The MKIII was indeed the Manstopper, but as a hollow point, hollow base, you'd have to swage it, not cast it. The MKIV flat nose is the Politically Correct Manstopper. More to the point, you can pour them.
The MKIII was indeed the Manstopper, but as a hollow point, hollow base, you'd have to swage it, not cast it. The MKIV flat nose is the Politically Correct Manstopper. More to the point, you can pour them.
WWJMBD?
In the Land of Oz, we cast with wheel weight and 2% Tin, Man.
I'd opt for the hollow based model?
Steve
"The Original Point and Click Interface was a Smith & Wesson."
Life member NRA, USPSA, ISRA
Life member AF&AM 294
I have a HP mold I use that is just wonderful, we sell them at 20.00 per 100 if you'd like to play with some before committing to a mold
Ron Reed
Oklahoma City, OK
Current issue of The Fouling Shot has an article on the .455, this portion describing the types of ammunition cross-posted here through the kind permission of the author Ed Harris:
Six main types of .455 ammunition were produced:
The .455 Webley Mk I had a case length of 0.88” and was introduced in 1891. It was loaded with a 265 grain lead, hollow-based, round-nosed bullet of 1:12 tin/lead, and 18 grains of black powder, lubricated with beeswax. A few experimental Mk I cordite cartridges were produced before the Mk II. The longer Mk I case was used for sporting, Boxer-primed, smokeless loads by CIL until the early 1970s.
Starting with the Mk ll, introduced in 1897, subsequent .455 British service cartridges were loaded in the 0.76” case to reduce excessive airspace to improve ballistic uniformity with smokeless powder. The Mk II 265 grain lead, round-nosed, hollow-based bullet resembled the nose shape of the Mk I, but with a shallower hollow base, reducing the bullet’s overall length to improve gyroscopic stability, with larger lubricating grooves. Its 6.5 grains of Mk I chopped Cordite produced 600 fps from a 6-inch barrel.
The Mk III cartridge, introduced in 1898, was the famous "Manstopper" bullet intended for police, civilian defense, and colonial use. It was a double-ended, 218-grain design, swaged of 1:12 tin/lead, having hemispherical cavities at each end—one to seal the barrel, the other to deform upon impact. It was loaded with 6.5 grains of chopped Cordite for 600 fps. Because it was not compliant with the Hague Convention of 1899, the Mk III was withdrawn in 1900 and the Mk II cartridge was reintroduced.
The Webley Mk IV, introduced in 1912, featured a solid, 220 grain, flat-nosed, hollow-based wadcutter, loaded with cordite propellant, producing 600 fps, its design objective intending to be more effective than the round-nosed Mark II, but without violating the terms of the Hague Convention.
The Mk V, introduced in 1914, was identical to the Mk IV, but formed from antimonial-lead-alloy recovered from salvaged storage battery plates, as a manufacturing expedient, to conserve tin as a critical wartime material. It was in use only from April through November 1914. Harder antimonial-lead bullets proved less than completely satisfactory, due to barrel leading. The Mk V was almost immediately withdrawn and the Mark II returned to service. Remaining Mk V cartridges were used up for training and target practice and remaining in-process Mk V marked cases were assembled with Mk II bullets.
The Mk VI cartridge, introduced in 1939, is the variant most commonly found, used during WW2. It has a 265-grain FMJ, hollow-based Hague-compliant bullet propelled either by 5.5–7.5 grains of chopped cordite, or alternately 5.5-6.0 grains of flake nitrocellulose, the powder charge being determined at the time of loading to produce 625 +/-25 fps. Cordite-loaded cartridges bore a "VI" in the head stamp, whereas nitrocellulose-loaded cartridges were marked "VIz". Although obsolescent by the end of WW2, the Mark VI cartridge continued to be made into the late 1960s by Kynoch to fill export contracts for Pakistan, Kenya and other export customers. Late production was produced with small size Berdan primers. Remington and Winchester produced .455 in both case lengths prior to WW2. CIL in Canada loaded .455 Colts into the 1970s. Hornady produced a limited run of Mk II ammo in 2008.
Fiocchi is the only current occasional producer of .455 Mk II cartridges, other than custom loaders.
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BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |