Tag Archives: webley 455

Chasing relics for ‘public safety’

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Police in Northwest England have been celebrating ridding the tough streets around Liverpool of collectible antique firearms, air guns, and starter pistols. 

The Merseyside Police this month closed a two-week gun surrender event focused primarily on taking in antiques that were recently designated as being forbidden under the country’s strict firearm codes. The new change targeted firearm chambered in one of seven long-obsolete 19th Century ammunition types, once protected under the UK’s Firearms Act 1968, for old guns typically “held as an ornament” or curiosity.

“During the surrender, we had 14 viable guns handed in, comprising of shotguns, revolvers, and self-loading pistols as well as 9 blank firers, 12 air weapons, and a quantity of ammunition,” said Merseyside Police. 

The photos released by the agency showed off a sampling fit for the likes of Colonel Mustard or Professor Plum. 

More in my column at Guns.com. 

The Webley MkVI Brutal Brit Manstopper

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Perhaps no other revolver screams ‘British’ louder than the .455-caliber Webley six shooter. This wheelgun was the go-to sidearm of the King’s military for generations and once you look at it, you can see why.
The British Army had been in the revolver game for more than thirty years before the Webley came on the scene. Starting with the Adams revolver of the 1850s (models of which popped up in the US Civil War) and moving onto the disliked and slow to reload Enfield .476-caliber six-shooter, a reliable handgun was increasingly needed in the Victorian era. This was the days when young British officers on colonial duty in far off and exotic lands needed sturdy, and effective firepower to stop charges of irate local warrior types in situations where numbers were very much relative. For instance, in the Battle of Isandlwana in 1879, 1800 British and colonial troops faced 20,000 Zulu warriors and were overwhelmed.
The redcoats needed a capable handgun that could be reloaded ricky tick, so they turned to Webley…
Read the rest in my column at Firearms Talk.com

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