.455 Webley Ammo

[jebstuart]

FYI for anyone interested:

There is Fiocchi .455 Webley ammo for sale on the Colt Forum Classifieds - $58 plus shipping. Has/had 10 boxes available. I have not seen it any cheaper in quite some time.

I hope this post doesn't break any rules. I tried to find a prohibitive rule and couldn't.

Admin.: If this is an improper post, please remove.

I have no connection to the seller & and don't know him - just FYI.

 

[Toyman]

Fiocchi has released a batch of 455 Eley lately but has not been showing up on big on line supply houses yet. I found 5 boxes at a gun show and bought all 4 for $40 per box and no I am not trying to sell them on Colt forum.

 

[jebstuart]

Fiocchi has released a batch of 455 Eley lately but has not been showing up on big on line supply houses yet. I found 5 boxes at a gun show and bought all 4 for $40 per box and no I am not trying to sell them on Colt forum.

That's good news - I wasn't aware of that. Hopefully it will make a public appearance soon.

Is the ammo you bought actually marked "Eley"?

Thanks,

 

[Toyman]

I posted wrong it is labeled as WEBLEY

 

[jebstuart]

Yep, that's the old run stuff from several years ago. I found several hundred rounds of it a few months ago and bought all the guy had - so much in fact, I sold 200 rounds I think (kept plenty). I wasn't aware of any new production 455 from Hornady or Fiocchi in the last few years. $40 per box was a steal on yours. Good job on that purchase.

The Eley name is a common mistake. When Colt stamped their New Service revolvers, they stamped them Eley because the test ammo they used was manufactured and head-stamped Eley. I think that's how I remember the story. If Colt can make the mistake, I think any of us should be able to.

Congrats on your ammo find,

 

[Jack Flash]

Colt marketed their own version of the Mark I cartridge as ".455 Colt". I always thought it was because Colt hated to put anyone else's name on their firearms. I think I have some around somewhere.

Dominion in Canada also called it .455 Colt:

 

[Jack Flash]

Just for the heck of it, here's a picture comparing the Mark I and Mark II:

 

[Toyman]

Here are boxes of Winchester Colt 455 ammo.

This is a 2nd model HE shipped to Winchester in 1915 to use a test gun for 455 ammo.

 

[jebstuart]

Colt New Service 455 Eley

Quick pic:

 

[Texas Star]

Remember that .455 Colt/MK I ammo is about 100-150 FPS faster than MK II. But I think all MK III and IV flatpoint and HP Manstopper ammo was put up in .455 MK II cases.

Note the three-lobed head on the Colt NS extractor rod shown above. Has anyone seen a .455 NS with the later two-lobed head?

 

[jebstuart]

Note the three-lobed head on the Colt NS extractor rod shown above. Has anyone seen a .455 NS with the later two-lobed head?

Tex,
I have seen them but I'm not knowledgeable on transitions, dates, qty's, etc. I have R.L. Wilson's "Book of Colt's". If you need something specific, let me know and I'll try to brush-up and let you know. Be forewarned, I'll probably just end up in a pool hall - at least that's how I did most of my studying in youth.

 

[Toyman]

Texas Star I have a standard New Service and a New Service Target in 455 both have the 3 lobed head as the one jebstuart shows.

 

[ddixie884]

Grafs has Fiocchi .455 Webly mkII in stock. $35.99 per box of 50.

 

[Skeetr57]

I have only owned one Colt NS in .455, and it w chambered for the Mk II round, as .45ACP could be fired in it because the chambers were shorter than those of a .455 S&W. I bought that Colt from Navy Arms at a gun show in Columbia, SC in 1965 for 22 d0llars, and later traded it off when I discovered that the extractor was to thin to be converted to .45ACP by facing off the rear of the cylinder.

 

[Jack Flash]

Quick pic:

Is that one military issue or was it made for the civilian market?

I ask because the finish looks so good. The revolver I show in the earlier post above has been refinished, and not particularly well.

 

[Longhorn1986]

A recent Gun Stories on Outdoor Channel did a really good episode on Webleys. If you haven't seen the show, it's worth watching. Nice to see a Hollywood type (Joe Mantegna) who actually seems to enjoy firearms.

 

[handejector]

Quick pic:

Interesting front sight.
Nice gun.

Is that one military issue or was it made for the civilian market?

I ask because the finish looks so good.

The WW I military 455 NS's I have owned had the same finish as a commercial gun, which was very bright at that time like the gun above.

This thread should have been started in Ammo
Since it evolved into a NS discussion, I've moved it to Other Brands.

 

[Charlie Foxtrott]

have two of the New Service revolvers in .455 Eley.

One is from 1913 and one from 1915. The 1913 gun has the three lobed extractor knob. and the 1915 gun has the two lobed extractor knob. I have some provenance on them. It would appear that some gentleman purchased them from an "Iron Monger" in 1952 For the princely some of 4 pounds Sterling each.

 

[Jack Flash]

... The WW I military 455 NS's I have owned had the same finish as a commercial gun, which was very bright at that time like the gun above. ...

That's interesting. The M1917 Colts I have seen are not finished to commercial standards so I thought that might also have been true of the .455 Colts sent to England a bit earlier. Apparently not.