By A Web Design

Webley Mk V

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Published on Sunday, 20 December 2009 18:03

The Webley Mk. V was built from 1913 to 1915 and was on par with the best revolvers in the world, meaning the United States. This gun was essentially a MK IV, but with the use of nitrocellulose powder, a more robust cylinder was desired, and it was made .012" larger.  This change was considered important enough to give it it's own Mark.  The Mk V was replaced early in WWI by the Mk. VI, which was even more robust. This example of a Mk. V here was shortened in the U.S. and machined to take .45 auto colt ammunition. Shortening the barrel was commonly done to pistols for concealment purposes. This particular gun is a British Bulldog in spirit if not in name...

picture of Webley handgun

The original pistol fired slow heavy rounds, perfect for what they were designed to do. This one fires .45 auto, which doesn't take the rifling as well, the original bullet being hollow based and .45 auto are flat on the bottom. Hollow based bullets swell to take the rifling, a throw back to the muzzle loading days. Who says the Brits are slow to take on modern ideas! .45 auto bullets have no rim, so they have to have a clip for ejection. This turns out to be a great speedloader, as all 6 can be dumped out at once and reloaded as quickly as a semi auto.

The accuracy may not be as good as the original, but good enough for the range this gun would be put to use in. No plastic parts here. Wood and Steel. The perfect output of the Industrial Revolution. Guns they make these days are probably engineered better, but I doubt that 100 years later they are still able to do what they were meant to.

Webley MkV

 

45 auto on full moon clip