Webley Very pistol

[450 Martini]

Back in March before everything shut down i won at auction this interesting pistol.
It's a Webley and Scott Mark III 1" Very pistol with a 1915 issue date. This is the early type without the later trumpet extension on the muzzle which was added to stop soldiers shooting their hands off.
Ammo is a tad expensive at £12 a shot and i don't suppose they make reloading dies in this size.

[bradaz11]

wow, that is lovely

[ovenpaa]

Very nice. I know nothing about the things, is it held on a normal S1 or an S5/S4 exemption?

[bradaz11]

Very nice. I know nothing about the things, is it held on a normal S1 or an S5/S4 exemption?

what's a sec 4 exemption for?

[ovenpaa]

Usually humane despatch

[bradaz11]

Thanks!

[450 Martini]

This one is held on section 1, flare and signal pistols were exempted from the 1997 ban. My good reason is to be a part of my Great War collection, living history, battle reenactment and film and TV use. They take a 4 bore or 26.5mm sized cartridge which shoots a large burning wad of pyrotechnic composition about 300 foot into the air. They are very impressive when fired at night and have a notable kick.

[Chapuis]

Would using 12 bore flare cartridges fired using a chamber adapter be any cheaper?

[450 Martini]

It probably would be cheaper to use 12 bore and an insert but finding those in the UK is even harder than 26.5mm shells.
An interesting fact with these is that blanks in this calibre actually count as part of the ammunition holding as they are above 1 inch in diameter. On the certificate in the ammunition entry they are vaguely referred to as "Signal cartridges" which i suppose could refer to flares, blanks or smoke.

[bradaz11]

i'm sure if you give ovenpaa the dimensions of the 26.5 case, he could whip up an adapter, it's nice and low pressure and adapters aren't licensable if I recall correctly. Failing that, anyone with a lathe...