Hi all, I'm new here & looking for info on an old piece I've come across. The dealer has it on his books as a : K-22 Masterpiece. This gun is no K frame and is more like the size of an N frame. Serial No is 223** on the cylinder face, under the barrel and on the butt, and has no model depiction anywhere. It appears to be sleeved (cylinder chambers + barrel) t0 .22lr has an early adjustable rear & ramped style front sights any and all help would be appreciated,
Rick

Welcome to the forum. Very interesting piece you have there. My guess would be an old .455 Mark II HE 2nd model (because of the ejector rod and locking nub) that has had numerous modifications to it to make it shoot the 22 LR. The cylinder work looks pretty tight like it was very well done. Other than that I will have to defer to the experts on the anything else. Those grips are obviously aftermarket but maybe manufactued by one of the more well known grgip makers like herrets or sanderson's, but once again not my area of expertise.

Looks like an N frame .455 that was sent to Britain and then converted to 22lr for civilian sale. Fairly commonly seen with Victory models but not so often with N frames. Often these were marked with the new caliber, proof marks, and conversion company so this may have been done by an individual rather than a firm like Cogswell that converted thousands of surplus guns. Is it possible to post a picture of the firing pin and recoil shield just for curiosity? This gun has no original collector value but some people buy them as oddities.

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John. SWCA #1586

Very interesting gun. I would pay $250 for it as an oddity. Bet it weighs like a son of a bitch.

That's the second N-frame .22 this week. Is this a trend?

That front sight base looks like the ones that were used in Parker/Hale conversions. That's the same company that sleeved and refitted other centerfire revolvers to turn them into .22s. I don't recognize the rear sight, but it would almost have to be British. The various marks you see are the acceptance, decommissioning and proof marks we find on most British contract revolvers that made it back to the United States.

As noted, the destruction of original configuration ruins it as a traditional collector piece, but the care with which it was converted makes it interesting niche collectible to those who value modified revolvers.

The original .455 HE would have shipped in late 1915. I don't know how to date the conversion, but doubt it would be later than the early 1950's

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David Wilson

To each his own, and I don't expect to make any converts, but the
gun isn't worth more than $100, if that much. To me it looks awful,
with those unsightly sights, both front and rear. And not to mention
the finish.

This is probably a good example of why the factory didn't make a
22/44 as a production gun. Its just too big and heavy for the caliber.

Mike Priwer

Sure hsguy




Sax, it feels solid as a rock but not overly awkward because of the lightweight barrel I guess. All the weight is in the rear of the piece. I am considering buying it for 200 Australian dollars .....
At this stage.....only 'considering'

Mike is an expert but he's also a purist. He has no use for Frankenguns. But I often find them intriguing and I would buy this one for the amount I stated just to play with it. My idea of an adult toy.

Yep, clearly a reworked 455 2d Model HE reworked, or perhaps more properly butchered on the other side of the Pond as some form of trainer. I collect Webleys as well as S&W and I have seen a fair number of 455 Webleys (usually the ubiquitous Mark VI) with a conversion cycl to shoot 22lr as a single shot. There are also some short cycl conersion six shoots, also factory built. From time to time a gun with the cycl and bbl sleeved for 22 will turn up, but done at an arsenal or at Enfield or Webley and not hacked together like this gun.

A true 22lr Webley is a rara avis and only a small number were built on the 32 or 38S&W smaller framed models used from the 30s until the end of production after the 'Big War'. I have a mint example, target sights, very nice commercial finish and a good action. Not the match for a K22 etc but still fun to shoot and accurate.

I'd run away from this pig even if it were free. Just my 2 cents and YMMV. Dave

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Time Wounds All Heels

Parker Hale and Cogswell & Harrison converted some number of lend lease and victory model .38/200 K frame revolvers to .22 for surplus sale in the Colonies. This is the first .455 N frame conversion I have seen, but it is much of the same sort.

I have seen the PH and other conversions you mentioned, they were not done as poorly as this gun. Dave

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Time Wounds All Heels

inverness, thanks for the photos, interesting work.

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John. SWCA #1586

Well this decided for me.....



2 cylinderfull's of Winchester Powerpoints @ 18 yards free standing... (not including the .38 hole circled in red)
...produced a 'pattern' rather than a 'group'.

Aiming point was the circle with the .38 hole in it.

They all sounded different from shot to shot and when I ejected the cases, all were bulged to various degrees indicating uneven chamber sizes. Also 2 out of 6 were split nearly the full length of the case.
I dont see any real collector's value in this particular piece and it wont get fed much around here if that's all i gives in return.
Thanks for all the help guys, I think I'll return it to the dealer's this afternoon.

I had a parker-hale conversion a few years back. I kept it for a few years and unloaded it at a gun show last year. I got more than I paid for it so I can't complain but it did't shoot worth a beans