Webley 45 ACP clips..auto rim..loads?

E

Ervin

Moderator
Im writing this only to get a confirmation from someone with experience with the Mark 6 Webley .455 (converted to American 45 ACP)

From what I gather, I can load 180-230gr lead (reduced charge) loads in a 45 ACP casing. Now do I also need the casings clipped with (half/full moon clips) before firing the modified cylinder?

The alternative seems to be to buy and use 45 auto rim casings with the same load. Because theyre rimmed, can they be used w/o the clips?
A concern here is rim thickness.



Anyone willing to do a trade for 45 auto rim will be appreciated.
I have 30-06, 308 and 45 ACP brass to offer.
 
You can shoot without moon clips, though you will need somehting to remove the cases from the cylinder with. Due to the fact that there are no rims there is nothing for the extractor to grab. I have seen a guy shooting one without moon clips. He used a ball point pen body to remove the cases with. It was a slow process for him. He was testing the gun while waiting on clips that he had ordered.
 
Actually, it depends on how the cylinder has been altered.

Some "conversions" simply reamed the chambers so that the .45 ACP would headspace at the correct point and allow the action to close. Ejection of fired cases would have to be done with a stick, unless the chamber mouths were altered so that a .45 Auto Rim case could be loaded.

Other "conversions" shaved the cylinder on a lathe so that half moon clipped rounds could be used.

Just depends on who did it when.
 
The "moon" or "half moon" clips are primarily for extraction. Since the .45 Auto Rim case is rimmed, no clips are necessary when using these in a revovler.

Bob Wright
 
I use the same Rim-Z plastic moon clips in my Colt and S&W 1917s, and my shaved Webley MkVI. I also use the same target load, 200gr. LSWC with a light-ish load of Bullseye. I usually use .45ACP cases, but I have a hundred or so Auto-Rim cases that I load the same, just for an occasional change of pace.
 
45 AR is the way to go. I think some of the ammo manufacturers still make these cases, but they make them in small batches once every year or two.
 
My Webley Mk VI has been "shaved" and works only with S&W half moon clips. AR brass has too thick a rim to work in my gun. Full moon clips I have tried are also too thick for my gun. My gun will still fire .455 ammo, but ignition is undependable.:(

Cast bullets are ok, but hard cast are not needed. The loads you should use are in the 600-700fps range, depending on bullet weight. The Webley is sighted for a 265gr bullet, so expect a differnt point of impact with lighter slugs.

Standard GI ball level .45acp loads are a proof level load for the old Webley, do not use them.

Check the cylinder on your gun. There are numbers around the back edge. If these numbers have their bottoms cut off, your gun has been converted to use .45acp BRASS, and Auto Rim brass might work. IF only the very bottom of the numbers is gone, AR brass might be too thick. If about the bottom 1/4 of the numbers is gone, AR brass should work.
 
I might suggest loading the biggest ".45" bullets that you can find. I have a S&W Hand Ejector Mk. II that was converted to .45 ACP via a new cylinder, but the bore is still way oversized for any bullets that will be found loaded in ACP cases.
I've handloaded .454" bullets with some success, but even those are undersized, and I don't know that bullets of any larger diameter will fit in the cylinder; that shouldn't be a problem for a gun originally chambered for larger bullets.
 
For handloading in a .455 Webley ("shaved" or not) the Remington 250gr LRN would seem like a good bullet to use. This is fairly close to the original weight so it should shoot reasonably close to the sights, it's a .455 diameter which is correct for .455 Webley Mk. II ammunition, and it also has a concave base that will likely obturate to the bore.
 
"You can shoot without moon clips, though you will need somehting to remove the cases from the cylinder..."

Nope. That Webley is not an S&W or Colt 1917. It was made for .455 and does NOT have shoulders in the chamber to support a .45 ACP on the case mouth. The .45 ACP round will drop down into the cylinder too far to fire. You have no choice execept to use the .45 ACP with the old type thin steel clips or .45 Auto Rim.

I concur completely with using a much reduced load in that old Webley. Those guns were designed for a pressure around 12k psi, not the 21k of the standard .45 ACP load. Some have blown up with GI .45 ammo.

Jim
 
Try 45 Auto Rim cases. I would also recommend never ever fire 45 ACP level loads in a Webley. Download, download a lot. It does not take much to bend the topstrap of a Webley, these are very weak actions.

I used the largest lead bullets I could buy, 454", they shot OK, the rechambering job was poorly done, and I used a light load of Bullseye.


45 Auto Rim

455 Webley MkVI rechambered 45ACP
manufactured Enfield 1923

255 LSWC (.454) 3.5 grs Bullseye thrown, R-P AR cases, CCI300 primers


Ave Vel = 541
Std Dev = 10
ES = 42.44
Low = 522
High = 565
N = 24
Shot to point of aim 25.0 yards
 
I'm stocked up on .452 230gr RN lead bullets for 45 ACP.
Can I safely use 230grs with a 3gr charge of W231 and still be in the safe Webley pressure range?
 
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