S&W .455 British and Canada

[Mikeylikesit12345]

I am wanting to get a 1917 .455 that has the British stamp. What does that look like. I may have found one that has a Canadian stamp as well? What does that look like? I am reading the forums trying to understand all this. Thanks for the help-Mike

 

[Jack Flash]

The British Acceptance Stamp is known as "The Broad Arrow"

The Canadians had a similar mark, except the Broad Arrow was enclosed within a "C".

Keep in mind that the US issued Model of 1917 revolver is not the same as the .455 S&W Revolver shipped to England. They may look very similar but the American version had a 5.5" barrel and was chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge while the British version had a 6.5" barrel and was of course chambered for the British service cartridge.

 

[ENNE-FRAME]

here my British 2ND MODEL CAL. 455

 

[ENNE-FRAME]

more pics
serial number 24161

 

[Hondo44]

Welcome to the forum.
Many of those S&W British service revolver .455s have been rechambered to American cartridges like 45 Colt or 45 ACP/Auto Rim. And may or may not be remarked for the new cartridge on the barrel. You’ll want to ascertain if it has been before you buy it so there’s no surprise when you buy ammo or take it shooting.

 

[470Evans]

Here are a few pictures of mine, it only has the Canadian crown over 30 on the butt. They are great guns to own and shoot.

 

[Exmilcop]

The British broad arrow (also called the "crows foot") was the standard military acceptance stamp. If you see 2 of them point to point (see picture) it means sold out of service. You'll note the "C" enclosing the broad arrow which was the Canadian acceptance stamp.

 

[Mbrgr1]

I never get tired of this one....

I hope you are not tired of looking at it!

The stamps are a little different on the side, the Canada stamp is on the butt, Australia 2nd military district stamp on back strap, the 2MD covered most of New South Wales and was headquartered in Sydney.

Serial number on the cylinder face and small gap when closed indicate it has not been converted, this one has not.


Good luck, big fun guns!

 

[Goony]

This one's stamped with the plain broad arrows point to point indicating deaccession. It also bears the crown over 30 marking.

 

[ENNE-FRAME]

As you can see, the 455 caliber has been eliminated from the barrel of my revolver, in fact Wesson's N is thinner, instead of the N there are reverse arrows.
The revolver is still chambered for the 455 Eley, the cylinder has not been touched.
Definitely reblued
At this point I dont understand what life this revolver has had and why was the caliber cancelled?

 

[Mikeylikesit12345]

So to confirm:
Crows feet is for Britain
Crows feet facing each other it was sold out to the public
Crows feet with C around them sent to Canada after Britain
Crown over 30 is Canada
The gun can have both crown over 30 and crows feet with a C around them

 

[Hondo44]

As you can see, the 455 caliber has been eliminated from the barrel of my revolver, in fact Wesson's N is thinner, instead of the N there are reverse arrows.
The revolver is still chambered for the 455 Eley, the cylinder has not been touched.
Definitely reblued
At this point I dont understand what life this revolver has had and why was the caliber cancelled?

Many of the earlier .455 BSRs were not marked with the caliber. The serial # will help us determine if it was or not.

 

[ENNE-FRAME]

Many of the earlier .455 BSRs were not marked with the caliber. The serial # will help us determine if it was or not.

Is really evident that the Smith & Wesson lettering on the barrel lags far behind photos of the letterings of other revolvers, but it is also evident that the letter N is not stamped as deeply as the other letters, it looks like the area has been subjected to an abrasive brushing.
However, there could be that the marking of the 455 caliber had not been done.
The serial Number is 24161

 

[Goony]

So to confirm:
Crows feet is for Britain
Crows feet facing each other it was sold out to the public
Crows feet with C around them sent to Canada after Britain
Crown over 30 is Canada
The gun can have both crown over 30 and crows feet with a C around them

The correct terminology would be "broad arrow" rather than "crow's foot". It's my understanding that not all Canadian issued revolvers necessarily have the broad arrow enclosed within a "C". The crown over 30 stamp seems generally to be regarded as merely an inspector's mark, but I've seen it asserted that it was applied to revolvers supplied to Commonwealth allies, and am aware of at least one instance of its appearing on an Australian piece.

 

[Hondo44]

Is really evident that the Smith & Wesson lettering on the barrel lags far behind photos of the letterings of other revolvers, but it is also evident that the letter N is not stamped as deeply as the other letters, it looks like the area has been subjected to an abrasive brushing.
However, there could be that the marking of the 455 caliber had not been done.
The serial Number is 24161

Marcella,
See my research thread here, post #1: .455 British Svc Revolver Research Thread

You can see which serial # groups had the cal rollmarked on the barrel and which did not. If you look at category 3, the 455 2nd models, your # 24161 is in the range where there was no caliber marking on the barrel.

However, you will also see some exceptions! Yours may be like one of those. This typically means those exceptions are exceptions because they were shipped later in a batch of higher numbered guns when the cal was marked on the barrel. Later than the serial # would indicate.

So you could very well be right about yours having the cal removed. It's very difficult to completely remove markings so close to other marks like the N in S&W w/o leaving a ledge or groove where the mark was removed.


We do see some unevenly stamped roll marks from the factory from time to time. And the slash marks on your barrel where the caliber should be marked are strange. Why cross out something that was removed? Perhaps the .455 was removed after the slash marks were made but the slash marks were so much deeper than the .455 stamp, they could not be completely removed?

Also since you gun has not been converted from the original cartridge, why would the cal mark be removed?
Very strange.

Could we get a photo of the rear surface of the opened cylinder? I'd like to see if the chamber mouths have been recessed.

 

[Ljoconnor]

Cool pistol! Thanks for sharing it!
Larry