.455 Mk. ll Second Model find.

[Dvus]

I found this old Canadian contract gun at last weekend's local gun show. The stocks on it were a set of dry 1970s N frame targets with a stainless plate mounted on the butt. I removed them and replaced them with a set of Bigmountainman's Elk stags and they look great on it I believe. I have a lanyard ring to put back on (it was removed for the target stocks) but haven't gotten to it yet. This gun was converted to .45 Colt after being sold as surplus, which is why it caught my attention. I am a big .45 Colt fan and have several Colts and Ubertis chambered for it. I have been looking for a S&W 25-5 for a couple of months now to add a double action to the mix for the fun of it. What few I have found have been priced way higher than I felt was I needed to spend. When I found this, I fell in love with it for two reasons. One, I love old guns, especially if there is some history associated with them, and two, it was about half of the price of the 25s I had been finding. I did have some concerns about accuracy, not being familiar with the .455 Eley. I didn't know how well .45 Colt would shoot out of a gun chambered for a .455 cartridge, but I knew it was feasible, so I brought it home with me. I was able to get it to the range yesterday and my fears were alleviated. The picture is of a target fired offhand at 15 yards. This is an average group of what I was shooting, I had a couple with 3 or 4 shots touching, but the biggest detriment to the accuracy was myself, not the gun. After I got home I removed the stags because while the recoil of the big cartridge isn't brutal in itself, the stags just seemed to put it all on my right thumb joint. So I oiled up the targets that were on it with several coats of oil, because they were really thirsty, and put them back on the gun for the next outing. I can't wait to take it out again, I'm sure my groups will improve because they sure fit my big mits better.

 

[Hondo44]

Looks good. I’m curious about why it shoots low. This model when originally chambered for 45 Colt at the factory came with a taller front sight because the Colt ammo would shoot high with the 455 front sight blade.

How was it converted, i.e., will it still shoot .455 MkI, MkII and Eley?

 

[StrawHat]

I found this old Canadian contract gun at last weekend's local gun show. …
After I got home I removed the stags because while the recoil of the big cartridge isn't brutal in itself, the stags just seemed to put it all on my right thumb joint. …

…I’m curious …
How was it converted, i.e., will it still shoot .455 MkI, MkII and Eley?

Dvus,

What Jim is trying to say/ask is, “please visit this thread and contribute to the database.

.455 British Svc Revolver Research Thread

Nice revolver.

I am a big fan of the Magna stocks. To help control the recoil, try a grip adapter.

Kevin

 

[Dvus]

Looks good. I’m curious about why it shoots low. This model when originally chambered for 45 Colt at the factory came with a taller front sight because the Colt ammo would shoot high with the 455 front sight blade.

How was it converted, i.e., will it still shoot .455 MkI, MkII and Eley?

It was converted using the original cylinder, reaming the charge holes to .45 colt specs. with machining to the rear face of the cylinder to properly headspace the .45 colt rim. So naturally the s/n on the rear face has been lost. As for the shooting low, it could have been the bear hug I was giving the grips to keep them from slamming my thumb. I put the wrong targets back on it and I will try again with them, they fit my hand so much better.

I will contribute to the research thread asap.

 

[Hondo44]

The best way to convert those to 45 Colt is to just recess the chambers enough for proper headspace. The larger diameter .455 case head will not fit in the chamber recess and therefore still have proper headspace and fire reliably.

The way yours was done means .455 may not fire or not fire reliably due to excess headspace. If you don't plan to shoot .455 in it than no worries.

Enjoy it!

 

[Mbrgr1]

Welcome to Canada!

My lowly non-converted example, Canada first then Down under for some WWII action. Nice grab you got there!

 

[Dvus]

The best way to convert those to 45 Colt is to just recess the chambers enough for proper headspace. The larger diameter .455 case head will not fit in the chamber recess and therefore still have proper headspace and fire reliably.

The way yours was done means .455 may not fire or not fire reliably due to excess headspace. If you don't plan to shoot .455 in it than no worries.

Enjoy it!

I have no plans to shoot anything but .45 Colt in it. Had it not been converted, I would have had no interest in acquiring it, and would only have glanced at it admiringly for it's history.

 

[StrawHat]

And then there is this method of converting to 45 long Colt,

Kevin

 

[Dvus]

I do believe that those are not the correct rounds for that gun. Those are for that Polish pistol with the backwards barrel.

 

[chiefdave]

My 455 conversion doesn't shoot .451/.452 jacketed bullets well (lots of keyholes). I found .455 soft lead bullets from Missouri Bullet Co. worked well.

 

[AC Man]

I bought a 455 Mark II webly Canadian as new condition unconverted that was for sale at Legacy for a month. Found out someone beat me to it the same night when I woke up What are the odds? Still on my list. Snooze you loose. Just thought I would share. LOL

 

[Baltimoreed11754]

They are a fine martial .45 revolver. Rebating the cylinder’s chambers is the best way to alter them for 45colt as it still allows you to shoot .455 and it doesn’t alter the cylinder where it shows. My grail Smith is a Triple Lock in .455. I reload .454 boolits for mine but I also have a mold that throws those big pointy nosed hollow base boolits too.
To the op, lighten your bullet weight or powder charge or both to make your revolver more comfortable to shoot. I also have arthritic knuckles.

 

[glowe]

Looks good. I’m curious about why it shoots low. This model when originally chambered for 45 Colt at the factory came with a taller front sight because the Colt ammo would shoot high with the 455 front sight blade . . .

I cannot imagine a front sight higher than that of the 455?? Mine sit about .57" above the barrel. Of course later target models had raised rear sights, so maybe higher front sights, but the OP's issues should not be the front sight on these guns.

I have a 455 converted to 45 Colt and found standard loading data too hot for these guns. 45 Colt rounds were designed to shoot above 800 fps using the standard 255g bullets. For some reason, it causes bullets to rise in the S&W 455 guns and my conversion shot too high as well.

I fixed the issue by doing two things. First, the bullets in the original 455s were about 265 grain. I purchased a mold that threw about 290g conical shaped bullet. I kept lowering the powder charge until the gun shot just above 600fps. I can now shoot all day on target.

 

[Hondo44]

I’ll post a thread by Jim Fisher about the Colt sight height when I get home.

 

[470Evans]

I like them unconverted and have been able to get them to shoot to the POA.

Please note these are the longer MKI cases and were determined to be safe in my guns only.

 

[Dvus]

To the op, lighten your bullet weight or powder charge or both to make your revolver more comfortable to shoot. I also have arthritic knuckles.

Yeah...nope. I was shooting factory loaded ammo. I have not tried my own loads yet, but I don't expect much to change, as they closely resemble the the factory loads. I have 9 guns in .45 Colt and one pet load that I use in all. I'm not going to tailor 9 different loads when I can just adjust my aim on the ones that need it. As for this gun, I cleaned up the stocks that came with it and will use them for shooting. They fit my hand much better, and will likely bring the point of impact up because I won't be holding on to them like a steel vise.

 

[Hondo44]

I like them unconverted and have been able to get them to shoot to the POA.

Please note these are the longer MKI cases and were determined to be safe in my guns only.

At the request of the British all .455 contract BSRs are chambered for the.455 MkI cartridge therefore all BSRs are safe to shoot that round. This was done in case of a shortage of the newer MKII ammo on the battlefield.

 

[Hondo44]

I’ll post a thread by Jim Fisher about the Colt sight height when I get home.

Well I couldn't find member Jim Fisher's post, just a note I made in my files that he documented 455 BSRs factory chambered in 45 Colt have a slightly higher front sight blade.

 

[Dvus]

Well, with the installation of the N frame target stocks back on the gun, it now shoots about 2 inches lower than it did with the stags on it. I
may have to find some original grips to put on it to bring the point of impact up higher.

 

[Hondo44]

Grips don’t change the point of impact. Bench rest it to minimize human error to find out where the gun actually shoots.