Am I Stupid?

[Paddy Garcia]

Hi All - long time reader, first time poster. The HE in question is a Mk II .455 that I bought some years ago, mostly on the name engraved/stamped on the receiver.

Pre-Google I'd have passed it up but got hooked when I saw search results for R. H. Sloley:

"2Lt R H Sloley of No 56 Sqn RFC (formerly Royal Garrison Artillery) was killed in action while flying SE 5 A8928 on 1 October 1917. His aeroplane was last seen going down in combat over Oostniewkerke, apparently breaking up. He was aged 20."

Circumstantial evidence is strong that this is Lt Sloley's service sidearm but no good way to track it down.

The revolver has been modified for .45 Long Colt, probably in the 1960s judging from the restyling of the front sight. The back of the cylinder has been cut to allow the thicker rim of the .45 Colt cartridge, and the gun has been polished and reblued. Still a fascinating piece of history to me.

That said, I don't shoot .45LC, but do shoot .45ACP. I'm thinking I should have the 1917/1950 cylinder I already own fitted, with a 45 barrel and make this a very nice shooter. The action on this one is great, and the collector value has already been killed with the polish/reblue and the cylinder and barrel modifications.

Am I nuts?

 

[Muley Gil]

Welcome to the Forum.

It would be a lot easier (and cheaper) just to start shooting .45 Colt, which is a fine old cartridge.

I had a similar revolver back in the late 1970s. It shot quite well with a 255 grain Keith style SWC over 7.5 grains of Unique. Due to the length of the bullet, I seated it deep and crimped over the front band.

 

[opoefc]

Your gun was a military purchase, as evidenced by the acceptance/proof stampings, so it's unusual that an individuals name would be on the gun. Very non-regulation, old boy! Having said that, wartime expediency, etc. covers a lot of sins. British Army regulations required the unit armorer to stamp in the top of the back strap area of the gun, the unit designation and date of Army acquisition of the gun. For example; " 6.16 over 56S RFC over a rack number" meaning the gun became Crown property in June, 1916, assigned to the 56th Squadron and a rack, or property number for the unit. The left grip panel, if the grips are original & numbered to the gun, should be stamped on the bottom of the wood " 56 S " and the right grip panel stamped "RFC and the rack number" The curators at the Imperial War museum in London told me that they estimated only 10% of the armorers ever completely stamped all the required info. on the guns. Lt. Robert Hugh Sloley, after service with the Royal Artillery , joined the Royal Flying Corp and was posted to fly with the 56 Sqdn in 1917. He was almost a double Ace, credited with 9 victories between Aug. 14th and Sept. 29, 1917, before he was killed on Oct. 1, 1917 in a battle with several Albatros Scouts, his SE 5 was shot to pieces in the air by Lt. Xavier Dannhuber of the Jasta 26 Sqdn of the German Air Force. Many RFC pilots came from the Royal Artillery Units, as airplanes were considered as being artillery tools for directing artillery fire during the beginning of WW1 and their tactical uses for other duties was not yet fully understood. Ed #15

 

[alwslate]

I'd shoot it as is and keep the original parts together.

 

[Ballarat]

Dont mess with this piece in any way. Shoot as found. Its a beautiful example.

 

[bgrafsr]

opoefc:

You sir, are a fountain of information. My hat is off to you.

 

[one eye joe]

WOW opoefc, what an informative response ! I would just shoot that weapon as is and maintain whatever originality it may still possess. The .45 Colt is a great cartridge, that can be handloaded to suit ANY purpose......

 

[Paddy Garcia]

Good info, thank you. I'm leaning towards 'stupid'

 

[OFT II]

Good info, thank you. I'm leaning towards 'stupid'

I'm leaning toward lucky. You have one nice piece there.

 

[handejector]

First,
LEAVE the gun as-is.
It still has historical value based on association with a near double ace!!

Ed,
I thought officers could purchase their sidearms from military stores???
They were required to provide their own sidearms and equipment as we know, and I thought the gov would allow them that convenience.

I have seen quite a few normally marked gov owned guns with officer's names inscribed on them for this not to be so.

 

[Muley Gil]

"opoefc:

You sir, are a fountain of information. My hat is off to you."

Well, of course Ed is great when it comes to history.

He was there for most of it.

We luv ya Ed!

 

[Jack Flash]

... The .45 Colt is a great cartridge, that can be handloaded to suit ANY purpose......

... but not for this revolver.

I would suggest keeping the handloads at the "Cowboy" level for this almost century-old battle veteran.

If you want to fire full-power loads, you need to find a newer one, perhaps a Ruger...

 

[Timber Wolf]

I have its' brother, also converted to .45 Colt by reaming the chambers. Funny thing, judging by the unmolested stampings (serial number, etc.) on the back of my cylinder it has not been shaved. Did not need to as there is plenty of clearance for .45 Colt rims. Also, it came with 4 very thin half moon clips for shooting .45 ACP. They fit and work fine although standard half and full moons are too think to allow the cylinder to close and rotate. The clearance with .455 ammo is HUGE. I can nopt believe S&W made the gun that loose, nor do I think the frame has streached or the cylinder shrank, so I am at a loss. Oh, .45 Auto Rim won't fit either, the rim is too thick. Anyway, if yours has similiar generous clearances and you have access to a surface grinder thin down some moon clips and give her a go. But please don't modify her any further.

 

[john traveler]

I've had the displeasure of examining a .455 caliber revolver which a previous owner had FILED the recoil shield down to clear .45 Colt rims.

This, of course is knucklehead "gunsmithing" and ruins the gun.

 

[delta-419]

A piece of history that will soon be 100 years old and its value will greatly increase. Keep it as is or trade/sell it to one of the forum members and get what you want. I'm sure someone here is interested.

 

[Dave_n]

I have one in 0.455 and another faced off and in 45 Colt. Simply load 0.45 AR cases with 0.454 sized 255 grain 45 heads and you will have a very sweet firing gun. Aim for around 660 fps which was the duty loading for the Mk II 0.466 with a cone-shaped 265 grain lead bullet. Dave_n