. Do you know where I can find one of the conversion rings?

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OGCA Member.

I guess that would depend on your definition of accurate.


First, I have fired a total of six rounds of 45 ACP through my gun. I just got the impression that that was too powerful a round for that old of a pistol. Since then I've been firing a 200 grain lead semi-wad cutter over a light load of bullseye. I have never put it on paper. I plink with it. But it hits the bowling pins and the steel plates and the empty Coke cans at 50 feet. That is accurate enough for me.

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I always take precautions

The bullets used in the .455 Webley loads can be bought from Reed's Bullets and Research. The standard bullet is a 265 grain hollow base bullet. Definitely do not use .45 ACP/Auto Rim factory loads in a Webley. Not only is it an issue of pressure specifications, but remember that we are dealing with a 100+ year old gun.

Muddyboot, I used common .452" 230 cast RN bullets to start, then switched to .451" 230 grain plated bullets in my Webley for easier clean up. I wondered if the old gun would even stay on the paper at 15 yards, but it did much better than I expected.

FWIW, I slugged a chamber throat and the barrel of my gun. The chamber throat was .450". I couldn't accurately measure the barrel due to the 7-groove rifling, but the largest diameter I could measure was .450". Perhaps why my .451" and .452" bullets seem to shoot just fine.

ETA: Ref a source for the ring, someone on this, or another forum, referred me to a seller. I can't recall the seller right now, but an internet search would probably turn up a source. I just checked Ebay, and saw a different, and not inexpensive, type ring from Canada, but looks to me like it would work...

OK, Think I found where I bought my conversion ring; partsforantiqueguns.com in Georgia.

Attached Images

Webley MKVI at 15yds..JPG (82.0 KB, 15 views)

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NRA Life, COTEP 640

The nominal bullet size for .455 Webley is .454, and for the .45 ACP it's .452.

Quite apart from the pressure issue, I have yet to encounter a Webley with a trigger pull smooth and light enough that bullet differences of .002 inches could reasonably be claimed to make any difference in accuracy

I had an unaltered MK IV and fired CIL factory .455 ammo in it. I don't know what type of powder they used, but it was the cleanest burning powder I have ever encountered.

I used unsized Lyman cast bullets in it over a modest charge of Unique.

I later bought an altered MK V. I fired regular .45 ACP in full moon clips in it, not knowing at the time of the over pressure conditions.

I need to load some moderate ammo for it. I have tons of ACP cases and some Auto Rim as well. I haven't shot it in years, but need to.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Fiocci stills makes .455 Webley ammunition. It shoots quite well. I have an unaltered Mark VI Webley and that is what I've been shooting in it.

I checked out the site, and ordered one of the rings; $58.00 shipped, so not a bad deal. Site says it may require some fitting, but we can deal with that.

Many thanks for the information ...

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OGCA Member.

A follow up and thanks again to Rock185 for the info on the Webley conversion ring. It works great in my friends 1916 Webley pictured below. It's a full moon clip for reconversion to the .455....

If you want to take your Webley back to the round it was made for, this is the way to go.

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OGCA Member.

This was my first shooting experience with a Webley revolver. Despite it's looks, I found the Webley a real pleasure to shoot, the big revolver has no recoil due to its size.

For me it felt like very much a point and shoot revolver, accuracy was excellent using Fiocchi's 262 Grain LRN ammo.

Though I don't own a Webley yet, I have began purchasing ammo and reloading supplies. One is definitely in my future. I really like the ones with the shorter barrels.

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OGCA Member.

I have Webley Mk VI .455 Revolver that has the cylinder rear shaved for .45acp. I use .45 Auto Rim cases with light power charge and .455 lead bullets

Due to this thread and others like it, I am now wanting a couple of Webleys to fill out my accumulation. I really like the looks of the Mark V but have heard the Mark VI is much more shootable.

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You're shy a few manners.

I have a bunch and they are a great revolver. My WG has such a sweet trigger, it’s got a long pull though.

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7D62D74B-C113-49CB-8779-95E159BE6496.jpg (56.3 KB, 22 views)

I assume you are referring to the “bird’s head” style of the grip, without the shoulder. The Mk V is actually the one you’re least likely to find, because it was only produced for a couple of years 1913 to 1915, in the lowest numbers of any of these, when it was superseded by the Mk VI. Below my Mk III.

As for the grip style and barrel length, imagine a feel like shooting a Colt SAA, just a bit bulkier. The absence of the shoulder on the Mk II through V just means the gun rolls a bit in your hand. But since the .455 load isn’t exactly a .44 Magnum, the effect is neglegible.

The grip of the Mk VI with shoulder is a bit more “modern”.





PS: The Mk I did actually have a slight shoulder above the bird’s head. I don’t know whether that was possibly abandoned for the ease of production or why else.

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098185DA-A761-4AD5-8EAF-43F096DA6D0A.jpg (112.5 KB, 107 views)

Example of Mark I with the hump. Shot this once with very light loaded 45 ar.

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IMG_0833.jpg (92.8 KB, 30 views)

You see the Mark V on auction sites occasionally. It and of course the Mark VI had a strengthened cylinder for use with modern smokeless powder. My understanding is that many earlier Marks were refitted with the new cylinder. So I could possibly get a Boer War Mark IV (with however many *s) and have one to study and even shoot if I so desired.

Since the Brits were chronically deficient of side arms in The Great War, I would imagine many if not most of the earlier Marks got the improved cylinder and saw use in the war.

Even a Mark I would be fun to have, but I do like the bird's head grip of the Marks II - V. I've never shot one and would never expect to use one in a for real self-defense situation. All I know about shooting them is what I have seen on UTube.

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You're shy a few manners.

I don’t think they needed to have the improved cylinders for that.

The important thing to keep in mind is that the .455 Webleys served concurrently, not consecutively. The Marks I through VI didn’t replace each other.

For example, the Mark IV is generally known as the “Boer War” iteration. It’s correct that it was first introduced in 1899 when the Second Boer War started, but by the time significant numbers of it made their way to SA, the “battlefield phase” of the war was largely over; the revolvers that saw use during it were mostly Marks I to III. My Mk III was issued to a Royal Artillery unit in 12/1899 and that unit was in SA by April 1900.

According to what Peter from SA told me once, the British “Instructions for Armourers” for 1931 still covered the Mk III, IV, and V, and the Army did not declare them obsolete until 1948