How much to webley .455 caliber guns go for?

The Mark II is the "high pressure" version of the original Mark I, designed for cordite rounds. It's converted and shoots auto rims or 45 acp (I've only shot modest handloads out of it - 5 grains of unique).
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I think you're confusing you Mark numbers between those assigned to cartridges and those assigned to revolvers. The Webley Mk. V was the first Webley specifically designed to use smokeless (cordite) ammo. The cordite ammo is the Mk. II cartridge while the black powder ammo is the Mk. I cartridge. Many Mk. IV revolvers were retrofitted in order to be suitable for the Mk. II cartridge, but to my knowledge no Mk. I, II, or III revolvers were so-retrofitted. Mk. I-IV revolvers should really only be shot with black powder or an equivalent. I don't know how the pressure of your Unique load compares to a black powder one, but without pressure testing it I wouldn't want to shoot it in a Mk. II revolver.
 
I own a converted (45 acp) Webley/Enfield Mk VI (mfd. 1924) and an unconverted(455) Webley Mk VI (mfd. 1917). I paid $500 for the converted and $750 for the 455 Webley. I like both of them. They're safe queens. They've earned it. I have Snap Caps for both of them so I can occassionaly dry fire them and imagine I'm taking on the Tong in Shanghai or dealing with bandits in East Africa or perhaps on a safari in Kenya with my trusty Rigby Rising Bite 470 Nitro Double and the Webley in my holster.:D
 
So, nobody has an idea what the earlier and much rarer Webley's are worth?
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I have an unconverted Mk. I (1880s, black powder only); is that one of the early and much rarer ones???
 
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The Webley Mk. V was the first Webley specifically designed to use smokeless (cordite) ammo.
Every reference I have ever seen is that the Mark II was the first cordite Webley. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.455_Webley
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That article is about the .455 Webley cartridge and its various loadings. The Mk. II cartridge was the first to use cordite powder but it was only to be used in Mk. V, VI, or retrofitted Mk. IV revolvers.

http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg91-e.htm

Webley revolver, .455, Mark 5. Adopted in 1913. Mark 5 was designed to accept smokeless (cordite) ammunition, and thus, had larger and stronger cylinder, and accordingly redesigned frame.
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I have an unconverted Mk. I (1880s, black powder only); is that one of the early and much rarer ones???
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Not a lot of the MkI's around. Value well be determined by any markings on the revolver. Check the gun auction sites for an idea what they are bringing in the real world.

There's a gunsmith in OK city that restores cut cylinders with a laser cut plate that is silver solder on the back of the cylinder.

I picked up this MkII a few months ago for $200, there are good deals around.
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Webleymkv: That article is about the .455 Webley cartridge and its various loadings. The Mk. II cartridge was the first to use cordite powder but it was only to be used in Mk. V, VI, or retrofitted Mk. IV revolvers.
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Check out this link contained in your link: http://cartridgecollectors.org/455/introto455.htm

They were using cordite rounds from 1894 on in both the Mark I and Mark II cartridges and revolvers. So, ALL the Webley revolvers used cordite. I'll bet they stepped up the pressures in the Mark V.
 
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Webleymkv: That article is about the .455 Webley cartridge and its various loadings. The Mk. II cartridge was the first to use cordite powder but it was only to be used in Mk. V, VI, or retrofitted Mk. IV revolvers.

Check out this link contained in your link: http://cartridgecollectors.org/455/introto455.htm

They were using cordite rounds from 1894 on in both the Mark I and Mark II cartridges and revolvers. So, ALL the Webley revolvers used cordite. I'll bet they stepped up the pressures in the Mark V.
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The Brits discovered early on that there were problems with their original cordite loadings. While Cordite doesn't really achieve much higher pressures than black powder does, its pressure spikes much more quickly and that's where problems come from. The introduction of cordite wasn't without its teething problems particularly when it was used in warmer climates (this was the reason for the lighter "tropical" loadings of many of the British big game rifle cartridges). What was OK, pressure-wise, in England where the temperature rarely rises above the 70's could cause problems in Africa or India where tempuratures routinely break 100 degrees. There is a reason that the Brits were continually trying to strengthen their Webleys and retrofitting older models with strengthened cylinders. While it is possible that your Mk. II may have been retrofitted for smokeless ammo, it would be pretty difficult to tell without an intimate knowledge of Webleys. Also, Unique is not Cordite. Without pressure-testing equipment, you really don't have any way to tell how much pressure your Unique loadings are generating (remember, pressure and velocity don't always necessarily correlate). Personally, I'd only shoot smokeless ammo in a Mk. V or Mk. VI revolver and then only very light loads. An older gun might be able to handle smokeless ammo, but I know it can handle blackpowder or a suitable substitute assuming it's in good working order.
 
Also, Unique is not Cordite. Without pressure-testing equipment, you really don't have any way to tell how much pressure your Unique loadings are generating (remember, pressure and velocity don't always necessarily correlate)
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Well, Hodgdons lists 12,900 CUP with 5 grains of unique behind a 225 grain slug - black powder pressure. My bullet mold turns out a slug slightly over 200 grains. Somebody here 8 or 10 years ago (who was very experienced with antique firearms), suggested that if I put a wad or filler behind the lighter slug it would reduce the volume and eliminate any possible pressure spikes due to uneven burn.
That's why I use a couple of layers of dental wax to reduce the volume to what it would be if I used the heavier slug. The consensus among a number of experienced reloaders here was that with both a lighter slug AND the reduction in volume, the pressures should be well below the 12,900 listed in the manual.

That's the story on the load... It would have been simpler to just buy another mold with a heavier slug to duplicate the Hodgdon's data, but this supposedly gave me an even safer margin of error, so that's why I went with it.
 
It's your gun, do what you like. Personally though, with an antique top-break revolver (remember, a Webley isn't as strong as a solid-frame gun) I prefer to err on the side of caution.
 
I have a Webley Mark I

I have been told the conversion to .45 ACP downgrades the revolvers by $100 to 150 on the average. My Webley is a Mark I converted to .45 ACP. I use reloads in this revolver. It has a mint bore and chambers and 85% of the original blue. I shoot 200 gr H&G 130 swc bullets with 3,5 gr Bullseye. It is a blast to shoot and groups around 2.5" at 25 yards off the sandbag. This revolver is Navy marked and has the Crown NP markings on the cylinder. I have been told many of these revolvers had the cylinder replaced to use Smokeless ammo. The action is tight and crisp with a 3.5 pound trigger pull. This revolver shoots to the left, so I will add JB Weld to the left side of the rear sight notch and file the sight notch out to move the center of the rear sight notch to the right. I would not want to alter this old revolver in any way.

Doug Bowser
 
Forty years ago they were plentyful and one could be had for less than $50.00.

My wifes nephew bought one and he got drunk and threatened some one in a resturant who was flirting with his wife[ she had a large chest and a real looker] . The cops confiscated it, but he did grt it back. He still has it today, and likes it. The wife is now an ex and long gone.
 
gyvel

Anyone hazard a guess as to the value of an original Mk VI with a 4" barrel made in the 20's?
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I'd like to know that as well. I have a Mk VI that was made by Enfield in 1925. I paid $550 for it in an auction a few years ago. I wanted it and got in a bidding war with a dealer. Never regretted it.
 
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