Best British revolver for plinking
- Thread starter GaryED50
- Start date
it looks like they're CA legal under the Curio relic thingcc-hangfire
New member
Just recently learned that Enfield also made a top break revolver. In the short lived Top Gun TV series it is featured along with a Webley. Whereas the Webley is mass produced and heavy duty, the Enfield was lighter and more hand crafted. Based on comments from that episode, the trigger on the Enfield was smoother in both SA & DA. Both were chambered in .38S&W, but on gunbroker.com there are several Mark VI Enfields in .45acp.
Sorry I can't say which is better, I'd love to have one too.
Sorry I can't say which is better, I'd love to have one too.
armoredman
New member
How about a restored British Bulldog in .34 caliber? That would be the one on the left.
It was probably supposed to be a 38SW, but the bore size is .34, so LAGS custom loads the hand sized bullets in 38SW brass.
Ok, I know, not really British, but I thought I'd throw that out there. Really packs a wallop - here it is in "full recoil".
It was probably supposed to be a 38SW, but the bore size is .34, so LAGS custom loads the hand sized bullets in 38SW brass.
Ok, I know, not really British, but I thought I'd throw that out there. Really packs a wallop - here it is in "full recoil".
British revolver? Webley, Enfield, Bulldog (although I wouldn't recommend shooting one) and I can't think of anything else.
The Webleys have become very pricey. Sort of a cult gun. The Enfields are not far behind. A few years ago I saw a 38 Enfield on a table at a local show. I usually see these priced around $300-$350 but this one was tagged at $100. The seller explained that the action was frozen and he didn't want to mess with trying to fix it. So I took it home and poured some solvent through it flushing out about a pound of congealed grease. Worked fine after that.
As for the cartridge, agreed, it's not a powerhouse. But it's hardly a toy. Britain fought the war with it. Must reload this caliber, though. I experimented with some high performance loads for my S&W Terrier in 38 S&W and got up to 975 FPS with a 125 JHP. That's 100 FPS faster than the greatly feared and much heralded Remington +P 38 Specials will run in a 2" revolver. Still a little below my preference level but I suppose it would do. Beats the 380 anyway.
This thing is an absolute hoot to shoot. The plastic thumb rest grips were required by the GCA of 1968 to allow importation. I should try to find something better.
Well, I must correct myself. Those are, indeed, the correct and original grips for a 1942 (so dated) Enfield Mk II. How hideous is that? Earlier models had checkered walnut and they look much better. Apparently nobody makes replacements and originals are pricey if the seller knows what he has.
The Webleys have become very pricey. Sort of a cult gun. The Enfields are not far behind. A few years ago I saw a 38 Enfield on a table at a local show. I usually see these priced around $300-$350 but this one was tagged at $100. The seller explained that the action was frozen and he didn't want to mess with trying to fix it. So I took it home and poured some solvent through it flushing out about a pound of congealed grease. Worked fine after that.
As for the cartridge, agreed, it's not a powerhouse. But it's hardly a toy. Britain fought the war with it. Must reload this caliber, though. I experimented with some high performance loads for my S&W Terrier in 38 S&W and got up to 975 FPS with a 125 JHP. That's 100 FPS faster than the greatly feared and much heralded Remington +P 38 Specials will run in a 2" revolver. Still a little below my preference level but I suppose it would do. Beats the 380 anyway.
This thing is an absolute hoot to shoot. The plastic thumb rest grips were required by the GCA of 1968 to allow importation. I should try to find something better.
Well, I must correct myself. Those are, indeed, the correct and original grips for a 1942 (so dated) Enfield Mk II. How hideous is that? Earlier models had checkered walnut and they look much better. Apparently nobody makes replacements and originals are pricey if the seller knows what he has.
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Webley Mk IV's are available at not much more than Enfields, at least from what I have seen at gun shows. Which is better is not an easy question to answer, since they are very similar in overall appearance and handling.
Hi, SaxonPig,
The grips on the gun you picture appear to be original, not put on for import. There were five types of grips used with the Revolver No.2. The first was checkered wood, the second was "reeded" wood. The the third was wood with a unit disc and thumb rests on both sides; the fourth was wood with thumb rests but without the disc. The fifth was Bakelite of the thumb rest type, like yours.
Jim
Hi, SaxonPig,
The grips on the gun you picture appear to be original, not put on for import. There were five types of grips used with the Revolver No.2. The first was checkered wood, the second was "reeded" wood. The the third was wood with a unit disc and thumb rests on both sides; the fourth was wood with thumb rests but without the disc. The fifth was Bakelite of the thumb rest type, like yours.
Jim
I have a couple of them, Now if you can find a Enfield Mk 2 Commando with a 2" barrel they go for much lower prices. They were modified in the USA by due to imported surplus and shorty revolvers were in demand. I've got an old add article that lists them for $16.85 retail in 1960. Now they can be had for under $200. They are a neat revolver.
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Webley
Go for the Webley in .38 S&W. It is an easy cartridge to reload. Proper bullets are .361 in diameter.
The Brit load for this cartridge is a 200 grain LRN at 630 fps.
I have no pix of my mark iv but it looks just like a Webley. Imagine that.
If the .38 S&W is too "anemic, you could always look for one of these...
In .577
Bulldogs, you say:
And one in .44 Bulldog:
The .44 Bulldog on the far right.
I would like to have this one restored. Any links or info are appreciated.
Back to the thread....buying a Webley is a whole lot less complicated than getting on of these old guns to shoot. The Webley is a much stronger gun and designed for smokeless propellants - at least the Mark IV was.
Pete
Go for the Webley in .38 S&W. It is an easy cartridge to reload. Proper bullets are .361 in diameter.
The Brit load for this cartridge is a 200 grain LRN at 630 fps.
I have no pix of my mark iv but it looks just like a Webley. Imagine that.
If the .38 S&W is too "anemic, you could always look for one of these...
In .577
Bulldogs, you say:
And one in .44 Bulldog:
The .44 Bulldog on the far right.
I would like to have this one restored. Any links or info are appreciated.
Back to the thread....buying a Webley is a whole lot less complicated than getting on of these old guns to shoot. The Webley is a much stronger gun and designed for smokeless propellants - at least the Mark IV was.
Pete
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If you can find a Webley Mk VI .455 its a fun plinking round, and not as wimpy.
OF course, .455 ammo is not even remotely cheap. Many (most?) Mk VIs you see have been converted to take .45ACP CASES. Shooting standard .45ACP ball ammo in one of these is the equivalent of shooting .455 proof loads. Not a good idea. And NEVER shoot anything hotter!!!
Using .45acp cases and loading to the correct pressure and velocity levels for the Mk VI makes it a fine plinker, with ammo cheap, and it still has some utility should you need it for "social" purposes.
I do wish you luck though, as the $75 Webley .38s from the past are now $400 or more, and the $125 Webley I got back then is now pushing $800....
OF course, .455 ammo is not even remotely cheap. Many (most?) Mk VIs you see have been converted to take .45ACP CASES. Shooting standard .45ACP ball ammo in one of these is the equivalent of shooting .455 proof loads. Not a good idea. And NEVER shoot anything hotter!!!
Using .45acp cases and loading to the correct pressure and velocity levels for the Mk VI makes it a fine plinker, with ammo cheap, and it still has some utility should you need it for "social" purposes.
I do wish you luck though, as the $75 Webley .38s from the past are now $400 or more, and the $125 Webley I got back then is now pushing $800....
kilimanjaro
New member
455 Webley is a great plinker, but the 38 S&W is the cheapest to reload. Get either the WW1 or WWII models, you'll like it. Do plan on reloading, though.
Do not get a 45acp Webley, it's probably shot out.
Fiocchi makes good 455 ammo, spend the money on a few boxes and you'll have a lifetime of brass to reload.
Do not get a 45acp Webley, it's probably shot out.
Fiocchi makes good 455 ammo, spend the money on a few boxes and you'll have a lifetime of brass to reload.
armoredman
New member
The gun I showed above was rusted shut, had many missing parts including the hammer, and the gun smith hand made all the parts required to make it a firing revolver. How nobody managed to blow it UP over the years with that cray bore is beyond me.
If anyone could fix yours, he probably could, except for the finish PM for contact info if you want.
BTW, .577 Trantor, that's a heckuva handcannon.
If anyone could fix yours, he probably could, except for the finish PM for contact info if you want.
BTW, .577 Trantor, that's a heckuva handcannon.
I'd love to know what the ballistics on that .577 were. That, if anything, would be the closest thing to a guaranteed one-shot-stop revolver the world had yet seen. If tearing a .45 hole is better than tearing a 9mm hole, then this should be the next step up.
Back to the .38/200, though, it can't have been anything to sneeze at. It's got the same momentum as a 100gn bullet moving at 1200fps, and if you subscribe to any sort of momentum equation for stopping power, it's not too far behind the 9mm. Plus the sectional density of that bullet is over 0.200, so penetration's going to be pretty good too. Might not do too badly on IPSC-style steel plate stages. The issue would be reloading time - the Webley bred the first speedloaders (straight-push Prideaux type), but they were for the reciprocating-action version (Webley-Fosbery) of the .455, and AFAIK never made it into the .38 version.
I've heard that the idea was that even if the lead didn't mushroom, the bullet was sufficiently long that it would destabilise inside its target and tear stuff up, much the same as the .303 MkVII bullet was deliberately weighted towards the rear with an aluminium tip filler.
I want one.
Back to the .38/200, though, it can't have been anything to sneeze at. It's got the same momentum as a 100gn bullet moving at 1200fps, and if you subscribe to any sort of momentum equation for stopping power, it's not too far behind the 9mm. Plus the sectional density of that bullet is over 0.200, so penetration's going to be pretty good too. Might not do too badly on IPSC-style steel plate stages. The issue would be reloading time - the Webley bred the first speedloaders (straight-push Prideaux type), but they were for the reciprocating-action version (Webley-Fosbery) of the .455, and AFAIK never made it into the .38 version.
I've heard that the idea was that even if the lead didn't mushroom, the bullet was sufficiently long that it would destabilise inside its target and tear stuff up, much the same as the .303 MkVII bullet was deliberately weighted towards the rear with an aluminium tip filler.
I want one.