Now, live from the back of the safe - the mighty Enfield No.2 Mk1*

[M1A]

I reload for .38 S&W. However, ammo is readily available, though not at Cabela's. Privi Partisan is good at about $19.00/50. Remington, Magtech, and Fiocchi also make it.
I don't know your bore dia. but FWIW Remington is .357 and Privi is .358.
My Webley Mark III has a .356 bore and shoots great with .357 or .358 158gr SWC using Titegroup or W231.

 

[Art Doc]

Mine has the date 1941 stamped right on it.

I have loaded the 38 S&W to 975 FPS (2" Terrier) with a 125 JHP. About 100 FPS faster than mainstream 38 Special +P from a 2" tube IME.

 

[DWalt]

I reload for .38 S&W. However, ammo is readily available, though not at Cabela's. Privi Partisan is good at about $19.00/50. Remington, Magtech, and Fiocchi also make it.
I don't know your bore dia. but FWIW Remington is .357 and Privi is .358.
My Webley Mark III has a .356 bore and shoots great with .357 or .358 158gr SWC using Titegroup or W231.

The SAAMI bullet diameter tolerance spec for the .38 S&W is 0.355" - 0.361" (0.361-0.006). Therefore, being within the SAAMI spec, there is no good reason that .357"-.358" diameter bullets as used for the .38 Special should not work fine in a .38 S&W revolver. In fact, I used .357-.358 bullets for many years in reloading .38 S&W, and I never had any problems.
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By the way, some years ago I pulled lead bullets from some antique .38 S&W dud rounds (various headstamps) I got at a gun show and miked their diameters. I think they were all around .357". I reloaded the cases and bullets with fresh primers and powder.

 

[Cyrano]

Yours is actually a Webley. The Enfield was a later, simplified design. I'd rather own the Webley, it has a much smoother action.

Actually, mine is an Enfield, just a fairly early one, dated 1936. It's marked on the right side with a crown , the name Enfield, and No 2 Mk 1. Note the front sight boss which is flush with the muzzle; the Webley's didn't have that. It has nice, checkered wood grips, one of which has the broad arrow. They gave way to plastic grips, probably when the war started. I don't see any marking on the cyliner indicating the type of steel. If I've counted correctly, it has seven grooves, so it's hard to slug the barrel: you're measuring from a land on one side of the bullet to a groove on the other side.

The original load was a 200 gr lead bullet. I don't know what th British were thinking when they adopted it. About the time the war started the went to a 175 gr ± jacketed bullet with the same outline. I have a mould for a 175 gr Keith type SWC bullet, that I shoot unsized. It seems to be about right.

 

[Old TexMex]

Mine had a very smooth trigger pull, not all that heavy. Maybe 6 lbs

 

[kaaskop49]

At age 13 in 1989, my dad bought me a 1939 Enfield to use as a carry and HD gun. That Enfield accompanied me almost daily after school and numerous hikes/camping trips in high school/college. We used both new production Win/Rem LRN and FN FMJ loadings- both will get the job done. It was pulled from holster many times when the local mountain lions got too close, and still is frequently carried.

An incredible and wonderful post of a different (and better?) time. "...pulled from holster when the local mountain lions got too close." How cool is that?

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[tndrfttom]

A couple of cousins

A Webley Mk VI .455 from 1915 and a "War Finish" Mk IV .38 from 1946(?).

Both are good shooters. The .455 uses .452 dia. cast bullets. The .38 shoots .357 dia. bullets OK but .360 cast bullets have better neck tension and crimps easier in .38 S&W brass.

 

[Otreb]

They can be decent shooters. I had to do a few things to bring mine up to fully functional, but I only paid $95 for it.

 

[S.B.]

I should of bought one of these back when they went for under $50, always had hind sight but, no fore sight?
Steve

 

[thibaultfelix40]

Enfield tanker

I have one of those I bought at a gun show for $160. The barrel and frame have different serial numbers. The butt strap is stamped "RHKP" which I assume is Royal Hong Kong Police. There is a neatly stamped four digit number on the butt stfap which I'm guessing is a rack number. I assume that it has been buffed because they are little pieces of proof marks all over it. The grip looks like it might be homade out of wood or bamboo. Is is a good little shooter and a delightful gun to examine with a magnifing glass. I figure it has little collector value but its cool factor is through the roof.

 

[Psycshrink]

I have one cut down to a sunbnose

 

[Goodbrew]

I have a Mk III Webley "Bankers" or security model with a 4" barrel. Great fun ! Not hard to reload for just keep the pressures low. It has a great single action trigger, a bit heavy sure but very crisp!

 

[enginepaul]

Thanks for the memories

I bought mine from a cop in San Francisco for $13.00 about 1960 when I was in my early teens. Gave it to Sgt. Clark from Ohio about 1968. I had to practice keeping on target with that trigger pull.
The real point is that I bought it "on the street" with no background check and I never committed any crimes with that or any gun. I doubt if you can buy any gun in San Francisco under any circumstances because they kept adding laws and restrictions for "our protection." We now have very few rights left in California - PLEASE don't let that happen where you live.

 

[Art Doc]

I would not be surprised if the SEPT1950 was the date for an arsenal rebuild. I think by the mid 1950s these were replaced by Browning Hi-Powers.

 

[2152hq]

The 'SPT50' is the marking of the particular steel lot the cylinder was mfg from. The frames also were supposed to be marked with the steel lot code. But some appear to not have been done.

FWIW,,
If you like the Enfield No2 revolvers, be on the look out for a No2 MkI* version (spurless) marked on the right side plate with 'H.A.C.'

Two styles of markings. One simple block H.A.C.
The other having large outline letters,,the A in the center being larger than the H and C on either side.

These are very rare and few to be found. They were made for a very short time during WW2 in Australia by the Howard Auto Cultivator Company.

The total produced is somewhere less than 300 or so as far as I can make out.
Some guns were later assembled by citizens from parts carelessly dumped in a creek behind the factory after production ceased in '43 or 44. Most of these won't have ser#'s or proper markings. Some may.

Production from the factory itself was ser#'d with an A prefix and got into the high 200's , exact # varies depending on who you read.

They look just like any other No1Mk2* Enfield revolver except for that side plate marking.
They do lack back strap serrations IIRC but are fitted with the standard bakelite grips and lanyard ring, ect.

Any H.A.V. No2MkI* is considered a very rare find by an Enfield collector regardless of condition. Even the assembled-parts guns have a place in collections.