A shooting buddy gave me the carcass of a Webley RIC Mk. 1 First Pattern, from circa 1870.
I normally wouldn't be too interested in such a beast, but it is rumored to be the type of revolver that George Custer used as a personal sidearm, and that's kept me interested.
http://www.gunsandammo.com/2011/10/03/what-was-custers-last-gun/
It appears that the extractor is very similar to the Russian Nagant revolvers, with a pin that is withdrawn from under the barrel, which is then rotated around the barrel on a crane to align with the chamber that is aligned with the open load/ejection port on the right side of the frame.
The head of the ejector rod is grooved around its circumference, and I'm wondering if the rod itself is threaded into the frame or base pin to secure it; does the extractor rod have to "unscrewed" so it may be withdrawn?
The whole mess is rusted pretty badly; I don't know if I'll ever get the extractor rod out, and even if I could, the crane assembly doesn't look like it's going to rotate on the barrel.
It appears that Webley rapidly developed the RIC, and that there were a half-dozen distinct models made over a short period of time, and parts from one "mark" or "pattern" won't necessarily work with another.
Two of the action springs are retained by the trigger guard, and it looks like the Mk. 1 First Pattern did not share its trigger guard with any of the later models.
Any help would be appreciated.
I normally wouldn't be too interested in such a beast, but it is rumored to be the type of revolver that George Custer used as a personal sidearm, and that's kept me interested.
http://www.gunsandammo.com/2011/10/03/what-was-custers-last-gun/
It appears that the extractor is very similar to the Russian Nagant revolvers, with a pin that is withdrawn from under the barrel, which is then rotated around the barrel on a crane to align with the chamber that is aligned with the open load/ejection port on the right side of the frame.
The head of the ejector rod is grooved around its circumference, and I'm wondering if the rod itself is threaded into the frame or base pin to secure it; does the extractor rod have to "unscrewed" so it may be withdrawn?
The whole mess is rusted pretty badly; I don't know if I'll ever get the extractor rod out, and even if I could, the crane assembly doesn't look like it's going to rotate on the barrel.
It appears that Webley rapidly developed the RIC, and that there were a half-dozen distinct models made over a short period of time, and parts from one "mark" or "pattern" won't necessarily work with another.
Two of the action springs are retained by the trigger guard, and it looks like the Mk. 1 First Pattern did not share its trigger guard with any of the later models.
Any help would be appreciated.