Webley Toughness?

M

Model12Win

Moderator
How tough is a Mk IV Webley revolver in .38 S&W?

I've got one here that is REAL nice and tight. Shoots so accurate. I just LOVE me it, but man them shells are high. I'd like to get a basic reloading setup for the gun but I have my thoughts.

Is the Webley .38 even worth reloading for? I understand the design is not as strong as a modern revolver. Will the gun shoot loose in short order if I fire normal pressure handloads in it? How many rounds can I expect to fire before it goes out of time?

Basically, I'm wanting to know if it would be worth it to invest in the reloading equipment for the gun if the gun won't even last long enough to fire much ammo through.

Just how durable/tough are these Webley .38s firing factory ammo anyway? Anybody have any idea?

M12
 
I'd say tough enough to last a long time, as long as you don't try to make a magnum out of it.

BRITISH SERVICE REVOLVER
Used in WWII

and, its still here, you've got one, so I'd say, mechanically, its tough enough.

NO, it's NOT as strong as a solid frame revolver. But considering the round fired, it doesn't matter.

.38 S&W (.38/200 to the British) fires a 200gr slug at 630fps., or a 145gr at 730fps according to the books. This is NOT a high pressure round.

Cost of reloading? tools? if you already reload, cost would be a set of dies, shellholder, and components. Not a lot in my view.

The cheapest factory stuff at Midway is $0.45 cents a round, I know you can reload cheaper than that...
 
Will the gun shoot loose in short order if I fire normal pressure handloads in it?
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No, as long as you shoot SAAMI spec 38 S&W loads in it. Don't try to make it into a magnum and you'll be fine.
 
I won't try to make it into a magnum. I'll be loading it to standard factory levels only.

But how do these hold up? I've always heard top breaks are weak. I'm just afraid it'll give out on me and I'll have all this reloading stuff I'll have to sell off.
 
Well, there were target shooters in the topbreak era, shooting Smiths and Webleys in some volume. I don't think they would have stayed with delicate guns.

Webley would sell you a front sight blade of the correct height for commercial .38 S&W 146 gr instead of the .38/200 (178 gr jacketed in most issues) the military used.
 
I've always heard top breaks are weak.
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Yes, the are, and so are S&W model 29s...:rolleyes:

Its a matter of what you compare them to.

The top break design isn't as strong as a solid frame revolver, not the swing out DA or the Single action type.

But its more like a pickup isn't a dump truck. The top break won't handle rounds like the .357 or .44 Magnum but the design has a fairly long history of adequate service.

Particularly favored by the British as military service revolvers, from the later 1800s until after the end of the Second World war, if there was something seriously flawed in the concept, I doubt it would have held on as long as it did.

Millions of cheap, small top break guns were made for quite a few decades, and a lot of the ones that weren't junk to start with, are still around, many still functional with the low power rounds they were made for.

You've got the last British military revolver, which is a different animal than the cheap pocket guns. I would expect long service with proper ammunition.
 
Will the gun shoot loose in short order if I fire normal pressure handloads in it?
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Shoot lower-than-normal loads in it. A paper target or tin can can't tell if the bullet is going 700fps or 600fps.
I have a Mk. I that I've never shot, but have considered getting some soft lead balls and a pound of Pyrodex, and assembling some real pipsqueak loads for it.
 
I see. I should fire lower than normal loads then?

Also for you Webley guys, does closing the gun up without pressing the lever harm anything? Should I press the release lever THEN close the gun then release the lever, or is it okay to just snap it (carefully) closed?
 
It was always fun shooting slow 38 S&W in my H&R's and Webley's because it would take a while for the bullet to travel down range. If the outsider light is just right it easier to see the bullet in flight going down than most rounds. I've a bunch of import ammo I got years ago.
 
Put into the hands of a guy who had never seen any kind of firearm before. Who was given very little training on how to use and maintain it. Carried it around in a canvas holster in really crappy conditions(cold and wet, muddy, extremely dry and dusty.) using mediocre ammo. And still went BANG!!! when Lt. Sinjin-Smythe, 17th/21st Lancers, fired the thing.
"...should fire lower than normal loads then..." No. Follow your manual religiously. A cast 145 is running between 595 and 630 fps at about 11,500 CUP. Isn't terribly high pressured to start with.
 
Interesting guys. It appears the old Webley Mk IV might be tougher than I thought.

The last thing I want to do is damage it by shooting it too much, even with the normal pressure loads I plan to make for it.

But also I don't own reloading equipment. I've just never owned a caliber that was too expensive for me to regularly shoot. So, I'd have to buy a basic inexpensive reloading setup just for this gun, and I wanted to know if that would make sense or the gun wouldn't hold up long enough to make that a fruitful venture.
 
That really smarts.
They don't even make the basic Lee Loader for .38 S&W.
Setting up from scratch for one low volume gun will be relatively expensive.
 
Ah... do you think it's worth it, Jim? Or should I just buy the cheapest .38 S&W shells I can?

I sure wish they made the Lee loader in that caliber. :(
 
The Webley design is efficient and quite strong for the intended use as a military and police arm. It's still in use in some parts of the much-reduced Empire.

Don't use hot loads, and do get a reloading setup. A Dillon Square Deal or Lee Classic would be a great choice.
 
Very cool, Natman. Would I be able to mount this to a kitchen counter? I'm an apartment dweller, and don't have access to a proper workbench.
 
Would I be able to mount this to a kitchen counter? I'm an apartment dweller, and don't have access to a proper workbench.
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That depends on how the wife / landlord feel about you drilling holes in the counter. :D

I have one mounted on a short piece of 2x6. I clamp the board onto a table.
 
"...should fire lower than normal loads then..." No. Follow your manual religiously.
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Most manuals have a starting load, and a max load, and a range of loads in between. Those closer to the starting load than to the max load might be considered "lower than normal loads", don't you think?
 
You could be in a Lee hand press and set of carbide dies for under $100. Maybe less than $75 if you shop right. Unless you're going to shoot some crazy high volume of rounds, it should serve you well.

I started on one years ago, and still have it. Use it to load .45/70 regularly and still and load experiment with it for other calibers when I try a new bullet or powder.
 
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