Indians For Guns

P.Webley & Son
.32

sudhirsingh12b wrote:P.Webley & Son
.32

TC - This is up your alley
Pl. enlighten us!
Briha

What is the serial number?


Best-
Vikram

looks like it was excavated?
regards
dr.jk

It`s a Webley WP .320.
Many sources will date the pistol to c.1870 but they`re wrong.
The WP is quite rare - only 8,600 were made in total, both hammerless and with hammer. The earliest known hammer version was sold quite recently and dates to sometime previous to 1908 - the date of the earliest known example referred to in the Webley Collectors Book by Gordon Bruce.
What is the serial number ?
The .320 was a black powder calibre and has been obsolete for many years.
The .32 Short Colt was developed from the .320 but the rim diameter is not the same.
Ammunition can be created from .32 Long Colt cases but it`s an involved process ..... and has to be loaded with black powder.
Basically it`s a collectors piece and not shootable.

The .320 is a calibre that I`ve wondered about for some time. It was originally developed as a Black powder calibre for use in Webley Bulldog revolvers in the 1870s but it seems peculiar that a nitro version wasn`t developed by the time that the WPs were being sold - which was at least as late as 1914. Was there a nitro version that I`ve seen no written record of ?
I`ve never examined a WP to check the proof marks.

Hi Grumpy,

I agree it's most likely a Webley W.P. However the sources available to me indicate only 7528 of these made from 1900s to 1930s.

I remember another very interesting example of these had turned up on the forum sometime back and the thread can be visited here;
http://www.indiansforguns.com/viewtopic ... 12&t=18262

It is interesting to note that most sources confirm production ended with serial numbers in the 8K range but I can see a number starting with a 9 which appears like a 4 digit number (or am I mistaken)? Can it be only a three digit number but again as I understand the first gun was stamped with serial number 1000?

Can you please post close ups of the serial number any any other markings which can be found on the gun?

lol. Bowman, that previous thread is remarkable for the number of inaccurate speculations made by just about everyone apart from yourself. That revolver was also a WP .320.
That there are WPs with three figure serial numbers is proven by the gun that I referred to above which has the serial number 718. See : http://www.gunstar.co.uk/Antique-Pistol ... 99821.aspx
As the seller of that revolver mentions, `WP` is abbreviated from `Webley Pocket` which is what I`ve always understood it to mean. It certainly does NOT mean `Webley Patent`.
I have to admit that I have little interest in most of the Webley revolvers apart from the MK VI .455 which looks antique in pictures but, when actually handled proves to be an impressive pistol, both in looks and feel and what I know of the rest of the Webley revolvers stems as incidental from my interest in that. I do not include the Webley Fosberry under the general heading of `Webley revolvers` as that is something else entirely.

Serial No.3***
its my Grand father's gun.

looks like it was excavated?

I think early 1920's should be a good reference.

Restored