What Ammunition For 1916 Mk II .455 Eley

acco40

acco40

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2004
Messages
455
Reaction score
756
Location
Land of Tomorrow
I have recently acquired a S&W HE MK II in .455 Eley. Is there other ammunition I can shoot in it besides .455 Eley, such as Webley MK II? The gun is original and has not been modified to fire .45 ACP or .45 AR. Thank you for your assistance.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
acco40 said:
I have recently acquired a S&W HE MK II in .455 Eley. Is there other ammunition I can shoot in it besides .455 Eley, such as Webley MK II? ...
Click to expand...
Yes, your revolver will safely fire .455 Webley Mk II. It may be a little hard to find commercially. I think Fiocchi still makes it. Check with MidwayUSA.com

.455 Colt, .455 Eley, .455 Webley Mark I are all names for the same cartridge.
If you find this confusing, you aren't the only one!
Here is a very good summary if you want to read it:
Those Confusing .455s - International Ammunition Association
 
Last edited:
MidwayUSA has 455 in stock. Ficcohi seems to be about the only manufacturer who continues to load this caliber. Most shooters have gone to reloading to save substantial amounts of money. I bought this ammo in the past and continue to buy loaded ammo to resupply my cases for reloads. They shoot and reload great in S&W 455s.
 
The Mark I case is 0.880" (some sources say 0.890, others say 0.870) and the Mark II is 0.770 (again, some sources say 0.760). Hornady used to offer Mark II brass, but I don't think they make it any more. Buffalo Bore used to offer Mark I brass made from .45 Colt cases, but you would have to go to their website to see if they still list it. If you don't plan to shoot it a lot, you are probably better off just buying Fiocchi .455 Mk II.

I have a Colt New Service which was sent to England circa 1916, shown below. The photo includes a comparison of the Mk I and the Mk II. Note that Fiocchi uses small pistol primers for some reason.
attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • ColtNewService-2.jpg
    ColtNewService-2.jpg
    74.1 KB · Views: 1,075
Jack Flash said:
The Mark I case is 0.880" (some sources say 0.890, others say 0.870) and the Mark II is 0.770 (again, some sources say 0.760). Hornady used to offer Mark II brass, but I don't think they make it any more. Buffalo Bore used to offer Mark I brass made from .45 Colt cases, but you would have to go to their website to see if they still list it. If you don't plan to shoot it a lot, you are probably better off just buying Fiocchi .455 Mk II.

I have a Colt New Service which was sent to England circa 1916, shown below. The photo includes a comparison of the Mk I and the Mk II. Note that Fiocchi uses small pistol primers for some reason.
attachment.php
Click to expand...


The Canadian made CIL Dominion was the best factory 455 ammo I ever shot. (But, handloading is the best option.) It was a good, modern load with smokeless powder and non-corrosive primers. The cases are great for reloading. CIL Dominion also sold empty, unprimed brass for reloaders which was even better as it did not have that cannelure.
By comparison, the Fiocchi stuff is almost worthless. It feebly goes "bang" and puts a hole in the target (not very accurately, at least at distances that really matter). That's about it. The brass is terrible. It splits easily, and the small primer is not the best choice. Plus, it's too short for S&W or Colt chambers.

Jim

PS: Really nice Colt New Service!!
 
Last edited:
6string said:
. . . the Fiocchi stuff is almost worthless. It feebly goes "bang" and puts a hole in the target (not very accurately, at least at distances that really matter). That's about it. The brass is terrible. It splits easily, and the small primer is not the best choice. Plus, it's too short for S&W or Colt chambers . . .
Click to expand...

Wow, does this mean you don't prefer Fiocchi 455 ammo?

Here is my review. The primary original purpose for this ammo was as a man-stopper, not target revolver. The 455 caliber was and is an inherently inaccurate round, but will hit what it is designed for at 25 yards. I would certainly not want to be hit with a round. Fiocchi advertised 699 fps, but my chronographed speeds have averaged closer 750 fps in the old N frames I have.

The softer the better is my caution whenever shooting guns over 100 years old. No worries that the frame, barrel or cylinder will fail, but rather the dozen other parts and springs could suffer from repeated stiff recoil. I have no intentions to use this revolver for anything other than hitting paper at the range, so works for me. My reloads are actually in the 600 - 650 range and also work just as intended for me.

Lastly, for others reading this thread, I have had no problems with the brass and still reload these cases exclusively. Have had very few split over the years. To me, that phenomenon is more a factor of worn or reamed chambers, or high pressure reloading than the brass ammo itself.
 
You may wish to search a few of the 'Boutique' ammunition producers. Sometimes you'll find the really odd-ball calibers there. Not sure if 'Old Western Scrounger', & or 'Navy Arms', & maybe even the old 'Numrich', aka Gun Parts Corp. I'm not surei if any, or all are still in business, but it's worth the effort to check. They, along with a few other collector / seller types might be your best bet. The caliber is out there, you just need to dig it up. Just be sure you purchase the correct, U.K. Issued MK-II Loading, as I too think that there's a difference in ctg. o.a.l. length.

Best, dpast32
 
acco40 said:
Just ordered a couple of boxes from Midway of the Webley MK II ammo to get me started. Even got free shipping.

Thanks again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Save all your fired brass...one day a Lee Hand Press and a set of reloading dies might seem like a good investment ... Then you will have the empties to load ... brass being the hardest and most expensive part to find .
Gary
 
Wiregrassguy said:
My understanding is the Webley MKI is a longer cartridge than the MKII and later .455's and the British specified MKII in the model name when they ordered the guns made. However, the chambers have been reamed to accept MKI length cartridges. You should be able to shoot any of the Webley cartridges in your gun.
Click to expand...

Every 455 revolver of which I am aware is chambered for the longer Mk I case; no reaming is involved. The 2nd model HE was designated the Mark II because the earlier Triple Locks were given the Mark I designation. These names did NOT refer to the ammunition.

Peter
 
IMHO, the best and easiest way to get longer .455 Eley/Colt, or MkI Webley (not identical, but close enough) is to make a little die to squeeze rim (I used strong milling machine wise) on .036-.039 thickness, and convert 45 Cowboy Special brass 45 Caliber - Cowboy Special - Large Pistol - Brass Cases.

As for mold for 455 WEBLEY, HB, bullet, see here Gallery , contact Miha at MP MOLDS - Bullet molds . Proud to help Miha doing reverse engineering of this one, and designing some others.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Miha makes them on CNC mill by peripheral milling, so you can gate any bullet dia you want. This is how he made on my initiative mold for 45-503-SWC (about 285 grains), using milling cutter intended for famous H&G #503 (44-250-SWC).
 
Last edited:
Attached are a couple pictures of various .455 Eley cartridges from my collection.
I had posted this earlier in another thread I started titled "455 Ammo for Collectors". Here's the link:

.455 Ammo Info for Collectors

I hope this provides a little more help.

Jim
 

Attachments

  • DSC_0971.jpg
    DSC_0971.jpg
    78.1 KB · Views: 59
  • DSC_0972.jpg
    DSC_0972.jpg
    76.3 KB · Views: 50
6string said:
Attached are a couple pictures of various .455 Eley cartridges from my collection.
I had posted this earlier in another thread I started titled "455 Ammo for Collectors". Here's the link:

.455 Ammo Info for Collectors

I hope this provides a little more help.

Jim
Click to expand...

I see there's a .455 auto round hidden in there...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
NON BRITISH EXPORT .455 MK II HE 2nd MODEL
Replies
15
Views
518
glowe
glowe
J
.455 Mark II 2nd model - unsure
Replies
10
Views
390
glowe
glowe
45NUTT
455 HE Question
2
Replies
28
Views
866
StrawHat
StrawHat
H
what ammo for Victory
2
Replies
38
Views
1K
fiasconva
fiasconva
D
.455 Mk. ll Second Model find.
2
Replies
20
Views
1K
Hondo44
H

Latest posts

Back
Top