Webley Mark One Boar War Era

[bouncer50]

I have a Webley mark one with no star after the one so it was never send back to the factory to be updated. Cylinder never been cut It was made in 1894 so what i understand it is still a black powder round. The gun has 90 percent finish really nice and tight. I was told it a boar war era gun that could have been used in the war. Does this one have a higher value because of it early year it was made and because of the boar war era. One guy told me it worth a thousand dollars i do not want to sell it. I have never fired the gun with my regular 455 rounds that i reload for. I guess i could load a few rounds of black powder to try it out. Or is best not to mess with it because of the value it may have.

[nagantguy]

Don't know a dollar amount but any old unaltered unbubbed piece that is mechanically sound and in good shape is worth a premium over other examples.of the same piece. If its not for sale I'd shoot it, lead and black powxernwont hurt it. The boar war is a very interesting g period of history. I'd love to.see a photo of the old girl.

[jugulater]

i have no clue about value of it. if the condition is as good as you say i doubt it was used in combat. I do strongly believe that there is no reason to resign this nice old revolver to wall hanger status. Soft lead and Holy black will bring this old girl back to life. also some pics would be great.

Seems me and Nagantguy were thinking the same thing, i was just slower on the draw lol

[Fergie]

I sold my Mark IV in .455 for $700 last year and that was with some "custom" stippling done by a previous owner.

Mine had proof marks dating it to an artillery unit in WWI, and matching numbers all around.

I fired a cylinders worth of Eleys through it, and that was all. The uncut versions demand a decent premium over the cut ones, and .455 over the .38.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Yes, the value in good condition could easily be $1000. It is slightly smaller in the cylinder than the late .455 Webleys, but quite good enough for loads of the original pressures. I believe it was first made in 1897, and was designed for smokeless, with a considerable reduction in powder space over the .476 which preceded it. It is certainly a lot rarer than the First World War versions, and although those kept up the quality, the standard of finish declined.

The Boer War was fought mostly in dry, relatively antiseptic conditions. It was a uniquely good time to receive a military rifle wound, as the combination of cleanliness, improving wound surgery and heavy, round-nosed jacketed bullets produced an excellent chance of getting home again. Boer casualties often healed on the march. It was a long-range war in which pistols saw relatively little use, and they were mostly the property of officers, who had to buy their own. So it wouldn't be surprising if it saw service and remained in good condition.

Most of the .455 Webleys, including I think this one, break the rule that says the chamber throat has to be the same as groove diameter, or a thousandth or so larger. They do this by using a soft hollow based bullet, which is squeezed down and expands again in the bore. The reason is that the designer of the previous revolver, the .476 Enfield, erroneously believed that the bullet accelerates only in the cylinder. It works, and people do get fairly good results, though probably not the best, with a solid based bullet, provided that it is soft. A really hard or jacketed bullet is likely to give very inferior accuracy, or dangerous pressures.

[Outpost75]

I have a Boer War period Mark IV which, unfortunately, was "shaved" to .45 ACP before being imported. Because it was "butchered" to ruin its collector value, I got it cheap. I use only mild, wadcutter-level charges, 4 grains of Bullseye with soft lead 230-grain Cowboy bullets and it shoots well. Full charge .45 ACP loads absolutely MUST be avoided in these guns, lest you shear the barrel catch screw right off and elongate the holes for the barrel catch screw in the frame while doing so.

The obligatory "eye candy", this gun formerly of the Queensland Police, if I interpret its markings correctly:

130359130360130361

[John Allen]

I have a Boer War period Mark IV which, unfortunately, was "shaved" to .45 ACP before being imported. Because it was "butchered" to ruin its collector value, I got it cheap. I use only mild, wadcutter-level charges, 4 grains of Bullseye with soft lead 230-grain Cowboy bullets and it shoots well. Full charge .45 ACP loads absolutely MUST be avoided in these guns, lest you shear the barrel catch screw right off and elongate the holes for the barrel catch screw in the frame while doing so.

The obligatory "eye candy", this gun formerly of the Queensland Police, if I interpret its markings correctly:

130359130360130361


I have wanted one of these for a long time. I hopefully will find one sooner or later.

[Multigunner]

Jacketed round nose bullets such as the early marks of .303 and 7mm Mauser made neat through and through wounds, but lead revolver bullets, and some older lead bullet rifle loads still in use, carried mascerated flesh, cloth, dirt and germs into a wound and caused severe infections.
The thick green grease used on the bullets of 7X54mm "Kortnek" cartridges was blamed for causing fatal infections. The British began executing Boers found with these rounds in their bandoleers. They thought the green grease was a deadly poison.

[Outpost75]

Good reason these days to change to equal.parts by melted volume of Goya Manteca and beeswax for bullet lube, instead of using mutton tallow. All must use non-Halal lube for defence now, so the terrs and fuzzy wuzzies don't go to heaven.

[bouncer50]

Good reason these days to change to equal.parts by melted volume of Goya Manteca and beeswax for bullet lube, instead of using mutton tallow. All must use non-Halal lube for defence now, so the terrs and fuzzy wuzzies don't go to heaven. I also hear the Muslim thought the bullet lube was pig fat.