Reloading .455 Webley

[MR KR COMAN]

I've had a number of enquiries on this topic, here's a summary for those
with an interest:

BACKGROUND ON AMMO TYPES
1.
All .455 guns will fire the .450 Adams round.
2.
N.B. Early Webleys chambering the .476 Enfield will usually chamber the 45
Long Colt. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER fire this round!!! The 476 Enfield was
ONLY designed for 18gr of black powder.
3.
N.B. The offical spec for Mark 1 to 4 Webleys was MILD STEEL for cylinder,
barrel and frame. Converting these to shoot 45ACP is NOT A GOOD IDEA!!

RELOADING: DIES
1.
Dies over the counter from RCBS, and Lee. Lyman -- special order basis. In
UK, North Devon Firearms Services supply an EXCELLENT tung-carb die set.
2.
Special note on RCBS dies. Unless the seater die is cut down they will not
crimp lead bullets. RCBS ran their verniers over the 1897 Mark 1 round
marketed in the US by the Canadian firm Dominion under the name "455
Colt" -- presumably to humour the locals. The Mark 1's case length is .87
inch, whilst that of the Mark 2 is shorter at .77 inch. (Lee, Lyman and
Nth Devon dies are perfect.)
3.
To modify RCBS 455 Colt dies, have 2.7mm trimmed from the mouth of the
seater die.
4.
BTW you CAN use 45ACP dies. Have 3.2mm removed from the mouth of the seater
die. (If you want to also reload the .450 Adams, make this 5.2mm but try 3.
2mm first.) You can still use your 45ACP dies to load the 45 ACP after this
mod.

RELOADING: CASES
1.
Fiocchi: Expensive -- must buy loaded ammo. Brass is very fine quality, but
rather thin -- expect a few split cases and take care when reloading to
avoid damage.
2.
Mountain & Sowden: UK made Boxer-primed cases. Excellent quality and
durable. Reasonably priced.
3.
Converted 45 Long Colt: Cut almost to right length and finish off with Lyman
case trimmer. The thicker case wall will mean that .451 inch 45ACP bullets
will fit fine, but .452 or larger diameter heads can result in bulged case
that will not chamber in some guns. The FORWARD side of the rim must be
thinned to ensure that the cylinder will close and rotate freely -- aim for
a rim width of .045 inch.

RELOADING: OPERATIONS
1.
As per other calibers except for......
2.
Resizing: Lubrication is crucial. The 455 rim is very thin and poor lube
may cause the shellholder to tear thru the rim when you try to withdraw the
case. Tung-carb dies solve this problem.
3.
Priming: 455 cases take small pistol primers, but most usable shell holders
are designed for large primers -- take care using the primer ram on the
press. If the primer pocket is not perfectly aligned with the cup of the
ram, you may have primer seating problems.
Hand primers (e.g. Lee Auto Prime) should use a 455 shellholder.
The 45 Long Colt shellholder usually specified is designed for the latter's
thicker rim, the thinner rim on the 455 thus allows excessive vertical play
to seat the primer properly.

POWDERS
1.
Hercules is reported to list 455 loads.
2.
As a SAFE AND CONSERVATIVE guide, try LOW loads for 45ACP with a medium to
slow burning powder as a START.
3.
Service ammo had a 600fps muzzle velocity using 265gr bullet -- for those
with access to a chronograph.

BULLET HEADS
1.
The traditional 265gr lead bullet shoots to point of aim in service guns,
200gr and 220gr bullets will usually shoot low.
2.
The 255gr head for the 45 Long Colt is worth trying.
3.
All usual 45ACP heads are worth giving a bash -- good results are reported
for Hornady's 200gr jacketed flat point.
4.
RCBS will supply a 265gr 455 mould on special order.

---------------

As always: standard disclaimers apply. PLEASE do your homework and approach
this project (as any other venture into a "new frontier" in reloading) with
care and intelligence.

Best of luck: the 455 Webley Mark 2 round celebrates its 95th birthday this
year -- KEEP 'EM BARKING!!!!!!

Cheers,
Keith Coman

[marke...@gmail.com]

Mr. Coman Sir,
Thank you for sharing your valuable information.
Mark