Gun Digest 2011. Dan Shideler

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СКАЧАТЬ bullet, propelled at a muzzle velocity of approximately 800 fps, is still produced by several ammo makers.

      Obtaining modern .455 Webley Mark II ammunition is a little more problematic. Due to low consumer demand in the U.S., for many years this archaic round was not offered by any domestic manufacturer. The Italian firm Fiocchi was about the only commercial source of new, non-corrosive .455 Mark II ammo. Bullet weight of the Fiocchi loading is 262 grains, rather than the nominal 265 grains of the original round, but such a slight weight difference should be of no consequence.

      Hornady recently added .455 Mark II ammunition to their product line. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first American company to catalog the old British chambering in well over half a century.

      In years past, the British firm Kynoch also marketed .455 Mark II ammunition. However, their present website lists only centerfire rifle rounds for sale, and it is unclear if they currently make handgun ammunition in any caliber.

      At one time, Canadian Industries Limited (CIL) loaded .455 Colt ammunition under their Dominion label. Although this cartridge is approximately one tenth of an inch longer than the .455 Webley Mark II case and its muzzle velocity is over 150 fps faster than the Mark II load, .455 Colt ammo can safely be used in First and Second Model Hand Ejectors. This is because like Webley &Scott, Smith & Wesson also bored the chambers of their .455 revolvers deep enough to accept the greater case length of the original .455 Mark I black powder round. Case dimensions of the .455 Colt are similar to those of the .455 Mark I. But from what I can determine, .455 Colt ammunition is no longer made.

      While World War I military surplus .455 Mark II ammunition is quite rare, occasionally quantities of surplus .455 Mark VI ammo from the Second World War are encountered. Unfortunately, World War II military surplus .455 ammunition has also become quite collectable and using it for recreational shooting is not really cost effective.

      Inventorying the .455 Mark II ammunition I have accumulated over time yielded usable amounts of Fiocchi, Hornady, and Kynoch brands, as well as a handfull of World War II Mark VI Canadian surplus ammo. Modern, commercial .455 Mark II ammo is loaded with hollow base, lead bullets, much like the original military ammunition. A sample bullet was pulled from each of the three brands of .455 Mark II ammo to be used for the range tests, along with a World War II Mark VI jacketed round. The diameter of each bullet was measured with a micrometer, and each bullet was weighed. The following data was obtained:

Manufacturer	Type	Bullet Dia.	Bullet Weight
Fiocchi	(lead)	.454"	262.3 grains
Hornady	(lead)	.452"	264.6 grains
Kynoch	(lead)	.445"	265.3 grains
WWII Mark VI	(jacketed)	.454"	266.7 grains

      The Hornady bullet has an unusual post swaged into the center of the base cavity. Evidentally the post is meant to facilitate obturation of the bullet’s skirt.

      All three brands of .455 ammo, and a box of commercial Remington-Peters .45 ACP 230-grain ball ammunition, were used in testing the vintage revolvers at a local range. To eliminate human error, a Ransom Rest was employed for the accuracy tests. Bullet speeds were measured with a ProChrono brand digital chronograph positioned 10 feet from the muzzle. Although distances in close-quarter trench combat were probably much shorter, the target was placed at 25 yards.

      Commercial .455 Mark II ammunition used in the range tests included Fiocchi, Hornady and Kynoch brands. Also shown are a string-tied 2-pack of military .455 Mark II ammunition, dated 1922 and a World War II box of.455 Mark VI Ammo, both of Canadian manufacture. The front row comprises assorted military & commercial rounds.

      For the tests, each revolver was clamped into the Ransom Rest and a dozen rounds were run through the gun to settle it into the grip inserts. Once the revolver was solidly secured in the machine rest, 18 rounds (three cylinders full) of each brand of ammunition were fired in the gun. Accuracy was determined by measuring the extreme spread of each six shot group, center-to-center, and then calculating the three-group averages.

      The testing process began with the .455 First Model. Eighteen rounds each of Fiocchi, Hornady and Kynoch ammunition were fired in the gun. While the Hornady product delivered the smallest average group size of 2.81 inches, it also turned in the lowest velocity, clocking an average 566 fps from the Triple Lock. preserve my small remaining stock of Kynoch .455 ammunition, only Fiocchi and Hornady brands were tested in the Second Model Hand Ejector. The Fiocchi ammo produced the smaller average group size of 4.56 inches, as well as the higher velocity, averaging 615 fps.

      An older box of commercial Remington-Peters 230-grain, .45 ACP ball ammo was used in testing the Model 1917. The rounds were loaded into half-moon clips, much the same as ammunition used by American Doughboys in World War One. The three group average for the Model 1917 measured 4.49 inches and bullet speed averaged 807 fps.

      Full results of the 25 yard range tests are listed in the accompanying table:

       Ballistics Test Results

Revolver	Ammunition	Velocity	Average group (")
.455 1st Model	Fiocchi .455 Mk II	629 fps	3.87
	Hornady .455 Mk II	566 fps	2.81
	Kynoch .455 Mk II	627 fps	3.11
455 2nd Model	Fiocchi .455 Mk II	615 fps	4.56
Model 1917	R-P .45 ACP (Ball)	807 fps	4.49

      Upon completion of the Ransom Rest tests, I decided to try a little off-hand shooting before leaving the range. The gun selected was the .455 Second Model, as I was curious to see how the revolver might have felt to Lt. Martin Bluethner 90 years ago. Filling the cylinder with a half-dozen rounds of the Fiocchi ammo, I took a six o’clock hold on a 10-inch-tall rock about 35 yards out. The rock, which was located at the base of a safe, earthen backstop, approximated the size of a man’s head. Shooting was done from a standing position, using a two hand grip, firing single-action (probably not the way Lt. Bluethner was taught). Despite the narrow, rounded front sight blade, I had little trouble keeping all my shots on the rock. This would seem contrary to the showing the gun had just given from the machine rest. I can’t explain it, but that’s what happened.

      In addition to being pleasantly surprised at the off-hand СКАЧАТЬ