OT - Ammunition Question...

[WOD]

I have a Colt New Army double action revolver, circa 1894 - 1906, calibre .455. Right now the gun is unsafe, due to the cylinder retainer is slightly bent, causing improper alignment of the cylinder to the barrel. I'm considering sending the gun to Colt to have it repaired. The problem is, finding ammunition for it, here in the States. Is .455 ammo available in Canada? If so, how much is a box of 50? Thanks for any information.

The basic history that I've found so far, is that this was an American made Colt pistol, for the English/Canadian Armed Services, used around the turn of the century. There are three date stamps on the barrel, 1896, 1900, 1906, and the serial number (located inside the cylinder housing) is 108997 N. The pistol is very stout, and the mechanical operations seem to work, aside from the cylinder not lining up properly. I've also read that the guns were returned to Colt for various modifications during their use in service, hence, the modified manufacture date stamps. There are also other markings/stamps which I assume are from the issuing governments armories. Another stamp says "notenglishmake".

 

[SovereignAxe]

ammunitiontogo.com has many off the wall rounds that you wouldn't normally find in stores. They have one box of .455 Webley made by Fiocchi here. At $31 for a 50rd box of lead round nose, it's not exactly cheap. But I've never heard of .455 being cheap lol

 

[WOD]

Nor very common anymore... since the weapon hasn't been produced for over 50 years. Thanks for the info!

 

[WOD]

Here's a pic,

 

[mark-in-texas]

Isn't that the gun that 45 Auto Rim was invented for?? Or maybe 45acp with moon clips. Either way, light target loads only!

 

[SovereignAxe]

also, I just ran across this snippet from the wikipedia article on .455 Webley

The Italian firm Fiocchi and American firm Hornady are currently the only commercial manufacturers of the .455 Webley cartridge (in Mk II). Hornady, RCBS and Lee produce equipment for reloading .455 Webley cartridges.

so I guess I found half of the market for you lol. FYI, MkII is LRN, so I guess that's all you're going to get for it. Unless they sell FMJ or JHP bullets for reloading.

 

[WOD]

Well, considering how long the gun has been out of production, two ammunition makers is better than none. There were several calibers that this weapon was made in. Originally, the English contracted the gun in .38 caliber, but the stopping power was so pathetic, as was demonstrated in use in Africa and the Phillipines, that Colt upped the calibers to .40, .41, .45, .455 at the request of the English. This gun was also better liked by the English officers, than the .38 Enfield pistol they were issued, and many bought this model prior to the British governments decision to go with the Colt. This was the first weapon line to also use an extractor, which made the appeal to military and police widely acceptable. There was also the .455 Elev round, which only makes this whole thing even more complicated. As far as the "Webley" ammo goes, to me it seems too short for the cylinder, whereas, a .45 rimfire looks like a better fit. I found a local Colt dealer here, and I'm going to take it there for a consultation. Then I can better assess whether or not it's worth the effort and cost to get this piece repaired.

 

[WOD]

Update

I contacted Colt Firearms LLC today, and I was unhappy to hear that they no longer service this pistol. They did refer me to Jack First, apparently he's the guy who might have the parts I need to repair this weapon. Luckily for me, I will be traveling through South Dakota soon, so I can pick up the parts directly from Mr First. I really would have liked to have Colt verify a few things for me, just to ease my curiosity. Thanks again for the information you guys provided here.

 

[WOD]

Update 2.... gah!

I just returned home from my local smithy, and he discovered my Colt .455 New Army model is an Eley.... not a Webley.